Posted by raisinb on November 29, 2011, at 18:38:54
In reply to Has anyone read 'anatomy of an epidemic', posted by rculater on November 22, 2011, at 13:49:19
I find the argument pretty convincing, and if I think about this seriously, it throws the last several years of my life into a whole new light.
I am still digesting the implications, but the section on antidepressants producing bipolar confirmed something I had suspected for a long time. The historical comparisons--ie, the disability claims have doubled and tripled since the sixties, even though there are so many new treatments--are very strong, too, though there are many ways of explaining that.
In grad school I was trained in a school of thought called cultural studies, which assumes that every formation--disease, art, architecture, whatever--is produced and maintained by a culture as long as it serves certain needs. My intellectual leanings are still in that direction. Anatomy of an Epidemic makes me think about those theories again.
poster:raisinb
thread:1003358
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20111120/msgs/1003907.html