Facts and Fictions in Mental Health

Title Page
Notes on Authors
Preface
	References
Acknowledgments
Section 1 Anxiety‐Related Disorders
	1 Why Do We Panic?
		From Normal Anxiety to Crippling Fear
		Further Reading
	2 Does Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Require Trauma?
		Shell Shock
		Immune to Trauma?
		Emotional Triggers
		Further Reading
	3 Clutter, Clutter, Everywhere
		Distinct Pathology
		Deadly Business
		Help for Hoarders
		Further Reading
	4 Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) for Anxiety
		The Evidence
		Further Reading
	5 The Down Sidesof Anti‐Anxiety Medication
		Side Effects and Withdrawal
		New Options
		Further Reading
	6 Is Mindfulness Good Medicine for Anxiety and Depression?
		Openness and Acceptance
		Averting Relapse
		Further Reading
	7 Can Herbs Ease Anxiety and Depression?
		Kick Back, Relax
		Weeding Out Despair
		Further Reading
Section 2 Mood Disorders
	8 Bipolar Disorders and Creativity
		On Top of the World
		Tortured Geniuses
		A Complex Link
		Manic Mechanisms
		Further Reading
	9 Grief Without Tears?
		Bouncing Back
		Working It Out
		Further Reading
	10 Is Depression Just Bad Chemistry?
		Are Your Chemicals out of Balance?
		This is Your Brain on Depression
		Seeing the Elephant
		Further Reading
	11 Four Myths About Suicide
		How Well Can Suicidal Tendencies Be Detected?
		Can Suicide Be Prevented?
		Further Reading
	12 What Is the Best Treatment for Depression
		Antidepressants: Pros and Cons
		The Scoop on Psychotherapy
		Putting it Together
		Further Reading
	13 Can Antidepressants Cause Suicide?
		The FDA Acts
		Advice About Antidepressants
		Conflicts of Interest?
		Further Reading
	14 The Truth About Shock Therapy
		Cuckoo Conceptions
		Minimal Risk
		Mysterious Mechanisms
		Further Reading
Section 3 Child and Adolescent Disorders
	15 Are Doctors Diagnosing Too Many Children With ADHD?
		Medicalizing Normality
		Pill Pushers?
		A Peek at the Future
		Further Reading
	16 Autism
		Problem Shots?
		Changing Criteria
		Numbers Analyzed
		Further Reading
	17 What Do We Know About Tourette’s Disorder?
		Myths and Realities
		Hope for Tourette’s Sufferers
		Further Reading
	18 Do Children Get Bipolar Disorder?
		Tale of Two Manias
		Bad Diagnosis, Bad Treatment
		Mood Shift
		Further Reading
	19 Kid Gloves for Young Offenders?
		You’re in the Army Now
		Perils of Punishment
		Further Reading
	20 Is Divorce Bad for Children?
		Rapid Recovery
		Grown‐up Concerns
		Bouncing Back
		Further Reading
Section 4 Addictions
	21 The Truth About Pot
		How Many Get Hooked?
		Possible Perils
		Further Reading
	22 Does Alcoholics Anonymous Work?
		A for Abstinence?
		Constructive Combination
		Further Reading
	23 Self‐Help for Addictions
		Rates of Success
		Next Steps
		Further Reading
	24 How Destructive Is Internet Porn?
		The Price of Consumption
		Addicted to Porn?
		Further Reading
	25 Just Say No?
		Rehearsing Refusal
		Good Intentions that Backfire
		Further Reading
Section 5 Externalizing Problems
	26 Road Rage
		Who are these People?
		Prevention and Treatment
		Further Reading
	27 Once a Sex Offender, Always a Sex Offender
		Repeat Offenders
		Treatment Realities
		Further Reading
	28 Are Men the More Belligerent Sex?
		Mad Men
		Evening the Score
		Biology to Blame?
		Further Reading
Section 6 Personality Disorders
	29 A Dose of Narcissism can be Useful
		Calling all Narcissists
		The Mirror has Two Faces
		Further Reading
	30 The Truth About Borderline Personality
		Fuzzy Borders
		Once Borderline Always Borderline?
		A Continuing Challenge
		Further Reading
	31 What “Psychopath” Means
		Charming but Callous
		Three Myths
		Further Reading
Section 7 Shattered Selves
	32 Can People Have Multiple Personalities?
		Dramatic Differences
		Putting the Pieces Together
		Further Reading
	33 How Violent are People with Mental Illness?
		A Tenuous Tie
		Victims, Not Perpetrators
		Further Reading
	34 Can People with Schizophrenia be Helped?
		From Desperation to Hope
		Improved Treatments
		Further Reading
Section 8 Popular Myths About the Brain and Behavior
	35 Uncovering “Brainscams”
		We Use Only 10 Percent of Our Brain’s Capacity
		Some People Are Left‐Brained; Others Are Right‐Brained
		We Can Achieve a Deeper Sense of Consciousness and Relaxation by Boosting Our Alpha Waves
		Further Reading
	36 Is Hypnosis a Distinct Form of Consciousness?
		The Consciousness Question
		Brain Changes
		Further Reading
	37 Memory in Old Age
		Memory Divided
		Fit Body, Fit Mind
		Further Reading
Section 9 Psychotherapy and Other Approaches to Change
	38 Are all Psychotherapies Created Equal?
		Tale of the Dodo Bird
		Is the Dodo Bird Extinct?
		Further Reading
	39 Do Self‐Help Books Help?
		Further Reading
	40 The “Just Do It!” Trap
		Blaming the Victim
		Breeding Resistance
		Further Reading
	41 Can Animals Aid Therapy?
		Easing Stress?
		Leisure Versus Therapy
		Hidden Costs
		Further Reading
	42 Psychotherapy in the Public Eye
		Popular Misinformation
		Media Misportrayals
		Therapy Stereotypes
		Reason for Hope?
		Further Reading
	43 Why Don’t People Change?
		Confused about Change
		Further Reading
Section 10 Other Myths
	44 Do Psychological Disorders Differ Across Cultures?
		Similar Syndromes
		Distinct Disorders?
		Further Reading
	45 Can Positive Thinking Be Negative?
		Pluses of Pessimism
		Too Much of a Good Thing?
		Further Reading
	46 Does a Full Moon Really Trigger Strange Behavior?
		Water at Work?
		Where Belief Begins
		Further Reading
	47 Do the Eyes Have It? Eyewitness Testimony Is Often Inaccurate
		Reconstructing Memories
		Expert Testimony
		Further Reading
	48 The Insanity Defense on Trial
		Origins of a Plea
		Judicious Use?
		Further Reading
	49 How Much Does the Environment Contribute to Obesity?
		Obesity Myths
		Toxic Environment
		Further Reading
	50 When Eating Becomes an Illness
		Further Reading
	51 Self‐Harm
		Deliberate Destruction
		Coping and Changing
		Further Reading
Postscript A Reader’s Guide to Baloney Detection
	A Misunderstanding Mind
	Misled by the Messenger
	Further Reading
Index
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