Sacred Disorder | Cliff Bostock's blog – 'Finally, I came to regard as sacred the disorder of my mind' (Rimbaud)
Don’t do this
The sentiment behind this phenomenon is agreeable. But it results in the Dumbest Look Ever.
Greenwald’s chilling description of the U.S.
As anyone who knows me personally knows, I am a huge fan of Glenn Greenwald, the former constitutional lawyer turned author and blogger for Salon. Unlike the usual pundit, Greenwald questions everything, does the investigative work journalists are often too lazy to do these days, and has a talent for seeing the bigger picture. Today, […]
Obecalp, that’s ‘placebo’ spelled backwards
Several studies, including a recent one based on drug companies’ own research, have concluded that antidepressants don’t work any better than placebos in the treatment of mild depression. (They do have measurable effects on cases of severe depression.) The problem of course is how to make use of the placebo effect in real life, since […]
You are about to be voted out of your own life
One of the frequent criticisms of psychology and psychiatry is their penchant for dreaming up new disorders or over-diagnosing existing ones. They are assisted in this by Big Pharma which is always trying to find new uses for existing drugs. Probably the most familiar example of this is the gross over-diagnosing of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity […]
Authentic torture
I’m sure you’ve read about “positive psychology.” You may have even read books by Martin Seligman, its principal theorist and advocate. Among them are Learned Optimism and Authentic Happiness. Now it turns out that Mr. Smiley has been cited in a new book for a most unhappy line of work. This is from psychoanalyst Stephen […]
Dick Cavett on depression
Dick Cavett, the former talk-show host who now writes a blog for the New York Times, has been discussing depression lately. Both of his posts have produced an avalanche of comments, reminding us again of how epidemic this disorder is. One of his more interesting observations, via Marlon Brando, is that the depressed often don’t […]
Suicide and impulsivity
The New York Times Magazine today features a story about suicide and impulsivity. Research shows that a high percentage of suicides can be averted by making the means of death difficult to employ. When barriers are installed on bridges to make suicide more difficult, for example, the suicide rate there drops precipitously. Most surprising, though, […]
The happiest place on earth is…
It’s not the U.S. In fact we don’t even rank in the top 20. No, the happiest people are the Danes. This piece from 60 Minutes explains why. My favorite moment is when one of the Danes suggests that if Americans want to be happy, they should give up the “American dream.” more about “CBS […]