Anatomy of an Epidemic
OCLC 429022293 | | |
616.89 |
Anatomy of an Epidemic: Magic Bullets, Psychiatric Drugs, and the Astonishing Rise of Mental Illness in America is a book by
In the book, Whitaker tries to answer that question and examines the long-term outcomes for the mentally ill in the U.S.
Synopsis
Magic bullets
Whitaker begins by reviewing the discovery of
Whitaker further criticizes the magic bullet theory by attacking the historical notion that the "invention of the antipsychotic
Psychiatric drugs
Whitaker acknowledges that psychiatric medications do sometimes work but believes that they must be used in a "selective, cautious manner. It should be understood that they’re not fixing any chemical imbalances. And honestly, they should be used on a short-term basis."[12]
Whitaker traces the effects of what looks like an iatrogenic epidemic:[13] the drugs that patients receive can perturb their normal brain function.[14]
Whitaker suggests that the "wonder drug" glow around the second generation psychotropics has long since disappeared. He views the "hyping" of the top-selling atypical antipsychotics as "one of the more embarrassing episodes in psychiatry's history, as one government study after another failed to find that they were any better than the first-generation anti-psychotics."[15]
Whitaker speaks warmly of Open Dialogue, an organisation of care documented by professor psychologist Jaakko Seikkula at Keropudas Hospital in Tornio in Lapland where drugs are given to patients only on a limited basis. According to Whitaker, the district has [when?]the lowest per capita spending on mental health of all health districts in Finland.[16]
Children
Whitaker sees that children are vulnerable to being prescribed a lifetime of drugs. As the author says, a psychiatrist and parents may give a child a "cocktail" to force him or her to behave. Then when this child reaches the age of eighteen, Whitaker says the child often becomes a disabled adult.[17]
Review of data and statistics
Whitaker spent a year and a half researching for this book,[14] and maintains a website listing some relevant studies.[18]
Reception and media coverage
Whitaker did interviews with Salon and The Boston Globe during the release of this book.[12][19] He also did a book tour, and he spoke for an hour and a half on C-SPAN where there is an archived video.[20]
A review by sleep researcher Dennis Rosen for The Boston Globe concludes that "although extensively researched and drawing upon hundreds of sources, the gaps in his theory remain too large for him to succeed in making a convincing argument", and compares Whitaker to
Over a year after the book was published, Marcia Angell, former editor of The New England Journal of Medicine, published a two-part review of Whitaker's and other books in The New York Review of Books[22]
Whitaker presented his views at a psychiatric Grand Rounds at Massachusetts General Hospital on January 13, 2011, where his data and approach were critiqued by psychiatrist Andrew Nierenberg.[23] Additional criticism has come from psychiatrist and author Daniel Carlat. Whitaker has responded to critics on his website.[24]
Awards
In April 2011, Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) announced that the book had won its award as the best investigative journalism book of 2010 stating, "this book provides an in-depth exploration of medical studies and science and intersperses compelling anecdotal examples. In the end, Whitaker rejects the conventional wisdom of treatment of mental illness with drugs."[25]
See also
- Mad in America (2002) by Robert Whitaker
- Side Effects (2008) by Alison Bass
- Rethinking Madness book by Paris Williams
- Evidence-based medicine
References
- ^ a b Fitzpatrick, Laura (May 3, 2010). "The Skimmer". Time. Archived from the original on 23 September 2010. Retrieved October 5, 2010.
- ^ a b Burch, Druin (April 7, 2010). "Does psychiatry make us mad?". New Scientist. Reed Business Information. Archived from the original on 25 October 2010. Retrieved October 5, 2010.
- ^ a b Good, Alex (May 21, 2010). "Book review: Anatomy of an Epidemic". The Record. Metroland Media. Archived from the original on 26 October 2010. Retrieved October 5, 2010.
- ^ Whitaker, p. 7
- ISBN 978-0-307-45241-2.
- ^ Whitaker, Robert (Spring 2005). "Anatomy of an Epidemic: Psychiatric Drugs and the Astonishing Rise of Mental Illness in America" (PDF). Ethical Human Psychology and Psychiatry. 7 (I). Springer: 1. Retrieved October 11, 2010.
- ^ Warner, R. (1985). Recovery from Schizophrenia. Boston: Routledge & Kegan Paul. p. 74.
- PMID 14463804.
- ^ Cole, J. (1959). Psychopharmacology. Washington DC: National Academy of Sciences. pp. 142, 386–87.
- PMID 13890431.
- ^ Silverman, C. (1968). The Epidemiology of Depression. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press. pp. 139.
- ^ a b c Lipinski, Jed (April 27, 2010). ""Anatomy of an Epidemic": The hidden damage of psychiatric drugs". Salon. Salon Media. Archived from the original on 2 October 2010. Retrieved October 9, 2010.
- ^ Whitaker, p. 208
- ^ a b Whitaker, p. 210
- ISBN 9780307452412.
- ^ Whitaker, p. 343
- ^ Whitaker, chapters 11 and 12
- ^ Whitaker, Robert. "Mad in America". Retrieved October 10, 2010.
- ^ Weintraub, Karen (May 10, 2010). "The downside of meds". The Boston Globe. The New York Times Company. Retrieved October 9, 2010.
- ^ Robert Whitaker (April 22, 2010). Anatomy of an Epidemic. C-SPAN. Retrieved October 9, 2010.
- ^ Rosen, Dennis (April 14, 2010). "Tying the rise in mental illness to drugs used in its treatment". The Boston Globe. The New York Times Company. Retrieved October 9, 2010.
- ^ Angell, Marcia (June 23, 2011). "The Epidemic of Mental Illness: Why?". and Angell, Marcia (July 14, 2011). "The Illusions of Psychiatry". The New York Review of Books. Retrieved September 23, 2011.
- ^ Goldberg, Carey (Jan 19, 2011). "Special Report: Do Psych Drugs Do More Long-Term Harm Than Good?".
- ^ "Answering the Critics". 19 June 2012. Retrieved March 30, 2013.
- ^ "IRE Awards 2010". Investigative Reporters and Editors. Archived from the original on 2012-05-30. Retrieved 2011-05-11.
Bibliography
- ISBN 978-0-307-45241-2.
External links
- Book home page at author's site, Mad in America
- Author keynote at Alternatives 2010 (funded by the Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)