As regular readers of this blog know, we are very interested in the pros and cons of psychiatric diagnosis. We try to discuss this issue in an accessible way and […]
A just world
‘Daaaaaaad! You let Sam on the computer. IT’S NOT FAIR!’ So goes the soundtrack to the summer holidays. Rather than scrambling to put dinner on the table, get in the […]
The real trouble with magic
“Mum my, am I fat?” says my daughter, all of seven, regarding herself in the bath. She doesn’t know it yet but body fascism is my wife’s darkest fear. The […]
We Can’t Let Maggie Go
Like many middle-aged Brits I came to political sentience chanting, ‘Maggie, Maggie, Maggie…’ followed by some general abuse inviting Mrs Thatcher’s exit. It was all so easy. Hating the Tories […]
100 days after Sandy Hook and guns still protect you (apparently)
Even modest gun law reform in the USA is faltering. Despite there still being plenty of outrage around, and national support for change, not enough members of Congress in areas […]
Silver Linings: Is Sickness a Shield Against Stigma?
I’d been avoiding Silver Linings Playbook. Nothing against it particularly, it’s just that Very Serious films about mental health always feel like a busman’s holiday. I got corralled into seeing […]
Gazza, Lance and the difficulties of psychiatric diagnosis
What do you call someone who tells lies persistently? In recent weeks the answer is probably Chris Huhne, the latest in a line of hubristic politicians who have told a […]
Do guns protect you?
Since the Newtown school shootings it’s hard to remember such an outpouring of antipathy towards guns in the United States. After Columbine maybe, but I’ve never heard a right-of-centre US […]
Making sense of suicide
“I’ve danced with a man, who’s danced with a girl, who’s danced with the Prince of Wales,” went the 20s song, written before Edward VIII became King and took a […]