The hottest Psychiatry Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
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Top Health & Wellness Topics

How Natural Tradeoff And Failure Components?

Astral Codex Ten • 12388 implied HN points • 26 Mar 26
🔬 Science Psychiatry
  1. Genetic risk for schizophrenia breaks into two parts: one shared with bipolar that seems to boost educational attainment (a tradeoff that might relate to creativity or motivation), and another separate part that harms IQ via neurodevelopmental failures.
  2. More broadly, many bad outcomes are mixtures of tradeoffs (choices or traits that bring other benefits) and failures (purely harmful factors), so things like poverty, relationship status, or illness can arise for either reason or both.
  3. This isn’t universal: some conditions are simply failures caused by bad mutations, and it’s usually the risk factors — not the disorder itself — that may carry compensating advantages, so don’t assume every harm has a hidden benefit.

Two Out of Two Pretentious Born-Rich Ivy League Doctors Agree: Psychiatry is Over!

Freddie deBoer • 16553 implied HN points • 05 Feb 26
🎭️ Culture Psychiatry
  1. Highly credentialed critics who call for dismantling psychiatry often come from privileged backgrounds and can seem hypocritical when they ignore the messy, dangerous realities faced by the severely mentally ill.
  2. Antipsychiatry arguments frequently romanticize symptoms as cultural differences and downplay real harms, and some strands recycle old ideas or tie into right-leaning libertarian currents despite claiming anti-capitalist motives.
  3. Elite cultural institutions often preach egalitarianism while privileging credentialed voices and excluding people with lived experience, which narrows the conversation and shields elites from accountability.

Announcing My Next Book, All in Your Head: Illness as Identity, Trauma as Fashion, and the Desire to Be Disordered

Freddie deBoer • 9684 implied HN points • 02 Feb 26
🏥 Health & Wellness Psychiatry
  1. Modern identity and online culture have turned mental illness and developmental disabilities into identity markers or fashion, which distorts reality and harms people.
  2. Historical shifts like the antipsychiatry movement and deinstitutionalization created major failures in care. Making involuntary treatment easier and pursuing concrete policy reforms are proposed fixes.
  3. Disability should be understood as a harmful condition that disables and hurts. Accommodations should focus on mitigating harm rather than validating or celebrating disability.

Two Drinks with. . . Dr. I Told You So

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 695 implied HN points • 13 Feb 26
🏥 Health Politics Psychiatry
  1. Paul McHugh has long warned that hormones and surgeries for gender dysphoria are experimental and often don’t improve mental health.
  2. As head of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins in 1979 he stopped sex-change surgeries after follow-up studies showed poor mental-health outcomes.
  3. At 94 he feels vindicated as recent legal cases and a malpractice win by a detransitioner are starting to challenge current gender-affirming care.

[Débrief] 10 choses à savoir sur le TDAH

L'Atelier Galita • 179 implied HN points • 15 Oct 24
🏥 Health & Wellness Psychiatry
  1. ADHD is not just about attention problems. People with ADHD can have intense focus (hyperfocus) on things they enjoy, but struggle to concentrate on tasks they find boring.
  2. ADHD affects both men and women equally, but many women go undiagnosed because the symptoms can present differently compared to men, leading to a lack of awareness.
  3. ADHD isn't just a childhood issue; many adults also experience it, but they often suffer in silence because they weren't diagnosed as kids and the school environment makes symptoms more apparent.
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Contra Skolnick On Schizophrenia Microbes

Astral Codex Ten • 16518 implied HN points • 30 Jun 25
🏥 Health Politics Psychiatry
  1. Schizophrenia is often thought to be genetic, but studies show the link is more complex than just genetics alone. This means family history is a factor, but it's not the whole story.
  2. Twin studies indicate that if one twin has schizophrenia, there’s a 30-40% chance the other twin will too, which can support the idea of many genes influencing the condition.
  3. While some scientists argue that gut bacteria might cause schizophrenia, the evidence linking specific gut microbes to the disorder remains unclear and doesn't explain how it develops over time.

