Tag Archives: psychiatry

The Vision Of Vilazodone And Vortioxetine

I. One of psychiatry’s many embarrassments is how many of our drugs get discovered by accident. They come from random plants or shiny rocks or stuff Alexander Shulgin invented to get high. But every so often, somebody tries to do … Continue reading

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Give Yourself Gout For Fame And Profit

I. Actually, no. You should not do this. Most of you were probably already not doing this, and I support your decision. But if you want a 2000 word essay on some reasons to consider this, and then some other … Continue reading

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Depression: The Olfactory Perspective

Depressed people have worse sense of smell, and people with worse sense of smell are more likely to get depressed. Kohli 2016 tries to figure out what’s going on. They review six studies testing how well depressed people can smell … Continue reading

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SSCJC: Real World Depression Measurement

The largest non-pharma antidepressant trial ever conducted just confirmed what we already knew: scientists love naming things after pandas. We already had PANDAS (Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcus) and PANDA (Proton ANnhilator At DArmstadt). But the latest in … Continue reading

Suicide Hotspots Of The World

[Content warning: suicide, rape, child abuse. Thanks to MC for some help with research.] I. Guyana has the highest national suicide rate in the world, 30 people per year per 100,000. Guyana has poverty and crime and those things, but … Continue reading

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Contra Contra Contra Caplan On Psych

I. In 2006, Bryan Caplan wrote a critique of psychiatry. In 2015, I responded. Now it’s 2020, and Bryan has a counterargument. I’m going to break the cycle of delay and respond now, and maybe we’ll finish this argument before … Continue reading

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Why Doctors Think They’re The Best

Ninety percent of drivers think they’re above-average drivers, ninety percent of professors think they’re above-average professors etc. The relevant studies are paywalled, so I don’t know if I should trust them. Our recent discussion of therapy books would make more … Continue reading

Symptom, Condition, Cause

On my recent post on autism, several people chimed in to say that “autism” wasn’t a unitary/homogenous category. It probably lumps together many different conditions with many different causes. It’s useless to speculate on the characteristics of “autism” until it … Continue reading

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Book Review: All Therapy Books

[Related: CBT In The Water Supply, Scientific Freud, Book Review: Method Of Levels, Different Worlds] I. All therapy books start with a claim that their form of therapy will change everything. Previous forms of therapy have required years or even … Continue reading

Autism And Intelligence: Much More Than You Wanted To Know

[Thanks to Marco DG for proofreading and offering suggestions] I. Several studies have shown a genetic link between autism and intelligence; genes that contribute to autism risk also contribute to high IQ. But studies show autistic people generally have lower … Continue reading