Mind Hacks

New Scientist has put an article online about drug-tampering – the practice of messing with prescription medication so it can be used to get a high or gives a stronger effect.

Stimulant drugs such as Ritalin are being crushed and snorted, and users on internet sites discuss how to take other drugs in similarly non-standard ways.

New Scientist suggests that this is a ‘growing health hazard’ but prescription drug-tampering is as old as prescription medication itself.

In fact, prescriptions were introduced in many countries to try and control the problem of medicines being used recreationally.

Benzedrine is the classic example. The nasal decongestant was widely abused as its main active ingredient was amphetamine.

It was so widely abused to become part of culture and featured in songs and literature as a result. Even clean-cut James Bond pops the occasional Benzedrine to keep him sharp in the original Ian Fleming novels.

The Addiction Research Unit at Buffalo University have collected many more examples of now prohibited drugs which were widely available over the counter, and similarly abused for their recreational kick.

Link to New Scientist article.
Link to Buffalo University online pre-prohibition drugs museum.

Delivery driver Gary Harris was suffering vomiting and headaches but was told he would have to wait 11 weeks for an NHS brain scan, so his workmates had a whip-round and collected enough money for a private scan – which saved his life.

The scan found a large tumour, and doctors say his life would have been in danger had it not been detected and removed.

Link to story from BBC News.

Petra also tells me that there’s a competition to promote participation in the free discussion forum for psychology and social science research.

£100 worth of books will be awarded to the most active and helpful member of this site between 5th of May and the 7th of July.

The forum is for anyone undertaking psychology or social science research to discuss their work and exchange ideas, with input from professional researchers and Petra herself.

Link to competition details.
Link to message board front page.

The London-based Dana Centre will be hosting a number of events on the science of sex over the coming month for those interested in gender, reproduction and passion.

Tuesday 6th of June sees a debate asking can pharmaceuticals improve your love life? and considers the increasing targetting of sexual behaviour by drug companies.

On the following day, there’s a discussion about the problems with defining gender and how gender is influenced by social and biological development.

And on Wednesday 14th June the Dana Centre tackles myths and misconceptions about sex and sexual behaviour in a panel discussion.

Psychologist, sex researcher and blogger Petra Boyton will be part of the discussion for the two debates on sex, and will be joined by professionals from the pharmaceutical industry and medical world.

Photos from yesterday’s Bonkersfest! have started to appear online.

It was a beautifully sunny, wonderfully anarchic day in Camberwell.

Congratulations to all involved and I’ll look forward to the next one.

The excellent ABC Radio National All in the Mind has a special this week on the social impact of psychiatric drugs.

During the 20th century, there was a revolution in the development of mind-altering drugs to the point where useful and viable medicines for mental distress became available.

The widespread prescription of such drugs meant that they became used for more than serious mental illness – they often became self-administered fixes for the stresses and strains of daily life.

All in the Mind discusses the history of the these drugs and how they have affected our ideas of cultural and personal distress.

mp3 or realaudio of programme.
Link to transcript.

The Anxiety, Addiction and Depression Treatments blog has a thoughtful piece on the increasing trend for people with serious mental health concerns being chosen as participants in reality television shows.

Recently, several mental health charities have criticised the UK Big Brother after a contestant threatened to kill themselves on air, and left the show shortly after.

Participants with mental health difficulties have also featured on mainstream US shows, and the article argues that producers are more concerned with having dramatic ‘characters’ in their show than they are about the mental health of participants.

The article is an incisive analysis of mental illness on reality TV at a time when such concerns have become widely debated.

Link to article ‘Reality Corrupted’.

Christian’s too modest to mention them, but I notice a new batch of posts on the BPS Research Digest has just appeared.

I was particularly interested to see the post on recent research that has looked at how coma is represented in Hollywood movies – seemingly as a semi-angelic form of restful unconsciousness from which people awake as if they’d never been gone.

The Wall Street Journal has recently published an article on heroin addicition by the pseudonymous Theodore Dalrymple, who argues that heroin is not as life-gripping as it is claimed, and that many addicts simply lack the will to stop using the drug.

Theodore Dalrymple is the pen name of retired psychiatrist Anthony Daniels who has long opposed liberal approaches to mental illness and its treatment.

Conservative writers tend to dismiss mental illness off-hand as some sort of moral failing without ever engaging the topic, while Daniels is one of the few who actually gives the issue some consideration.

Even if you don’t agree with his views, Daniels is a thought-provoking writer who tackles a difficult area that others often ignore.

Link to ‘Poppycock’ by Theodore Dalrymple.

Camberwell Green in London will be home to Bonkersfest! on Saturday 3rd June as mental health agitators and arts collective Creative Routes host a festival that embraces every aspect of the human mind.

The festival will be kicked off by the Mayor of Southwark and the Southwark Town Crier by the firing of a banana laden cannon, while DJs, bands, artists, performers and dancers will entertain the crowds.

Also included in the line-up is a Big Top, caberet café, cinema, talking lamposts and whispering trees, all in the spirit of bringing madness to the masses.

Camberwell is a significant location because it is home to the Maudsley Hospital, the spiritual home of British psychiatry and one of the world’s leading centres for psychiatric training and research. It is also within the same NHS Trust as the Bethlem Royal Hospital – the world’s oldest psychiatric hospital, founded in 1247.

The festival aims to promote an alternative to the psychiatric view, suggesting that unusual experiences and distressing emotions are part of life’s rich tapestry rather than signs of disease or illness.

Creative Routes is run by people who have experience of the mental health system and has promoted healthier happier lives through successful and innovative arts projects and collaborations. Bonkersfest! will be one of their biggest events to date.

See you there!

Link to Bonkersfest! website.

I’ve spent most of the last caffeine-fuelled 24 hours re-writing the Wikipedia page on anorexia nervosa which now seems to be in better shape than it was. It needs some well qualified stewards to keep an eye on it though, could this be you?

If you are a clinician, researcher or enthusiastic student with an interest in anorexia, this page could do with your input.

Otherwise, the bulimia nervosa article is in urgent need of attention, which is in a similarly poor state as the anorexia article was.

Wikipedia is currently one of the most visited sites on the internet, meaning millions of people get their information from it. The need for free, high-quality, accurate information is essential.

You could contribute your expertise to the world. Eating disorders have the highest mortality of any psychiatric disorder, so your time could literally save lives.

Unlike other forms of scientific writing, Wikipedia articles are a process rather than a product. The best pages have well-informed, open-minded and diplomatic ‘regulars’ who maintain the article in good shape, steer other contributors into best practice, and back up the information with references to academic studies.

Often this means challenging your own pre-conceptions and point-of-view (no matter how much you know) and getting a broad understanding of the subject, so the article can reflect this rounded approach.

It is an incredible learning experience, but can also be a little frustrating at times, as you meet people with a wide variety of agendas.

I’ll be keeping an eye on the anorexia article, but it also needs adopting by some specialists in the field, as I’m not an eating disorders specialist by any means.

If you’re intending to ‘adopt’ an article, it’s good practice to say hello on the discussion page and discuss your intentions as you go, and if you’ve never edited a Wikipedia page before, now’s your chance to learn.

Link to Wikipedia page on anorexia nervosa.
Link to Wikipedia page on bulimia nervosa.