No Such Thing as Normal: Disorders, Diagnoses and the Limits of Psychiatry

'Confronting, thought-provoking and hopeful' SARAH GRAHAM 'A rallying cry for the importance of social and systemic approaches to psychiatric distress' EMMA BYRNE 'Stimulating and timely on psychiatry's tendency to pathologise the 'abnormal'' DANIEL TAMMET 'A shocking and powerful critique ... this is essential reading' HELEN KING There is no such thing as a normal brain, yet we live in a world that treats disorder as disease. Psychiatry rests on the belief that mental distress can ultimately be explained by biology: brain structures, chemical imbalances and genetics. Treatments from lobotomies to electroconvulsive therapy to prescription drugs have been touted as cures for 'disorder'. And somewhere along the way, the pharmaceutical industry has leapfrogged its patients, making millions designing drugs to treat disorders, then billions dreaming up disorders that require drugs. We are now diagnosed and treated for mental disorders more than ever, despite increasing evidence that environmental factors play a far greater role than biological ones. Laying out the steps for a mental health system that helps rather than harms, Marieke Bigg asks: how can we heal when faced with an industry that banks on keeping us sick?

About the Author :
Marieke Bigg holds a PhD in sociology from the University of Cambridge where her research focused on the role of biological models in society. She is currently retraining as a psychotherapist and works as a peer support coordinator at the mental health charity Mind.

Review :
Psychiatry has been a lifeline for many, providing essential tools and interventions, but it is not the whole story. By highlighting alternative approaches and perspectives, this book challenges us to think more broadly about the complexities of mental health and about how we can truly support people at their most vulnerable moments with a more holistic understanding of wellbeing and distress Adroitly skewers psychiatry's tendency to pathologise behaviours considered "abnormal". A stimulating and timely primer on the social model of mental health A rallying cry for an approach to mental health that is informed by the circumstances, experiences, and diversity of those of us who struggle. I have never read a clearer case for the importance of social and systemic approaches to psychiatric distress Bigg meticulously documents how pervasive and harmful psychiatry's biomedical vision continues to be, while guiding us toward more compassionate responses to human suffering From the feral femininity of hysterical women to the eugenic thinking and stereotyping that shapes Schizophrenia into a 'Black disease', Bigg peels away psychiatry's veneer. An absolutely fascinating book A really much needed contribution Bigg challenges some of the most fundamental assumptions about mental health, and shows how a radically new approach to "normality" is needed A shocking and powerful critique, this is essential reading for everyone interested in mental health, how the mind works, and how psychiatry could become a force for social change. A confronting and thought-provoking insight into the shortcomings of psychiatric medicine, balanced with a hopeful and patient-centred vision for reform A timely, incisive, and rigorous critique of modern psychiatry - Bigg shows how so-called treatments for mental health disorders are anything but Amazingly well done and an insightful read - a must have if you want to look past what is defined as "normal" Praise for This Won't Hurt: 'A vital subject that needs to be discussed Brilliant...There is so much to unlearn, there is so much that also follows in terms of how medicine could support - rather than fail - half the world's population A hugely informative and quietly furious call to arms If you get a chance to read this - Do! An eye-opening brilliant work of passion