Psychiatry
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Stigma and taboo
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Let’s avoid talk of ‘chemical imbalance’: it’s people in distress
The ‘chemical imbalance’ trope is appealing but dehumanising, and has heightened stigma towards people with mental illness
by Joseph E Davis
![Pencil sketch of a person in profile view looking left, detailed with textured lines and shading on a plain background.](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/6da85ba3-0703-4ff9-bc44-72e57c9b880f/original.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
The self
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The philosophy of selfhood became real when my mother got dementia
My mother’s dementia shook her sense of self, and mine. We can understand ourselves only through embodied connection to others
by Noga Arikha
![A historical portrait of a severe woman in Victorian attire, seated with a bonnet on the table beside her, in an ornate fold frame.](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/25d3e552-429c-4d56-9e6e-f51f57b59c10/original.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Anxiety
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After many false starts, this might be the true age of anxiety
If anxiety is more common than ever, it’s also more treatable. But excessive nervousness wasn’t always taken so seriously
by Jason Schnittker
![Man smoking outdoors, smoke swirling around and sunlight filtering through trees.](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/6a2fe75b-da18-4570-9528-b0a868b03d33/original.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Addiction
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Mental illness and substance use: genes show a two-way street
Why are smoking, alcohol and cannabis use linked to mental illness? The answer is complex but valuable for mental health
by Jorien Treur
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Personality disorders
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To understand borderline personality, imagine having no history
For people with an unfairly stigmatised mental health condition, and the rest of us, it’s vital to connect past with present
by Alexander Kriss
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Death and dying
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Should assisted death be available for intractable mental illness?
As a psychiatrist I am extremely wary of even the most careful provisions of assisted dying for people with mental illness
by Marie Nicolini