Psychiatric Struggle w/ Danielle Carr

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Feb 17, 2025

Danielle Carr, a historian and professor at UCLA, delves into the evolution of psychiatry and its societal implications. She questions whether rising mental health issues reflect genuine crises or increased awareness. The conversation covers the cultural impact of Adderall, the pitfalls of deep brain stimulation, and the ethical concerns surrounding emerging technologies like Neuralink. Carr critiques trauma discourse and highlights the relationship between mental health and political activism, advocating for a collective approach to wellness and advocacy.

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INSIGHT

American Unwellness

Rising suicide rates and mental distress reflect deteriorating social safety nets and quality of life.
This distress is often medicalized as mental illness, obscuring the root societal problems.

INSIGHT

Psychiatry's Origins

Psychiatry emerged during the Gilded Age, funded by wealth and entwined with neoliberal ideology.
It pathologized working-class unrest as individual maladjustment, diverting attention from systemic issues.

ANECDOTE

Deinstitutionalization's Downfalls

The anti-psychiatry movement critiqued the asylum system's carceral nature.
However, its deinstitutionalization efforts coincided with neoliberal cuts, leading to homelessness and mass incarceration.

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