Unbalanced Mind

by Julian Leff

"Does the crooked gene give rise to the crooked thought? Satirical aphorisms apart, the revolution in molecular genetics has indeed given rise to a heady optimism that biology will soon explain all disturbances of mind and behaviour." In this book, Julian Leff, a world leading psychiatrist, counters this reductionist stance. Instead he emphasizes what is known about the psychological, social and cultural factors underlying mental illness.

Genres: Nonfiction, Psychology

192 pages, Paperback

First published October 10, 2001

Reviews

[Francis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Psychiatrist Julian Leff is scientifically looking at whether the environment plays an impact on mental illness; in particular schizophrenia and depression. The book covers much of the research done on both depression and schizophrenia. Much of the research has been done by Leff himself. Although I read the entire book, I was more interested in what he had to say about depression, as that is a mental illness that I suffer from. He gives research citing how antidepressants are viewed much more favorably by doctors than by patients. After having been, and continually am on numerous ones, I personally see the benefit of antidepressants. However, he does briefly get into the stigma that you have by having a mental illness. Interesting to note is that, at the time of publishing (2001), there has yet to be any brain scans that have shown neurological signs for either depression or schizophrenia. Although clinical depression involves an imbalance of chemicals to the brain, in particular serotonin and norepinephrine, brain scans do not yet show this. Overall I found certain chapters quite interesting, while in others Leff had a lot of hypothesis with very little to back up his statements. 3.5 stars.