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More copies of this ISBNThis title in other editionseBook editionsComfortably Numb: How Psychiatry Is Medicating a Nationby Charles Barber
Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments:Public perceptions of mental health issues have changed dramatically over the last fifteen years, and nowhere is this more apparent than in the rampant overmedication of ordinary Americans. In 2006, 227 million antidepressant prescriptions were dispensed in the United States, more than any other class of medication; in that same year, the United States accounted for 66 percent of the global antidepressant market. In Comfortably Numb, Charles Barber provides a much-needed context for this disturbing phenomenon. Barber explores the ways in which pharmaceutical companies first create the need for a drug and then rush to fill it, and he reveals that the increasing pressure Americans are under to medicate themselves (direct-to-consumer advertising, fewer nondrug therapeutic options, the promise of the quick fix, the blurring of distinction between mental illness and everyday problems). Most importantly, he convincingly argues that without an industry to promote them, non-pharmaceutical approaches that could have the potential to help millions are tragically overlooked by a nation that sees drugs as an instant cure for all emotional difficulties. Here is an unprecedented account of the impact of psychiatric medications on American culture and on Americans themselves. Book News Annotation:Contemporary society firmly believes in the quick fix. We want to
lose 40 pounds overnight, get our cholesterol down without changing
eating habits, and clean up the environment without giving up our
cars. Barber, who has worked in mental health for over 20 years,
examines this trend in psychiatry. Much has been made recently of the
"Prozac Nation" in which emotional problems are solved with a pill a
day. Like many health care professionals, Barber is alarmed by this.
He points out that new analytical treatments actually have a better
success rate for many conditions than medication. He also is
concerned about long-term side effects, both physical and social.
This book is intended for a general audience. Barber gives dramatic
examples to make his points and concludes with alternatives to over-
medication.
Annotation ©2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) About the AuthorCharles Barber was educated at Harvard and Columbia and worked for ten years in New York City shelters for the homeless mentally ill. The title essay of his first book, Songs from the Black Chair, won a 2006 Pushcart Prize. His work has appeared in The New York Times and Scientific American Mind, among other publications, and on NPR. He is a lecturer in psychiatry at the Yale University School of Medicine and lives in Connecticut with his family. What Our Readers Are SayingAdd a comment for a chance to win!Average customer rating based on 1 comment: 
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