Month: August 2005

The History of Psychiatric Mistreatment, Interview with Robert Whitaker

Features   In Dialogue
The New York Times, in reporting on the treatment of Soviet dissidents, said giving these neuroleptic drugs practically makes a person a vegetable. The Times said it was a form of a “spiritual gas chamber.” Then they’ll cover a trial about forced drug treatment of a mentally ill person in the U.S. and report the drugs are known to be widely efficacious.

Oral History from the Seniors of St. Mary's Center

Arts and Culture
The following oral histories of seniors Joe Batiste, Darlene Thomas, Milas Hackett, David Fobroy, Henry Thompson, and Richard Mingus were compiled by Trena Cleland to document the inspiring life stories of poor and homeless seniors who have been helped by St. Mary's Center in downtown Oakland.

Wellness and Recovery or the Same Old Sickness?

Commentary
It is clear that for all my compassionate concern about the social injustice that is homelessness, I need to put more focus on my own wellness and recovery — physically, emotionally and mentally. The shift in mental health services delivery is to look more closely at the holistic link between mental, emotional and physical health, with a growing concern about diet, exercise, and the need to address physical ills facing the poor such as obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and asthma, often linked to issues of environmental racism.

Zyprexa: A Prescription for Diabetes, Disease and Early Death

Features
On June 8, 2005, Eli Lilly & Co. announced that it had agreed to pay $690 million to settle some 8,000 lawsuits filed by people who reported that taking the antipsychotic drug Zyprexa resulted in unwanted weight gain, diabetes, other metabolic diseases, and death.