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Viewpoint

Tamsinalicemay
DelythMair
lakito
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Latest Posts

  • Eating and drinking in 'cure for all ails' shocker
    July 27, 2011
    More recent health revelations in the news that both confirm and reject commonly accepted knowledge about what is good for you. Firstly the shocking news that eating healthily can help with depression. 
    By lakito

  • Illegal drugs the key to happiness?
    June 20, 2011
     That does at least seem to be the trend in mental health news recently. Two stories in the past couple of weeks have indicated there could be benefits to studying the uses of certain 'illegal' drugs in the treatment of depression and anxiety.
    By lakito

  • Silly Season Starts Early
    July 12, 2010
    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 side effects and withdrawal symptoms were some way into the future.
    By Tim

  • More "real" people please
    May 26, 2010
    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 or watching kiddie porn) that needs excusing.  While celebrities' symptoms may be shared with others with mental illness, their socio-economic
    By Tim

  • The stigma dilemma
    May 16, 2010
    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. 
    By Tim

  • Should we worry about the next generation of antidepressants?
    April 30, 2010
    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. 
    By Tim

  • What about primary care mental health services?
    February 23, 2010
    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 to treatment.
    By Tim

  • Is Depression an illness or the inevitable consequence of a broken society?
    December 9, 2009
    The trouble with depression is that it doesn’t quite fit into the categories set out by the grey faceless bureaucracy that governs us.
    By Tim