Doctors Propose Revisions to DSM Manual

Staff / Truthdig Feb 10, 2010 What ends up (or doesn't) in the DSM manual, otherwise known as the bible of psychiatry, can have a major impact on patients, doctors and, of course, Big Pharma. So, it's no surprise that the debates and discussions around what will be included in the DSM's fifth edition are already involved and intense, some three years before the guidebook is due to be released. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Americans Double Down on Antidepressants

Staff / Truthdig Aug 4, 2009 The number of Americans who are exploring the concept of better living through antidepressant chemistry nearly doubled in the decade from 1996 to 2005, according to a study published in Archives of General Psychiatry -- and that was well before the economic meltdown. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Psychiatrists Chart a Disorderly Territory

Staff / Truthdig Dec 19, 2008 Drawing the lines between quirky behavior and potential mental disorder can be, well, a sketchy business, but psychiatrists working on the fifth iteration of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V) are doing just that right now, sparking debates within and outside of their community about possible new additions to the manual. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Faux Attack ‘Victim’ Ordered to Undergo Counseling

Staff / Truthdig Oct 31, 2008 Ashley Todd, the 20-year-old McCain campaign volunteer who admitted that she had made up her story about being mugged by a 6' 4" black man who carved a "B" into her face on Oct. 22, has been released from jail under the condition that she undergo psychiatric treatment. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Shock Therapy Buzzes On

Staff / Truthdig Aug 7, 2008 Tens of thousands of the desperately depressed sign up every year in the U.S. to have electricity-induced grand mal seizures even though nobody has ever figured out why the treatment works or how severe the associated brain damage is. The good news: You no longer have to be awake, and muscle relaxants now keep your bones from breaking. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Step Away From the Blackberry

Staff / Truthdig Mar 25, 2008 There's a new kind of addiction out there, to which many of us are currently vulnerable, and from which some of us may be suffering right this moment: According to one Dr. Jerald Block, writing in the American Journal of Psychiatry, excessive e-mailing and text messaging could be a form of mental illness. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )