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The trouble with depression is that it doesn’t quite fit into the categories set out by the grey faceless bureaucracy that governs us.
Depression is a “mental illness”. But (in most cases) it isn’t a “real”, “severe” mental illness that requires psychiatric supervision and specialist mental health services. Most people with depression experience stigma and discrimination but (in most cases)...
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The chemical that was to become Prozac was largely developed in the 1970s. However, it wasn't until 1987 that it was launched as Prozac - the new miracle cure for depression.
The psychiatric landscape of 1987 was one dominated by highly addictive tranquillisers and highly toxic TCA antidepressants. Prozac appeared to offer a more effective treatment for depression without the toxicity and addictive properties. Concern about...
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Imagine that your doctor has referred you to the local heart outpatients unit for an assessment because your blood pressure and cholesterol levels appear to be dangerously high. You are assessed, and told that your levels are indeed dangerously high. However, because of the shortage of resources for heart disease, you are not eligible for any treatment. Only if you were to have a heart attack or a stroke would you be entitled...
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By 2014, anyone whose depression fails to respond to Prozac or Cipramil will be given one of a new generation of triple reuptake inhibitor antidepressants . These new antidepressants, which have a similar chemical structure to cocaine (something that has led to concerns about the potential for abuse and dependency), will block the reuptake of Serotonin, Noradrenaline and Dopamine.
The hope is that the new antidepressants will produce a...
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The big failing of Mental illness anti stigma campaigns is that they fail to recognise that there are, in fact, two distinct and diametrically opposed forms of stigma.
Most obviously, there is the classic stigma facing people with complex, enduring and severe mental illness. This stigma links people with mental illness to violence and antisocial behaviour. It is institutionalised in law by the power of the state to intern those...
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Anti-stigma campaigns have often turned to celebrities to try to raise awareness of mental illness. In our celebrity-obsessed culture, people may be more likely to take notice of a celeb with experience of mental illness. But this approach has never been risk free. Celebrities often come with their own agendas - a book to sell, a new movie or a music tour, or (even worse) some unpleasant behaviour (such as beating up a partner...
