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Schizophrenia: Medicine's Mystery - Society's Shame
Written by a medical writer and family member of someone suffering from schizophrenia, this book outlines all of the issues involved with schizophrenia and its treatment including stigma, history, causes, physiological changes in the brain, and best treatments. It is an ideal reference and support for family members and others interested in this disease. It is also suitable as supplementary reading for students in health care fields (including medicine and nursing), psychology, social work and any occupation that needs solid information about schizophrenia. The book is recommended by the World Fellowship for Schizophrenia and Allied Disorders on its website.
- GenresPsychology
188 pages, Paperback
First published April 30, 2008
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About the author
Marvin Ross
19 books10 followersI am a rather eclectic writer and began with books on humor starting with Cover Your Ass or How to Survive in a Government Bureaucracy using the name Bureaucrat X. That was in 1977 and was followed by two humor books on parenting and then a humor book on pets.
I then switched to serious medical writing with a book on Alzheimer's Disease and then one on eyes.
Earlier this year, I brought out my book on schizophrenia and turned to publishing. In addition to that book published by my company, Bridgeross Communications, I am bringing out two novels by David Laing Dawson, a humor book on parenting and a reissue of the expanded pet book to be called THE ORIGINAL REIGNING CATS AND DOGS: A HUMOROUS LOOK AT PETS AND THEIR OWNERS
I then switched to serious medical writing with a book on Alzheimer's Disease and then one on eyes.
Earlier this year, I brought out my book on schizophrenia and turned to publishing. In addition to that book published by my company, Bridgeross Communications, I am bringing out two novels by David Laing Dawson, a humor book on parenting and a reissue of the expanded pet book to be called THE ORIGINAL REIGNING CATS AND DOGS: A HUMOROUS LOOK AT PETS AND THEIR OWNERS
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March 22, 2017
Following Siddharta Mukherjee that the cancer is the emperor of all maladies of the body,the schizoprenia is the emperor of all maladies of the mind.
This is one of the few popular books about this disease.
For me is a good book in some parts and rather polemic in others
The book has fundamentally three parts,the first is a brief histhory of this terrible mental illness,this part tells the initial confussion between dementia and schizophrenia till Bleuer and Kraepeling that determinate the nature of the illness and differentiate of other dementias,as the problem appear in young age it was named dementia praecox,yet it is not a real dementia,also tells the firsts tratments with cold baths,hot steam baths,shock theraphy of :insulin,metrazol and electric and the criminal surgery of lobothomy.
The discovery of clorpromacine and of the first generation antisichotic drugs that control the positive sintoms as delusions and allucinatons and the antipsichiatry movement of 1960s and 70s gives way to the desinstitutionalization,the ills go away of the hospitals to the comunity.this fact brought good thinks as people that can spent his life in jail like places could go with his family,sometimes wit a job and socially integrated but also brought bad things as people without family ,friends and medical help ended in real jail by minor ofenses or as homeles in danger of death by lack of social and medical post hospital help.
The second part is about the nature of illnes,the to day rather desprestigiated psichoanalitical Freudian theory of a problem without physical basis.If we made a clumsy comparation of the brain as a computer,the freudians would say that is a illneas of the software but the realistic to day theories say that is a complex mix of hardware and software illness is to say with physical anatomical basis,a distortion in the structureof neural network and failures in the levels of neurotransmisors as dopamine serotonine acetilcoline ang glutamato and others.
We as in the cancer case are now beguining to understand the schizophrenia that also has a genetic inheritance component.All this leaded to the discovery of second generation antipsichotics that controlate the positive syntoms and ameliorate the negative symtoms is to say lack of emotional empathy and motivation.
Is also known that drugs as cocaine,PCP,Ketamine ,LSD and Cannabis can desencadenate schizophrenia in predisposed people or in latent states.
The third part is for me the more polemic,the author is a proposer of forced institutionalitation and treatment of people that is not a real danger for himself or others.
I disagree with the author in several points.
First : A adult has the right to be sick voluntarily if he is not a real danger for himself or others.
