false 1582229 1 Public perceptions of mental health issues have changed dramatically over the last fifteen years, and nowhere is this more apparent than in the rampant overmedication of ordinary Americans. In 2006, 227 million antidepressant prescriptions were dispensed in the United States, more than any other class of medication; in that same year, the United States accounted for 66 percent of the global antidepressant market. In <i>Comfortably Numb, </i>Charles Barber provides a much-needed context for this disturbing phenomenon.<br><br>Barber explores the ways in which pharmaceutical companies first create the need for a drug and then rush to fill it, and he reveals that the increasing pressure Americans are under to medicate themselves (direct-to-consumer advertising, fewer nondrug therapeutic options, the promise of the quick fix, the blurring of distinction between mental illness and everyday problems). Most importantly, he convincingly argues that without an industry to promote them, non-pharmaceutical approaches that could have the potential to help millions are tragically overlooked by a nation that sees drugs as an instant cure for all emotional difficulties.<br><br>Here is an unprecedented account of the impact of psychiatric medications on American culture and on Americans themselves. 1575087 5 2 2008 Comfortably Numb: How Psychiatry Medicated a Nation total:71|5:19|4:25|3:19|2:8| 71 268 182 29 3 0 false false Sat Jul 04 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Jul 04 14:29:33 -0700 2009 Sat Jul 04 14:38:52 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sun Jan 04 20:02:14 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 04 20:02:14 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Oct 01 17:35:19 -0700 2008 Wed Oct 01 17:42:16 -0700 2008
Second half is almost an entirely distinct book, presenting a positive (somewhat uncritical -- heavily bas...more...]]> 5 0 false false Mon Aug 18 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Apr 17 13:59:24 -0700 2008 Mon Aug 18 09:00:01 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Aug 19 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Aug 09 22:05:51 -0700 2008 Sun Aug 24 19:44:57 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 22 19:00:47 -0700 2009 Fri Jul 03 14:45:29 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Jun 29 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Jan 22 09:22:28 -0800 2009 Fri Jul 03 21:53:29 -0700 2009 1
I was hoping for a more in-depth look at why Americans are so eager (or at least so willing) to take psychotropic medications without much thought. Barber touches on it ...more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu Jul 10 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Aug 17 16:30:43 -0700 2008 Tue Apr 14 06:05:15 -0700 2009
An interesting, almost investigative work as to the fall of psychotherapy and the rise of psychiatry as our nation's preferred way of 'dealing' with, not 'treating' mental health issues.

The book offers great insigh...more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Apr 14 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Mar 19 06:47:59 -0700 2009 Tue Apr 14 06:04:51 -0700 2009
The second half focuses on using methods such as Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, ...more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Fri Jan 23 11:25:53 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 23 11:27:29 -0800 2009 5 0 false false Fri Jul 24 06:14:33 -0700 2009 Fri Jul 24 06:19:58 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Sun Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Fri Jul 10 10:43:43 -0700 2009 Fri Jul 10 10:45:30 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Sun Mar 02 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Fri Mar 07 00:41:31 -0800 2008 Fri Mar 07 00:45:21 -0800 2008 more...]]> 0 0 false false Fri Oct 02 19:05:05 -0700 2009 Fri Oct 02 19:06:12 -0700 2009 2 0 false false Sat Mar 22 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Mar 08 21:24:32 -0800 2008 Thu Mar 27 19:39:21 -0700 2008 more...]]> 2 0 false false Thu Apr 17 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Feb 29 08:26:45 -0800 2008 Mon Apr 21 06:57:45 -0700 2008 more...]]> 0 0 false false Mon Oct 26 13:23:53 -0700 2009 Mon Oct 26 13:24:25 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Sun Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Jun 30 21:07:04 -0700 2008 Tue Jul 01 13:02:26 -0700 2008 The author gives an excellent account of how many of today's commonly used prescription psychiatric medications have affected each of us, sometimes for the good but mostly for the bad. The second half of the book is devoted to actually what is working. A good book for anyone to read who is in...more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Aug 20 07:11:25 -0700 2008 Wed Aug 20 07:15:17 -0700 2008
I have no way of verifying his facts and quality of research, but he makes a coherent and compelling thesis without untowards amounts of convolution and stretching. He helpfully...more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Apr 06 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Mar 27 15:24:01 -0700 2008 Sun Apr 06 11:09:31 -0700 2008