The Quest for Mental Health: A Tale of Science, Medicine, Scandal, Sorrow, and Mass Society (Cambridge Essential Histories)

This is the story of one of the most far-reaching human endeavors in history: the quest for mental well-being. From its origins in the eighteenth century to its wide scope in the early twenty-first, this search for emotional health and welfare has cost billions. In the name of mental health, millions around the world have been tranquilized, institutionalized, psycho-analyzed, sterilized, lobotomized, and even euthanized. Yet at the dawn of the new millennium, reported rates of depression and anxiety are unprecedentedly high. Drawing on years of field research, Ian Dowbiggin argues that if the quest for emotional well-being has reached a crisis point in the twenty-first century, it is because mass society is enveloped by cultures of therapism and consumerism, which increasingly advocate bureaucratic and managerial approaches to health and welfare. Over time, stake-holders such as governments, educators, drug companies, the media, the insurance industry, the courts, the helping professions, and a public whose taste for treatment seems insatiable have transformed the campaign to achieve mental health into a movement that has come to mean all things to virtually all people. As Dowbiggin shows, unless systemic changes take place, the quest for mental health is likely to make populations more miserable before they become happier. Cover 1 Half-title 3 Series-title 5 Title 7 Copyright 8 Contents 9 Acknowledgments 11 Introduction 13 1 A New Egalitarianism 20 THE ENGLISH MALADY 20 NERVOUSNESS 22 THE SOLITARY WALKER 24 UNIVERSAL MEDICINE 26 MEDICAL POLICE 28 MORAL RESTRAINT 31 GOOD ORDER AND DISCIPLINE 34 THE BIRTH OF PSYCHIATRY 38 CHIARUGI 40 THE PARIS SCHOOL 41 SCHOOLING THE PASSIONS 42 PAWING HEADS 44 2 Bricks and Mortar Humanity 49 GOVERNMENT OF MINDS 49 PHILANTHROPY AND GENERAL POLICE 51 GROWTH SPURT 54 MORAL ENTREPRENEURS 57 THAT NOBLE ORGAN 60 BREAKDOWN 62 FAST COACH TO THE MADHOUSE 63 A SWEEPING EMERGENCY 66 DEGENERACY 68 A RIGHT TO BE SICK 72 ANTI-PSYCHIATRY 77 ELIZABETH PACKARD 80 3 Mental Hygiene 83 FAMILY MATTERS 84 ORDINARY LIVING 87 CHURCH AND PSYCHOTHERAPY 89 ESCAPE FROM MATERIALISM 91 A FEELING OF SELF 95 VIRTUOUS HEALTH 97 TALKING CURES 99 PROTECTING SANITY 104 PENSION WARS 107 MASTERS OF THE WORLD 111 EUGENICS 113 STERILIZATION WITHOUT UNSEXING 117 EUGENIC WELFARE 121 LESSER OF TWO EVILS 123 SHOCK THERAPY 127 LAST RESORT 129 4 A Bottomless Pit 144 SYKEWAR 145 SAVED BY PSYCHOLOGY 148 THE AFFLUENT SOCIETY 151 TEAMWORK 153 MOOD MEDICINE 157 PEACE OF MIND PILLS 160 PSYCHEDELIC MEDICINE 163 PSYCHIC DRIVING 164 ANTI-PSYCHIATRY 166 UNSOUND MINDS 170 NIGHTMARES OF DEPENDENCE 172 PSYCHO-POLITICS 176 PATIENTS INTO CONSUMERS 178 PROZAC NATIONS 181 ONE WORLD, ONE PSYCHIATRY 184 A VAST FAILURE 188 OVERKILL AND OVERSELL 190 5 Emotional Welfare 195 CONSPIRACISM 198 THE UPJOHN ILLNESS 200 MILKING THE SYSTEM 201 VICTIMIZATION 203 MEMORY WARS 204 GENDER 206 THERAPEUTIC GOVERNANCE 208 Notes 213 Introduction 213 Chapter 1. A New Egalitarianism 214 Chapter 2. Bricks and Mortar Humanity 215 Chapter 3. Mental Hygiene 217 Chapter 4. A Bottomless Pit 221 Chapter 5. Emotional Welfare 225 Bibliography 229 Journals 229 Books 229 Index 239 "This is the story of one of the most far-reaching human endeavors in history: the quest for mental well-being. From its origins in the eighteenth century to its wide scope in the early twenty-first, this search for emotional health and welfare has cost billions. In the name of mental health, millions around the world have been tranquilized, institutionalized, psycho-analyzed, sterilized, lobotomized and even euthanized. Yet at the dawn of the new millennium, reported rates of depression and anxiety are unprecedentedly high. Drawing on years of field research, Ian Dowbiggin argues that if the quest for emotional well-being has reached a crisis point in the twenty-first century, it is because mass society is enveloped by cultures of therapism and consumerism, which increasingly advocate bureaucratic and managerial approaches to health and welfare"-- Résumé de l'éditeur "This is the story of one of the most far-reaching human endeavors in history: the quest for mental well-being. From its origins in the eighteenth century to its wide scope in the early twenty-first, this search for emotional health and welfare has cost billions. In the name of mental health, millions around the world have been tranquilized, institutionalized, psycho-analyzed, sterilized, lobotomized and even euthanized. Yet at the dawn of the new millennium, reported rates of depression and anxiety are unprecedentedly high. Drawing on years of field research, Ian Dowbiggin argues that if the quest for emotional well-being has reached a crisis point in the twenty-first century, it is because mass society is enveloped by cultures of therapism and consumerism, which increasingly advocate bureaucratic and managerial approaches to health and welfare"-- Provided by publisher Machine generated contents note: 1. Introduction; 2. A new egalitarianism; 3. Bricks and mortar humanity; 4. Mental hygiene; 5. A bottomless pit; 6. Emotional welfare.