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leapylees's review against another edition
4.0
Published in paperback in the UK as 'This Book will Change Your Mind about Mental Health: A journey into the heartland of psychiatry.'
eleanor_graceee's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
straaawbs's review against another edition
4.0
Between the hardback and paperback editions it looks like this book has had its name changed to This Book Will Change Your Mind About Mental Health.
And will it change your mind? That likely depends on the individual, but it’s definitely changed the way in which I’m going to think about some aspects of mental health going forward. For instance, Filer immediately cautions us to be critical of words like ‘schizophrenia’ given as it’s a word used to describe symptoms rather than an identifiable (yet) abnormality within the structure of the brain. Even mental health professionals can’t always agree whether someone has it or not. Filer uses a series of case studies to really bring a human face to this illness, some with happier endings than others. He then delves into the history of schizophrenia, how it can present, how it may be caused, and how it may be treated.
This is definitely a layperson’s book and it’s not very long but I really enjoyed some of the insights it had to offer. For instance, there’s a chapter which explores how delusions may have a lot more grounding in reality than one might think. Or that the antipsychotic effect of certain medications may be better described as a side-effect of the drugs’ other, less desirable main effects. (As an aside, I was once briefly put on an antipsychotic medication, although for reasons unrelated to psychosis. The effects of that medication were NOT fun. Sure these medications may alleviate symptoms of psychosis in some, but it couldn’t help but make me wonder at what cost.)
Always there’s a focus on the power of language and how the words we use shape how we think about things. That’s something any glance at a tabloid newspaper headline could tell you, but it’s important to be reminded now and again.
And will it change your mind? That likely depends on the individual, but it’s definitely changed the way in which I’m going to think about some aspects of mental health going forward. For instance, Filer immediately cautions us to be critical of words like ‘schizophrenia’ given as it’s a word used to describe symptoms rather than an identifiable (yet) abnormality within the structure of the brain. Even mental health professionals can’t always agree whether someone has it or not. Filer uses a series of case studies to really bring a human face to this illness, some with happier endings than others. He then delves into the history of schizophrenia, how it can present, how it may be caused, and how it may be treated.
This is definitely a layperson’s book and it’s not very long but I really enjoyed some of the insights it had to offer. For instance, there’s a chapter which explores how delusions may have a lot more grounding in reality than one might think. Or that the antipsychotic effect of certain medications may be better described as a side-effect of the drugs’ other, less desirable main effects. (As an aside, I was once briefly put on an antipsychotic medication, although for reasons unrelated to psychosis. The effects of that medication were NOT fun. Sure these medications may alleviate symptoms of psychosis in some, but it couldn’t help but make me wonder at what cost.)
Always there’s a focus on the power of language and how the words we use shape how we think about things. That’s something any glance at a tabloid newspaper headline could tell you, but it’s important to be reminded now and again.
lifeinpoetry's review against another edition
5.0
For a book by a non-schizophrenic on the topic I was happy to find this engaging, schizophrenics felt like people and not like problems to be medicated or shut away. What I'm still thinking about is the history of anti-psychotics, their initial use as anesthetics, then as tranquilizers, then rebranded. Then the author floated the idea that they could be the thing causing brain shrinkage in schizophrenics which I found alarming, but it just feels like you either live with symptoms or. . .
seeyf's review against another edition
4.0
Filer was a mental health nurse in his earlier career, and he begins the book by vividly recounting the first time he forcibly medicated a person against his will. This sets the course for a book about how medication and the biological-based model of schizophrenia is flawed and harmful to many patients compared to other alternatives such as cognitive behavioural therapy (though Filer also agrees they are useful for some patients).
This is an argument also made by Robert Whitaker in his books Anatomy of an Epidemic and Mad in America. While Whitaker dwells more in the history of how modern psychiatry came to be (and thus exposing the many injustices it has waged over the past century or so) and is more critical of it, Filer focuses on its current state in the UK and the US. He also augments his narrative with anecdotes from mental health patients he has interviewed who give varying perspectives on the usefulness of treatment and how society might better support them. These add a human touch and make the topics he covers more relatable.
Overall, this is a good introduction to the many issues surrounding mental health, and perhaps an eye-opener to readers unfamiliar with the subject. The underlying theme is that mental illnesses should always be seen in a wider context that includes social inequality (poverty is the strongest predictor of schizophrenia), discrimination of marginalised groups (homosexuality and drapetomania - the desire of a slave to free captivity - were once categorised as mental disorders), diverging incentives between patients and the medical-industrial complex (drugs marketed as anti-psychotic but only serve to suppress mental activity temporarily to facilitate quicker discharge of patients) and many others. My only criticism is that I was hoping to learn more after having read Whitaker’s books, but Filer mostly covers similar ground, albeit in a friendlier and more personal manner.
This is an argument also made by Robert Whitaker in his books Anatomy of an Epidemic and Mad in America. While Whitaker dwells more in the history of how modern psychiatry came to be (and thus exposing the many injustices it has waged over the past century or so) and is more critical of it, Filer focuses on its current state in the UK and the US. He also augments his narrative with anecdotes from mental health patients he has interviewed who give varying perspectives on the usefulness of treatment and how society might better support them. These add a human touch and make the topics he covers more relatable.
Overall, this is a good introduction to the many issues surrounding mental health, and perhaps an eye-opener to readers unfamiliar with the subject. The underlying theme is that mental illnesses should always be seen in a wider context that includes social inequality (poverty is the strongest predictor of schizophrenia), discrimination of marginalised groups (homosexuality and drapetomania - the desire of a slave to free captivity - were once categorised as mental disorders), diverging incentives between patients and the medical-industrial complex (drugs marketed as anti-psychotic but only serve to suppress mental activity temporarily to facilitate quicker discharge of patients) and many others. My only criticism is that I was hoping to learn more after having read Whitaker’s books, but Filer mostly covers similar ground, albeit in a friendlier and more personal manner.