July 2011 - Knowledge is Necessity

Stigma-Buster of the Year: Nassir Ghaemi

When times are good and the ship of state only needs to sail straight, mentally healthy people function well as political leaders. But in times of crisis and tumult, those who are mentally abnormal, even ill, become the greatest leaders. We might call...

Published Sat, Jul 30 2011 3:44 AM by Knowledge Is Necessity

Filed under: John McManamy, A First-Rate Madness, stigma, Nassir Ghaemi

Here's to the Crazy Ones

An Apple ad from 1997. The crazy ones: Albert Einstein, Bob Dylan, Martin Luther King, Richard Branson, John Lennon, Bucky Fuller, Thomas Edison, Muhammad Ali, Ted Turner, Maria Callas, Mahatma Gandhi, Amelia Earhart, Alfred Hitchcock, Martha Graham...

Published Sat, Jul 30 2011 2:10 AM by Knowledge Is Necessity

Filed under: Crazy, John McManamy, Apple

Consumer? Call Me Crazy, Instead

Last year, here on Knowledge is Necessity, I ran a poll that sought your opinion on the term, “crazy.” Contrary to conventional wisdom, only one in four of you replied that “the term is highly stigmatic.” By contrast, four in ten let me know, “it’s better...

Published Thu, Jul 28 2011 10:02 AM by Knowledge Is Necessity

Filed under: Crazy, John McManamy, consumer

McMan's First Annual (Or Whenever) Psychiatric Exasperater Awards

One of the things I love about my job is the challenge of chasing a moving target. There are no certainties. Every idea is on the table. In place of what we now call psychiatry, a whole new science of the mind is beginning to emerge. A quick scroll through...

Published Thu, Jul 28 2011 9:03 AM by Knowledge Is Necessity

Filed under: John McManamy, Allen Frances, psychiatric exasperater awards, Andrew Nierenberg, Stuart Kaplan, Peter Kramer

The Child Bipolar Diagnosis is Under Attack - Yet Again

It’s the silly season again, when people who attack the child bipolar diagnosis come out in force. Trust me, any time a child is labeled with a very serious lifetime psychiatric condition is always cause for concern, but the operative word is “concern...

Published Thu, Jul 28 2011 1:55 AM by Knowledge Is Necessity

Filed under: John McManamy, child bipolar

Eric Kandel - A Nobel's Life

Yesterday, I posted a piece - McMan's First Annual (Or Whenever) Psychiatric Exasperaters Awards - that called out four very prominent (and intellectually bankrupt) psychiatrists for their flagrant disregard of the facts. But I also made reference...

Published Tue, Jul 26 2011 4:16 AM by Knowledge Is Necessity

Filed under: John McManamy, Eric Kandel, Nobel Prize

The Dimensional Side to Personality

We have been looking at Take Two (from June 21) in the DSM-5’s proposed update to personality disorders. In Take One (from Feb 2010), the DSM-5 attempted to combine categories (as in “which one?) with dimensions (as in “how much?”) into a hybrid system...

Published Wed, Jul 20 2011 5:11 PM by Knowledge Is Necessity

Filed under: John McManamy, Allen Frances, personality disorders, DSM-5

Take Two on Personality Disorders

Yesterday I reported on the DSM-5’s second go at revising the various diagnoses classified under Personality Disorders. The big issue is incorporating the concept of “dimensionality” into what to date has been a “categorical” system. Category is all about...

Published Wed, Jul 20 2011 12:30 PM by Knowledge Is Necessity

Filed under: John McManamy, DSM-5, personality disorder

Personality Disorders - The DSM-5 Has Another Go

On June 21, the DSM-5 workgroup responsible for bringing order to personality disorders substantially changed what it originally posted on the DSM-5 site back in Feb, 2010. Most of us could see this coming. As the workgroup explained in its most recent...

Published Tue, Jul 19 2011 10:37 AM by Knowledge Is Necessity

Filed under: John McManamy, personality disorders, DSM-5

A Day at Stand Down San Diego

Yesterday, my didgeridoo took me to Stand Down San Diego, which is a three-day event offering sanctuary and services to homeless vets. Back in 1981, a group of Vietnam vets organized Vietnam Veterans of San Diego, now Veterans Village of San Diego (VVSD...

Published Mon, Jul 18 2011 1:01 PM by Knowledge Is Necessity

Filed under: John McManamy, Stand Down, Jon Nachison

John Gartner on Treating Hypomania

On his latest blog piece on Psychology Today - Malpractice Is the Standard of Care When Medicating Hypomanics - John Gartner (pictured here) cited me twice. Actually, Dr Gartner was my prime influence in my rethinking of hypomania, as this extract from...

Published Thu, Jul 14 2011 11:58 AM by Knowledge Is Necessity

Filed under: John McManamy, treating hypomania, John Gartner

Jill Bolte Taylor Discusses the Brain and Recovery

“Am I safe?” That is your brain’s bottom line, the question - the one question - that your temporal lobe, amygdala, and hippocampus are asking, moment by moment. When you’re not safe, learning and memory turn off. The amygdala, which mediates fear and...

Published Thu, Jul 14 2011 3:42 AM by Knowledge Is Necessity

Filed under: John McManamy, Jill Bolte Taylor, recovery, brain

Peter Kramer and Antidepressants - Oy!

I was going to have a relaxing evening tonight, recovering from my trip to Chicago and a very busy four days at the NAMI national convention, plus two days in airports. I was saving tomorrow for gradually settling back into my blog with some of cool stuff...

Published Tue, Jul 12 2011 4:51 PM by Knowledge Is Necessity

Filed under: John McManamy, Peter Kramer, antidepressants

Pictures of NAMI

The NAMI National Convention in Chicago wrapped up last night. I'm headed out back to San Diego later today and will have a lot more to report when I get back. In the meantime, three photo highlights ... Left: Two days ago. I couldn't believe...

Published Sun, Jul 10 2011 12:20 AM by Knowledge Is Necessity

Filed under: John McManamy, NAMI Convention

Dispatch From the National NAMI Convention

It’s 4 AM in Chicago and I can’t get back to sleep. I have a full day ahead of me at the national NAMI convention. Rewind to yesterday ... I stroll into the convention hotel late morning, after a long and restorative sleep. I’m demonstrating my didgeridoo...

Published Thu, Jul 07 2011 8:24 PM by Knowledge Is Necessity

Filed under: John McManamy, NAMI Convention, Pete Earley