The Madness of Fear: A History of Catatonia
- ISBN-10
- 0190881216
- ISBN-13
- 9780190881214
- Category
- Medical
- Pages
- 224
- Language
- English
- Published
- 2018-06-27
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press
- Authors
- Max Fink, Edward Shorter
Description
What are the real disease entities in psychiatry? This is a question that has bedeviled the study of the mind for more than a century yet it is low on the research agenda of psychiatry. Basic science issues such as neuroimaging, neurochemistry, and genetics carry the day instead. There is nothing wrong with basic science research, but before studying the role of brain circuits or cerebral chemistry, shouldn't we be able to specify how the various diseases present clinically? Catatonia is a human behavioral syndrome that for almost a century was buried in the poorly designated psychiatric concept of schizophrenia. Its symptoms are well-know, and some of them are serious. Catatonic patients may die as their temperatures accelerate; they become dehydrated because they refuse to drink; they risk inanition because they refuse to eat or move. Autistic children with catatonia may hit themselves repeatedly in the head. We don't really know what catatonia is, in the sense that we know what pneumonia is. But we can identify it, and it is eminently treatable. Clinicians can make these patients better on a reliable basis. There are few other disease entities in psychiatry of which this is true. So why has there been so little psychiatric interest in catatonia? Why is it simply not on the radar of most clinicians? Catatonia actually occurs in a number of other medical illnesses as well, but it is certainly not on the radar of most internists or emergency physicians. In The Madness of Fear, Drs. Shorter and Fink seek to understand why this "vast field of ignorance" exists. In the history of catatonia, they see a remarkable story about how medicine flounders, and then seems to find its way. And it may help doctors, and the public, to recognize catatonia as one of the core illnesses in psychiatry.
Get the book
Other editions
Similar books
-
Pure Madness: How Fear Drives the Mental Health System
By Jeremy LauranceFor Pure Madness, Jeremy Laurance travelled across the country observing the care provided to mentally ill people in Britain today. Based on interviews, visits and case histories, his book reveals a service driven by fear.
-
Rumor, Fear and the Madness of Crowds
By J.P. Chaplin"Originally published by Ballantine Books, New York, in 1959."
-
Madness
By Roald DahlIn these ten unsettling tales of unexpected madness master storyteller Roald Dahl explores what happens when we let go our sanity.
-
The Madness of Crowds: A Novel
By Louise PennyTo Dorie Greenspan for the Gamache lemon cookies and your support as we both finished our books, and commiserated. Her new book, out in October, is called Baking with Dorie. To Chelsea and Marc, for the Zooms with family.
-
Madness and Civilization: A History of Insanity in the Age of Reason
By Michel FoucaultMichel Foucault examines the archeology of madness in the West from 1500 to 1800 - from the late Middle Ages, when insanity was still considered part of everyday life and fools and lunatics walked the streets freely, to the time when such ...
-
A First-Rate Madness: Uncovering the Links Between Leadership and Mental Illness
By Nassir GhaemiIn A First-Rate Madness, Nassir Ghaemi, director of the Mood Disorders Program at Tufts Medical Center, offers a myth-shattering exploration of the powerful connections between mental illness and leadership and sets forth a controversial, ...
-
Making Art in the Middle of Madness: A Guide for Waking Up from Your Fear-Trance So You Can Create Like...
By Holly ShawIn a clear effective way, this book will uncover the systems that are running you, how they operate, and how you can dislodge yourself from the fear trance in order to start using your energy to be a powerful force on stage, in your content ...
-
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream
By Hunter S. Thompsonfully get straight enough to cope with whatever might happen at dawn. Now off the escalator and into the casino, big crowds still tight around the crap tables. Who are these people? These faces! Where do they come from?
-
Transforming Fear and Anxiety Into Power: Life Lessons and the Path to Healing
By Janice M. MannThis book is a must read for those who want to get rid of anxiety and irrational fear based thinking and create a new positive way of thinking and living! It is a practical primer and an easy read.
-
Fear: A Novel of World War I
By Gabriel ChevallierJohn Berger has called Fear “a book of the utmost urgency and relevance.” A literary masterpiece, it is also an essential and unforgettable reckoning with the terrible war that gave birth to a century of war.