Perhaps You Would Be a Little Touchy Too

Freddie deBoer • 16429 implied HN points • 19 Jan 25
🏥 Health & Wellness Psychiatry
  1. Bipolar disorder is often misunderstood, with many thinking mood swings happen quickly, but the truth is they usually take weeks or months. It's important to really understand how the disorder works.
  2. People are increasingly claiming new and unusual diagnoses for mental health issues, which can undermine the seriousness of established conditions. This shift creates confusion and can affect how we view our own experiences.
  3. Claiming a diagnosis can feel liberating for some, but it can also lead to challenges when others misrepresent these conditions. It's tough when what you know to be true about your own illness feels threatened.

The Psychopolitics Of Trauma

Astral Codex Ten • 32348 implied HN points • 25 Jan 24
🏥 Health & Wellness Psychiatry
  1. Politics can affect people's brains and behaviors in ways that resemble mental disorders.
  2. Experiences related to politics can potentially be viewed through the lens of trauma.
  3. Political hyperpartisanship may be a form of trauma addiction, affecting how individuals perceive and react to political stimuli.

People with Serious Mental Illness Say Racist and Bigoted Shit All the Time

Freddie deBoer • 13211 implied HN points • 12 Nov 24
🏥 Health Politics Psychiatry
  1. People with serious mental illnesses can sometimes express racist or bigoted thoughts, which challenges the common belief that mental illness doesn't influence behavior. It's important to recognize that mental health conditions can distort thinking and actions.
  2. Acknowledging the complex relationship between mental illness and behavior is essential. People should not dismiss bad behavior outright but consider the person's mental health struggles and how those may impact their actions.
  3. There’s a cultural tendency to oversimplify mental illness, leading to misunderstandings. It's vital to accept that being mentally ill doesn't exempt someone from responsibility for their actions, but it can complicate how we view those actions.

Mental Health Is Not an Individual Problem

Mental Hellth • 1906 implied HN points • 02 Aug 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Psychiatry
  1. Mental health is influenced by political and social conditions, not just individual biology.
  2. Depoliticizing mental health leads to isolation and self-blame, hindering solidarity and political change.
  3. Awareness of mental health should focus on systemic issues, not just individual symptoms or treatments.

Who is the Real Dr. Peter Breggin, "The Conscience of Psychiatry"?

Freddie deBoer • 7085 implied HN points • 29 Jan 24
🏥 Health Politics Psychiatry
  1. Dr. Peter Breggin is a prominent figure in the modern anti-psychiatry movement, influencing American understanding of psychology with his opinions and academic background.
  2. Anti-psychiatry spans political spectrums and has gained notable influence in popular culture, intersecting with holistic medicine and alternative health viewpoints.
  3. Breggin, while respected in some mainstream circles, holds extreme views like being an anti-vaxxer and conspiracy theorist, casting doubt on the safety and efficacy of psychiatric medications.

VSRF LIVE TONIGHT: Episode 217: Kim Witczak, Dr. Roger McFillin, Psy.D., and Danielle Gansky.

Steve Kirsch's newsletter • 2 implied HN points • 05 Mar 26
🏥 Health & Wellness Psychiatry
  1. Antidepressants can help many people but may also increase suicide risk for some, so clear information and careful monitoring are essential.
  2. Children are being prescribed psychiatric drugs more often, which raises serious concerns about long-term harm and the need for stronger safeguards and informed consent for families.
  3. Withdrawal, tapering, and overall oversight of psychiatric medications need improvement so patients get safe discontinuation plans, true informed consent, and better regulatory accountability.

When will psychiatry invent the barcode?

Wood From Eden • 1344 implied HN points • 04 Dec 24
🏥 Health Politics Psychiatry
  1. Psychiatry has a problem with labels. Many old labels have been removed without clear replacements, making research and understanding harder.
  2. Using numbers instead of words could help describe a person's mental health better. A barcode-like system could show traits and abilities at a glance.
  3. Psychology is subjective and changes over time. Collecting more data through tests can help improve understanding and research in mental health.

