Every day I think of the scientists who mashed up rat brains to create the drugs that brought me back to life, and I’m grateful. --from Dervala.net
A friend sent me the link to this essay a few days ago, and I found it a particularly interesting read. I thought I’d share it here. While I enjoy the authors account, I think there is one aspect that is particularly oversimplified. While I think a more holistic look at mental illness is overdue, I also thing that mental illness is more about “degree” than many physical illnesses. Since emotions and thought aren’t as directly obersvable as physical qualities, there’s more gray area to be deciphered. Phyisicalizing things like depression, is appropriate, but it’s also incredibly difficult, and I think more difficult to do casually than I think anyone would like.
But the above article is good, and really well written to boot.
Cheers, tycho(ish)