Medicating The Split Mind

Split Mind My Life with Schizophrenia By: Danny Roberts In this colorful memoir, Danny Roberts takes readers on a hilarious, thought-provoking, and occasionally tragic journey through his life. From stories of his disruptiveness as a youth to his entrance into the Salt Lake City punk scene in his teens to learning how to manage his schizophrenia, Roberts writes with an openness and honesty that is much more than the facts of his life — it’s an emotional odyssey. Roberts does not shy away from writing about any aspect of his life, including his brief time in jail. Split Mind: My Life with Schizophrenia also provides a look at the mental health system in the United States through one man’s experiences.

A reference book and memoir hybrid, this enlightening account provides a general understanding of Schizophrenia and offers a new perspective on mental illness. Addressing social problems such as suicidal behavior, societal stigma, and the right to refuse medical treatment, this guide demonstrates that patients have common personal struggles. A firsthand account of the disease, this record also encourages political and social policymakers to provide more efficient modes of health care.

Most people experience themselves as two sided, but have you ever wondered if there are really two minds in each of us? Schiffer gives us overwhelming evidence that each side of our brain possesses an autonomous, distinct personality. This brilliant, provocative book illustrates how the interaction of these two minds actually determines our psychological nature and the emotional problems we may experience. OF TWO MINDS transforms our understanding of how and why we experience emotional distress, and suggests a path to a more harmonious relationship between our two selves.

We are witnessing what many call "the biological revolution in psychiatry"--a revolution that is as controversial as it is potentially beneficial. Phychoanalysis as pioneered by Freud and Jung, along with all the subsequent forms of talk therapy, is at risk of becoming obsolete. Using the latest technology, modern medical scientists believe they can now pinpoint the natural biological and chemical causes of most mental illnesses. The result is a new class of mind medications that includes drugs such as Prozac and Zoloft. These drugs alter the function of the neurons and synapses of the human brain and, in the process, can dramatically change people's personalities in ways we don't yet fully understand. What does the future hold? - Can drugs really cure depression and anxiety?If so, should we use them for this purpose? - Who should be medicated and who shouldn't? Who decides? - What is the future of talk therapy? - Will the discovery of the genetic causes of mental illnesses lead to genetic experimentation and engineering? Scientific American Focus: Medication of the Mind offers a concise and comprehensive overview of all sides of the debate; in addition, it fully explains basic brain science and the nature of mental illness.

Do today's antidepressants really deliver what the pharmaceutical companies tout and what users expect?

In Blaming the Brain Elliott Valenstein exposes the many weaknesses inherent in the scientific arguments supporting the widely accepted theory that biochemical imbalances are the main cause of mental illness. He lays bare the commercial motives of drug companies and their huge stake in expanding their markets. This provocative book will force patients, practitioners, and prescribers alike to rethink the causes of mental illness and the methods by which we treat it.

Jenni Ogden's case-study based textbook includes 2 chapters on basic neuroanatomy and the foundations of neuropsychology with the bulk of the text covering different disorders relating to brain disease and injury.