Can Therapy Be Bad For You?

Are You Okay? • 339 implied HN points • 01 May 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Psychiatry
  1. Therapy may not work for everyone - some people may not see benefits from psychotherapy.
  2. Therapy effectiveness depends on willingness to challenge thoughts and behaviors, establish trust with the therapist, and be open to change.
  3. Acceptance, awareness, and taking agency are crucial in making therapy successful.

Generalized Anxiety: A Dissent

The Frontier Psychiatrists • 255 implied HN points • 16 Jun 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Psychiatry
  1. Anxiety can have different underlying causes and may not always fit into a specific medical diagnosis like GAD.
  2. Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Generalized Dizziness Disorder have similarities in terms of having nonspecific symptoms.
  3. It's important for health professionals to ask thorough questions to truly understand the root of someone's anxiety.

Action Potentials for December

Neurobiology Notes • 137 implied HN points • 27 Dec 23
🔬 Science Psychiatry
  1. High-pressure freezing method allows larger biospecimens to be imaged with less milling time.
  2. New study maps neurotransmitter expression in the mouse brain, revealing diversity among neuron types.
  3. Advances in neural recording technology now allow for full cortical depth recording in the brain.

The Psychedelic Trojan Horse

The Bigger Picture • 679 implied HN points • 19 Dec 21
🏥 Health & Wellness Psychiatry
  1. Psychedelics are emerging as a beacon of hope in addressing global mental health crises, showing promising results in therapy and treatment.
  2. The sacred encounter through psychedelics can lead to deep personal and cultural transformations, expanding perspectives and connections to reality.
  3. It's crucial to maintain a balance between mainstreaming psychedelics and preserving their sacred origins, ensuring ethical practices and honoring indigenous knowledge.

Action Potentials for July

Neurobiology Notes • 98 implied HN points • 22 Jul 23
🔬 Science Psychiatry
  1. Analysis of the Drosophila connectome reveals insights about neurotransmitters and information flow in the fly brain.
  2. Cell type annotations in the Drosophila connectome highlight the complexity and comparisons with previous mapping efforts.
  3. Developing a computational model of the Drosophila connectome provides insights into neural activity dynamics and behavioral predictions.

A One-Minute ADHD Test (23/30)

psychotechnology • 12 implied HN points • 24 Nov 25
🏥 Health & Wellness Psychiatry
  1. There’s a six-question ADHD screener you can do in about a minute, and scoring 4 out of 6 is a strong reason to seek a full clinical assessment because the test has very high specificity but misses about a third of true cases.
  2. With adult ADHD prevalence around 5%, a 4/6 score translates to roughly an 87.5% chance you actually have ADHD, so a positive result is meaningful rather than likely a false alarm.
  3. ADHD is often highly treatable; stimulant medications help 70–90% of people and can greatly improve quality of life, and there are non‑stimulant options if stimulants aren’t suitable, so getting assessed can be life‑changing.

Anti-depressants: The trials last 8 weeks; People take them for 8+ years

Vinay Prasad's Observations and Thoughts • 85 implied HN points • 04 Mar 25
🏥 Health Politics Psychiatry
  1. People often take anti-depressants for many years, even decades, but they were only studied for about 8 weeks in trials.
  2. There isn't clear evidence that taking these medications long-term is better than not starting them at all, which raises concerns about their effectiveness.
  3. We need longer and better studies to truly understand the benefits and downsides of anti-depressants, including how they impact things like sexual health.

Action Potentials for August

Neurobiology Notes • 58 implied HN points • 21 Aug 23
🔬 Science Psychiatry
  1. New microscopy method combines electron microscopy with fluorescence imaging for detailed mapping of cell types, proteins, and synaptic connections in neuroscience.
  2. Memory ensembles in the brain are formed by neurons with high excitability, helping link memories and facilitating memory recall.
  3. Memory engrams exist across multiple brain areas, and bioelectric fields may coordinate memory ensembles distributed in the brain.