A Brief History of Anxiety (Yours & Mine)
Encyclopedia
A Brief History of Anxiety (Yours & Mine) (ISBN 978-0-679-31498-1) is a 2008 nonfiction book by Canadian journalist and author Patricia Pearson
. It is a combination of autobiography
, medical history, and social activism that discusses the author's experience with diagnosed anxiety
, treatment thereof, the history of mental health treatment in general, and a veteran patient's possible objections to the nature of mental health treatment today.
Effexor. Pearson claims that she became addicted
to this substance until missing even one dose caused her to feel "like [she] was trapped in a disco club on acid with the strobe light at maximum pulse." In a National Post column written around that time, Pearson described running out of medication at night when the pharmacy was closed and lifting up the refrigerator to see if she had dropped a tablet under there. Her psychiatrist
was reportedly unsympathetic, and Pearson began to question the conventional wisdom about mental health treatment that is common among non-patients. Further setbacks in her personal life and career led her to do extensive research on mental health treatment not only today but over the past few centuries
. The result was her book, published by Random House
in 2008.
, and social commentary. Pearson's style is evident in the beginning to the eighth chapter, "2001: A Drugs Odyssey":
In this book, Pearson frequently challenges generally accepted layman views about mental health and mental health treatment. "The idea that people need antidepressants because they have a 'chemical imbalance' in their brains," she says at one point, "has evolved into a sort of urban legend." She states that "[t]he trouble with this soothing explanation...is that serotonin deficiency is an unsupportable claim." Pearson also challenges conventional medical wisdom: at one point, she states that, although some psychoactive medications
target dopamine
in the brain, over 85 percent of the body's dopamine is found outside the brain, and the medications' effect on those other tissues is almost completely unresearched.
The Notes section contains 172 references ranging from scholarly articles to the poetry of William James
and the philosophical writings of Søren Kierkegaard
.
Patricia Pearson
Patricia Pearson is a Canadian writer and journalist. She's published three non-fiction books and two novels.-Life and work:...
. It is a combination of autobiography
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
, medical history, and social activism that discusses the author's experience with diagnosed anxiety
Anxiety
Anxiety is a psychological and physiological state characterized by somatic, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral components. The root meaning of the word anxiety is 'to vex or trouble'; in either presence or absence of psychological stress, anxiety can create feelings of fear, worry, uneasiness,...
, treatment thereof, the history of mental health treatment in general, and a veteran patient's possible objections to the nature of mental health treatment today.
Background
In 2001, while working as a columnist for Canada's The National Post newspaper, Pearson was diagnosed with anxiety disorder and prescribed the anxiolyticAnxiolytic
An anxiolytic is a drug used for the treatment of anxiety, and its related psychological and physical symptoms...
Effexor. Pearson claims that she became addicted
Substance dependence
The section about substance dependence in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders does not use the word addiction at all. It explains:...
to this substance until missing even one dose caused her to feel "like [she] was trapped in a disco club on acid with the strobe light at maximum pulse." In a National Post column written around that time, Pearson described running out of medication at night when the pharmacy was closed and lifting up the refrigerator to see if she had dropped a tablet under there. Her psychiatrist
Psychiatrist
A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. All psychiatrists are trained in diagnostic evaluation and in psychotherapy...
was reportedly unsympathetic, and Pearson began to question the conventional wisdom about mental health treatment that is common among non-patients. Further setbacks in her personal life and career led her to do extensive research on mental health treatment not only today but over the past few centuries
History of psychology
The history of psychology as a scholarly study of the mind and behavior dates back to the Ancient Greeks. There is also evidence of psychological thought in ancient Egypt. Psychology was a branch of philosophy until the 1870s, when psychology developed as an independent scientific discipline in...
. The result was her book, published by Random House
Random House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
in 2008.
Synopsis
The book consists of nine chapters and a section of endnotes. All of the chapters combine narrative, personal reflection, historiographyHistoriography
Historiography refers either to the study of the history and methodology of history as a discipline, or to a body of historical work on a specialized topic...
, and social commentary. Pearson's style is evident in the beginning to the eighth chapter, "2001: A Drugs Odyssey":
In this book, Pearson frequently challenges generally accepted layman views about mental health and mental health treatment. "The idea that people need antidepressants because they have a 'chemical imbalance' in their brains," she says at one point, "has evolved into a sort of urban legend." She states that "[t]he trouble with this soothing explanation...is that serotonin deficiency is an unsupportable claim." Pearson also challenges conventional medical wisdom: at one point, she states that, although some psychoactive medications
Psychoactive drug
A psychoactive drug, psychopharmaceutical, or psychotropic is a chemical substance that crosses the blood–brain barrier and acts primarily upon the central nervous system where it affects brain function, resulting in changes in perception, mood, consciousness, cognition, and behavior...
target dopamine
Dopamine
Dopamine is a catecholamine neurotransmitter present in a wide variety of animals, including both vertebrates and invertebrates. In the brain, this substituted phenethylamine functions as a neurotransmitter, activating the five known types of dopamine receptors—D1, D2, D3, D4, and D5—and their...
in the brain, over 85 percent of the body's dopamine is found outside the brain, and the medications' effect on those other tissues is almost completely unresearched.
The Notes section contains 172 references ranging from scholarly articles to the poetry of William James
William James
William James was a pioneering American psychologist and philosopher who was trained as a physician. He wrote influential books on the young science of psychology, educational psychology, psychology of religious experience and mysticism, and on the philosophy of pragmatism...
and the philosophical writings of Søren Kierkegaard
Søren Kierkegaard
Søren Aabye Kierkegaard was a Danish Christian philosopher, theologian and religious author. He was a critic of idealist intellectuals and philosophers of his time, such as Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling and Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel...
.
Reviews
- The Toronto StarToronto StarThe Toronto Star is Canada's highest-circulation newspaper, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its print edition is distributed almost entirely within the province of Ontario...
review writes that Pearson's psychiatrist "chose the pills carefully; she was prescribed the ones he happened to have samples of in his office". It rates the book as "excellent"."
- A review on the webzine More.ca, describes the book as "Part memoir, part cautionary tale, and part an investigation into the history and geography of anxiety" and states that it is "soothing."
- A review in Metapsychology Online Reviews writes that the book is "a vibrant and interesting introduction to the problem of anxiety" and states that "[Pearson's] struggle with pharmacological treatments makes for sober reading".