Mad in America

DECEMBER 29, 2023

A traumatic brain injury in 2002 didn’t help anything. I tried going back to school after the brain injury, but between the bipolar disorder and the head trauma, I couldn’t handle the stress and pressure anymore. I was in ICU for 11 days, and on a ventilator for four of those days. So to back way up, as a kid I was brilliant.

Trauma and the brain 144

Trauma and the brain Bipolar disorder Construction Education 144

Child Mind Intitute

FEBRUARY 19, 2025

At the Child Mind Institute, we are dedicated to understanding how the brain develops and identifying ways we can support children and adolescents in building mental health awareness and resilience. Think of the brain as a network of interconnected pathways. Journaling is like exercising the brains emotional regulation muscles.

Resilience and coping 59

Resilience and coping Trauma and the brain Self-awareness Technology 59

Mad in America

JANUARY 20, 2024

This paper is surprising since Torrey has long argued that schizophrenia is a brain disease to be treated biomedically. T he decades-long attempt to locate the gene or genes for schizophrenia has failed, according to a new article in Psychiatric Research by prominent schizophrenia researcher E. Fuller Torrey.

Genetics and mental health 145

Genetics and mental health Bipolar disorder Poverty and mental health Trauma and the brain 145

Mad in America

FEBRUARY 24, 2024

P sychiatry’s serotonin-imbalance theory of depression, long discarded by researchers, was finally flushed down the toilet by psychiatry and the mainstream media in 2022. And psychiatrists’ primary treatments for depression—their so-called “antidepressants”—are now circling the drain. 2) What approach to depression makes sense? Genes and depression?

Poverty and mental health 145

Poverty and mental health Childhood trauma Neurotransmitters and mental health Trauma and the brain 145

Mad in America

MARCH 30, 2024

Thankfully, from my work as a music college professor, I understood the connection between music and the brain. This led him to his initial treatment and drugs, which led to more, then more, then more, evolving into a long and arduous cascade of psychiatric harms. The ER physician had given him Prozac. I could see his lifeless eyes.

Sleep and mental health 120

Sleep and mental health Bipolar disorder Trauma and the brain Aging and mental health 120

The Art of Healing Trauma

NOVEMBER 17, 2019

This is the earliest somewhat coherent journal entry I can find that I wrote after the traumas as I was too ill and in too much chaos to write anything down for a couple years. This short story about a train trip shows how the many symptoms of PTSD combine to have a devastating impact to one’s Sense of Self.

Trauma and the brain 52

Trauma and the brain Self-awareness Hospitality 52

Mad in America

NOVEMBER 14, 2023

Can we identify them before they start an antidepressant? With so much debate and discussion about “how many” (including the previous two essays in this series), it’s surprising that so little has been written about “why some and not others?” Yes, being on an antidepressant for a long time increases the risk of severe withdrawal when stopping.

Bipolar disorder 100

Bipolar disorder Trauma and the brain 100