Mad in America : bad science, bad medicine, and the enduring mistreatment of the mentally ill

In Mad in America, medical journalist Robert Whitaker reveals an astounding truth: Schizophrenics in the United States fare worse than those in poor countries, and quite possibly worse than asylum patients did in the early nineteenth century. Indeed, Whitaker argues, modern treatments for the severely mentally ill are just old medicine in new bottles and we as a society are deluded about their efficacy. Tracing over three centuries of "cures" for madness, Whitaker shows how medical therapies-from "spinning" or "chilling" patients in colonial times to more modern methods of electroshock, lobotomy, and drugs-have been used to silence patients and dull their minds, deepening their suffering and impairing their hope of recovery. Based on exhaustive research culled from old patient medical records, historical accounts, and government documents, this haunting book raises important questions about our obligations to the mad, what it means to be "insane," and what we value most about the human mind. A riveting social and medical history of madness in America, from the seventeenth century to today.

In Mad in America, medical journalist Robert Whitaker reveals an astounding truth: Schizophrenics in the United States currently fare worse than patients in the world's poorest countries, and quite possibly worse than asylum patients did in the early nineteenth century. With a muckraker's passion, Whitaker argues that modern treatments for the severely mentally ill are just old medicine in new bottles, and that we as a society are deeply deluded about their efficacy. Tracing over three centuries of "cures" for madness, Whitaker shows how medical therapies have been used to silence patients and dull their minds. He tells of the eighteenth- and nineteenth-century practices of "spinning" the insane, extracting their teeth, ovaries, and intestines, and submerging patients in freezing water. The "cures" in the 1920s and 1930s were no less barbaric as eugenic attitudes toward the mentally ill led to brain-damaging lobotomies and electroshock therapy. Perhaps Whitaker's most damning revelation, however, is his report of how drug companies in the 1980s and 1990s skewed their studies in an effort to prove the effectiveness of their products. Based on exhaustive research culled from old patient medical records, historical accounts, numerous interviews, and hundreds of government documents, Mad in America raises important questions about our obligations to the mad, what it means to be "insane," and what we value most about the human mind.

Author Biography: Robert Whitaker's articles on the mentally ill and the drug industry have won several awards, including the George Polk Award for Medical Writing and the National Association of Science Writers' award for best magazine article. A series he co-wrote for the Boston Globe was named a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 1998. He lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

"In Mad in America, medical journalist Robert Whitaker reveals an astounding truth: Schizophrenics in the United States currently fare worse than patients in the world's poorest countries, and quite possibly worse than asylum patients did in the early 19th century. With a muckraker's passion, Whitaker argues that modern treatments for the severely mentally ill are just old medicine in new bottles, and that we as a society are deeply deluded about their efficacy.". "Tracing over three centuries of "cures" for madness, Whitaker shows how medical therapies have been used to silence patients and dull their minds. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the insane were routinely "spun" until they grew so weak and dizzy they couldn't move, subjected to systematic surgical extractions of their teeth, ovaries and intestines, and often submerged in water or chilled to the point of hypothermia.". "Based on exhaustive research culled from old patient medical records, historical accounts, numerous interviews, and hundreds of government documents, Mad in America at last gives voice to generations of patients, demonstrating how the "cures" for severe mental illness have regularly served to deepen their suffering and impair their hope of recovery."--BOOK JACKET. An updated edition of the classic history of schizophrenia in America, which gives voice to generations of patients who suffered through'cures'that only deepened their suffering and impaired their hope of recoverySchizophrenics in the United States currently fare worse than patients in the world's poorest countries. In Mad in America, medical journalist Robert Whitaker argues that modern treatments for the severely mentally ill are just old medicine in new bottles, and that we as a society are deeply deluded about their efficacy.The widespread use of lobotomies in the 1920s and 1930s gave way in the 1950s to electroshock and a wave of new drugs. In what is perhaps Whitaker's most damning revelation, Mad in America examines how drug companies in the 1980s and 1990s skewed their studies to prove that new antipsychotic drugs were more effective than the old, while keeping patients in the dark about dangerous side effects.A haunting, deeply compassionate book -- updated with a new introduction and prologue bringing in the latest medical treatments and trends -- Mad in America raises important questions about our obligations to the mad, the meaning of'insanity,'and what we value most about the human mind. COVER 1 CONTENTS 13 PREFACE TO THE REVISED EDITION 15 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 19 THE ORIGINAL BEDLAM 21 1 BEDLAM IN MEDICINE 23 2 THE HEALING HAND OF KINDNESS 39 THE DARKEST ERA 59 3 UNFIT TO BREED 61 4 TOO MUCH INTELLIGENCE 93 5 BRAIN DAMAGE AS MIRACLE THERAPY 127 BACK TO BEDLAM 159 6 MODERN- DAY ALCHEMY 161 7 THE PATIENTS’ REALITY 181 8 THE STORY WE TOLD OURSELVES 215 9 SHAME OF A NATION 231 10 THE NUREMBERG CODE DOESN’T APPLY HERE 253 MAD MEDICINE TODAY 271 11 NOT SO ATYPICAL 273 EPILOGUE 307 AFTERWORD TO THE REVISED EDITION 313 NOTES 325 INDEX 357 Tracing over three centuries of "cures" for madness, Robert Whitaker here shows how medical therapies have been used to silence patients and dull their minds, deepening their suffering and impairing their hope of recovery. Documents more than three centuries of cures for madness, calling into question society's responsibilities to the mentally ill, what it means to be "insane," and what Americans value most about the human mind. A VISITOR TO THE "mad" wards of Pennsylvania Hospital at the turn of the nineteenth century would have found the halls astir with an air of reform.