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“There’s No Word for Depression in Zulu”: Inside South Africa’s Mental Health Crisis

Mad in America

R esearch has found South Africa consistently ranks in the bottom three performing countries in terms of global mental health. The UK and South Africa shared lowest place in the 2021 report. The UK and South Africa shared lowest place in the 2021 report. It’s clear South Africa is in crisis.

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A Remarkable Feat: A Psychiatric Patient Changed the Law on Restraints

Mad in America

He entered a settlement with the Ministry of Health in December 2021, which obliged the government to amend the Psychiatry Act, so that the rights for psychiatric patients subjected to belt fixation were improved. Silas had autism and came into contact with the psychiatric system at a very young age.

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Prescription Drugs Are the Leading Cause of Death

Mad in America

As an example, the Danish Board of Health has warned that adding a benzodiazepine to a neuroleptic increases mortality by 50-65%. 23,24 In 2013, I estimated that, in people aged 65 and above, neuroleptics, benzodiazepines or similar, and depression drugs kill 209,000 people annually in the United States. for those aged 70-79.

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When the Help Becomes Part of the Problem

Mad in America

M y first encounter with the psychiatric system in America was at the age of 18. With each step I took into the building, the kilos of shame I had felt since the age of five built up upon my back. He was amicable, handsome, and seemed to be around the age of twenty-five. 5 on the 4.0 I was a failure. I’ll call him Carlos.

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Letting Go of Lithium

Mad in America

My sister took antidepressants and my family has a lot of mental health issues, so based on that, I was thrown into the same category. I started talking fast, coming up with ideas and creative projects and I stopped sleeping. They said if I didn’t go to sleep they would make me. And they did. I was angry.

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Enlarging the Treatment Lens for Postpartum Depression

Mad in America

No one helped us to understand how the sleep disturbances we experienced could play havoc with our moods. The Office on Women’s Health emphasizes psychosocial causes as being significant in PPD. Kelly Brogan , a holistic women’s health psychiatrist, reports significant concerns about brexanolone.

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My Story of Surviving Psychiatry

Mad in America

It will be easier to dive into the depths of darkness and despair that I went through as a mental health patient if I start with a story of hope. I am typing this blog in the back of a taxi wending its way to the airport through the hilly landscape of Sardinia, my beautiful daughter sleeping in the seat beside me.