Description

Few topics are as controversial as mental illness and its proper treatment. Do the drugs work? Do people really get better? Does talk therapy work? Are mental illnesses really biological illnesses? Science writer Kas Thomas tackles these and other topics in a provocative book based partly on personal experience (Thomas’s experience with bipolar disorder, and his wife’s experience with schizoaffective disorder) and partly on scientific research. Over 300 footnotes provide entry points to the literature on depression, dysthymia, bipolar illness, schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, alcoholism, and other disorders, with pointers to the latest research, also, on antidepressants, antipsychotics, mood stabilizers, electroconvulsive therapy, transcranial magnetic stimulation, ketamine therapy, and alternative therapies (with special advice on how to choose a therapist). Along the way, Thomas describes what it’s like to be confined to a full-lockdown mental health rehab facility; what it takes to deal with a suicidal spouse; how to recognize an adverse drug reaction; how to deal with someone who’s having a psychotic break; and much more. Of Two Minds offers an honest, no-holds-barred look at a field in crisis (psychiatry)-and tells the personal story of a romance that endures in the face of ongoing serious illness.

Author: Thomas, Kas

Topic: Psychology
Media: Book
ISBN: 1507753926
Language: English
Pages: 386