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Mood Tracking: My System for Reducing Psychiatric Hospitalizations

Mad in America

D uring my first psychiatric hospitalization in 1998, I was strapped down, placed in 4-point restraints, and administered a painful catheter—apparently because I had peed on the floor during the course of my psychotic episode. Captivity By my count (with an assist from my mother) I’ve had 12 psychiatric hospitalizations in my life.

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Everything About Us Without Us

Mad in America

T his historical record of Oregons first state hospital, the Oregon State Insane Asylum, from its opening in 1883 until the mid-1950s, will focus on the experiences of patients there. The guiding principle for the hospital during these seven decades, whether recognized or not, was Everything About Us Was Without Us.

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How I Developed a Critical Perspective on Psychiatry

Mad in America

I can think of many examples throughout my early career where I saw many people admitted to psychiatric wards having suffered an adverse life event, recent or past trauma, only to leave with prescriptions for multiple drugs to treat their new presumed diagnoses. I have seen this merry-go-round all too often.

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A Psycho-Spiritual Journey

Mad in America

Soon after mentioning these experiences to my local doctor and the minister of the church I attended, I was certified insane and involuntarily committed to a psychiatric hospital. I was also acutely embarrassed and ashamed about what had happened to me so I tried to hide my experiences from everyone, even to the point of self-denial.

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The Trauma Craze: How the Expansion of Trauma Diagnoses Fueled Victimhood Culture

Mad in America

For months, the GP had focused on an alleged traumatic event causing her significant psychological distress. They could not recall any traumatic event, confirming instead a stable and nurturing home life. There have also been notable shifts in the types of traumatic events leading to PTSD.

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My Red October – An Army Veteran’s Crucible to Recovery

Mad in America

The mania, paranoia, delusional thoughts and rage I’d been experiencing in the days and weeks leading up to this event became an untenable crisis. I was a shell of my former self, unable to think, staring off into space; all while trying my best to care for my family. Broken trust It wasn’t just the doctors I’d lost trust in.

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How to Explain Top Psychiatrists’ “Dr. Strangelove Exuberance” Unchecked by Reality

Mad in America

Insel is a prime example of a top psychiatrist with exuberance about psychiatry regardless of his awareness of the reality of its repeated failures. “I Thomas Insel, quoted in 2017. “To To be clear, I have no regrets about NIMH funding for genomics and neuroscience.” One explanation is the culture of psychiatry.