I’m wary to entertain that there is a debate on this or that it’s a “theory”. It’s like debating a theory that the Easter Bunny causes mental illness–if the onus is on me to prove that the Easter Bunny does not, in fact, cause mental illness, I must admit I have no proof she’s not […]
There’s this old Buddhist story about a king that proposes a game to a group of monks. They must compete to identify an animal in a dark room. Whichever monk identifies the animal first will become the head monk at a temple the king is building. Eager to demonstrate their wisdom to the king, to […]
As difficult as it may be, try to set aside the Trumpian focus here for a moment, and let’s just talk about the DSM diagnostics–the criteria set by the American Psychiatric Association that are used widely in many parts of the world to diagnose mental illnesses. What you see there in Dr. Frances’ tweets are […]
Serotonin is a beautifully named neurotransmitter that plays many important roles in our lives. There’s so much of it floating around in our bodies. Lots in our brains. Even more in our guts (along with that burrito you ate for lunch). But that serotonin might not be doing what you think it’s doing. Serotonin is […]
A recent study in the Canadian province of Quebec, surveying the sexual fantasies and behaviors of 1040 people, found that around 45% had fantasized about doing things the DSM 5 labels as atypical or paraphilic, and about 33% had acted on those fantasies. You can check out the study, published in the Journal of Sex […]
When people are struggling the most, they often encounter a part of the healthcare system that can seem like it was designed in the medieval era: emergency room care for people with mental illnesses. As budgets for mental health services get cut year after year, with no preventative care or dedicated psychiatric treatment centers accessible, […]