Second : I think the author mistakes induced drugs psichosis or psicopaths with schizofrenics.There is not more relation between real schizophrenia and crime that between sane people and crime,at least till i know .
Third : We must be here extremely careful with the laws about forced hospitalization and treatment because the lot of abuses made in past times with people of bizarre behavior ,people simply annoying ,people considered as a dishonor for the family ,remember Rosemary Kennedy,remember the lobotomobile,can be used as a method of politic control as in the Soviet Union and so on ,or simply incapacitate the civil rights of a person for financial gains.Thre exist a excelent documental Titicut Follies one can see in youtube for understand what i am talking.
But i wholly agree with the final chapter of stigmatization of this illness.The schizophrenia is not a shame,not a ethic or moral sin,not a punishmentof God,is simply another illness not more indigne than a flu.A schizofrenic is a person with all his dignity and humanity not more nor less.
A intreresting book full of information and web sites of help but with its lights and shades.
This is one of the few popular books about this disease.
For me is a good book in some parts and rather polemic in others
The book has fundamentally three parts,the first is a brief histhory of this terrible mental illness,this part tells the initial confussion between dementia and schizophrenia till Bleuer and Kraepeling that determinate the nature of the illness and differentiate of other dementias,as the problem appear in young age it was named dementia praecox,yet it is not a real dementia,also tells the firsts tratments with cold baths,hot steam baths,shock theraphy of :insulin,metrazol and electric and the criminal surgery of lobothomy.
The discovery of clorpromacine and of the first generation antisichotic drugs that control the positive sintoms as delusions and allucinatons and the antipsichiatry movement of 1960s and 70s gives way to the desinstitutionalization,the ills go away of the hospitals to the comunity.this fact brought good thinks as people that can spent his life in jail like places could go with his family,sometimes wit a job and socially integrated but also brought bad things as people without family ,friends and medical help ended in real jail by minor ofenses or as homeles in danger of death by lack of social and medical post hospital help.
The second part is about the nature of illnes,the to day rather desprestigiated psichoanalitical Freudian theory of a problem without physical basis.If we made a clumsy comparation of the brain as a computer,the freudians would say that is a illneas of the software but the realistic to day theories say that is a complex mix of hardware and software illness is to say with physical anatomical basis,a distortion in the structureof neural network and failures in the levels of neurotransmisors as dopamine serotonine acetilcoline ang glutamato and others.
We as in the cancer case are now beguining to understand the schizophrenia that also has a genetic inheritance component.All this leaded to the discovery of second generation antipsichotics that controlate the positive syntoms and ameliorate the negative symtoms is to say lack of emotional empathy and motivation.
Is also known that drugs as cocaine,PCP,Ketamine ,LSD and Cannabis can desencadenate schizophrenia in predisposed people or in latent states.
The third part is for me the more polemic,the author is a proposer of forced institutionalitation and treatment of people that is not a real danger for himself or others.
I disagree with the author in several points.
First : A adult has the right to be sick voluntarily if he is not a real danger for himself or others.
Second : I think the author mistakes induced drugs psichosis or psicopaths with schizofrenics.There is not more relation between real schizophrenia and crime that between sane people and crime,at least till i know .
Third : We must be here extremely careful with the laws about forced hospitalization and treatment because the lot of abuses made in past times with people of bizarre behavior ,people simply annoying ,people considered as a dishonor for the family ,remember Rosemary Kennedy,remember the lobotomobile,can be used as a method of politic control as in the Soviet Union and so on ,or simply incapacitate the civil rights of a person for financial gains.Thre exist a excelent documental Titicut Follies one can see in youtube for understand what i am talking.
But i wholly agree with the final chapter of stigmatization of this illness.The schizophrenia is not a shame,not a ethic or moral sin,not a punishmentof God,is simply another illness not more indigne than a flu.A schizofrenic is a person with all his dignity and humanity not more nor less.
A intreresting book full of information and web sites of help but with its lights and shades.
Displaying 1 of 1 review