Manufacturing Depression
The Secret History of a Modern Disease
Published on 7. February 2011
Book
Paperback/Softback
448 pages
978-1-4088-0097-3 (ISBN)
Description
Has the antidepressant industry manufactured not only an illness but an idea of humanity that denies our full potential?
'Impressive and fascinating' New Scientist
According to the Office of National Statistics, depression occurs in 1 in 10 adults in Britain at any one time. But what constitutes depression? And what role have the pharmaceutical companies played in creating an idea of depression that turns human beings into neurochemical machines? Where does that leave the human spirit?
Do we ask and expect too much of science, rather than accepting that there are important matters about which we may always be unsure? Could this lack of certainty be at the heart of what it means to be human?
In his fascinating account of the close relationship between psychiatric diagnosis and the pharmaceutical industries, Gary Greenberg uses his personal experience over a two-year exposure to drug testing and different therapies for depression, backed up by twenty years of professional practice as a psychotherapist, to answer these questions and unravel the 'Secret History of a Modern Disease'.
'Impressive and fascinating' New Scientist
According to the Office of National Statistics, depression occurs in 1 in 10 adults in Britain at any one time. But what constitutes depression? And what role have the pharmaceutical companies played in creating an idea of depression that turns human beings into neurochemical machines? Where does that leave the human spirit?
Do we ask and expect too much of science, rather than accepting that there are important matters about which we may always be unsure? Could this lack of certainty be at the heart of what it means to be human?
In his fascinating account of the close relationship between psychiatric diagnosis and the pharmaceutical industries, Gary Greenberg uses his personal experience over a two-year exposure to drug testing and different therapies for depression, backed up by twenty years of professional practice as a psychotherapist, to answer these questions and unravel the 'Secret History of a Modern Disease'.
Reviews / Votes
PRAISE FOR 'THE NOBLE LIE' 'Impressive and fascinating round-up' * New Scientist * 'What is an illness? What is good health? What, for that matter, is medical science really for? Greenberg will make you think about these questions in ways that I'm willing to bet you haven't. Along the way, he will enlighten and amuse and provoke you in equal measure. A wonderful book from a terrific writer.' * William Finnegan, author of Cold New World: Growing Up in a Harder Country *More details
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
10/2013
1st Edition
Bloomsbury Paperbacks
€19.49
Available for download
Person
Gary Greenberg has a doctorate in psychology and has been a practising psychotherapist for more than twenty years. He is the author of The Self on the Shelf: Recovery Books and the Good Life and major articles for McSweeney's, The New Yorker and Harpers. He lives in Connecticut.