A new novel that follows a young woman through

[MineralMan]

the mental health system in the 1980s. Her journey leads from locked hospital ward to stability in a time when treatment possibilities were changing often. It's a good read!

Link to tweet

[irisblue]

1. Thanks for the rec.

[GeorgeGist]

2. The Reagan years?

[MineralMan]

3. Yes, but it was also the years during which a new

class of psychiatric drugs was becoming available. They were key in helping people to go from despair to stability. In many ways, the story told in this book shows what a difference they made, among other things. I found it very insightful and highly readable.

[Wwcd]

6. Appreciate this comment. You are certainly correct,"despair to stability"

[steve2470]

10. in the Reagan years, a lot of the population in the state mental hospitals was forced out

If they could function on the streets, they were discharged under a policy known as "deinstitutionalization". I used to be a caseworker for those people.

Many of them could NOT function on the streets and had to go back to the hospital, repeatedly. They were moderate-to-lower functioning schizophrenics. The highest functioning schizophrenics can actually obtain employment, get married, etc. and be stable in the community. The moderate functioning ones usually need a group home catering to their needs.

I can see the rationale for the policy but it was done pretty crudely, causing suffering to too many patients. To this day, you only get a "permanent stay" in the state hospital if you are very very low functioning.

[MineralMan]

11. He began that effort in California, while serving as Governor.

Care for people with mental illness was supposed to shift to the counties, but no funding was provided. The result was a general lowering of quality of care for those who could not afford that care.

The practice caught on nationwide later, leading to a serious crisis in psychiatric care almost everywhere. That crisis is not yet over, either.

During the same period, more effective medications were introduced for many mental illnesses, but finding the right combination for each individual can be a long, drawn-out process. Without access to affordable mental health care, too many people were left out in the cold, both figuratively and literally.

[Wwcd]

4. I will read this. Thanks for the info.

The title alone is is intriguing.
From opioids to dopamine, I believe there is room for exploitation with all pharmas.


Thanks

[MineralMan]

5. Please note; This post is in the Mental Health Support Group.

Please don't start a mental health issues argument here. It's not the right place for that.

Thanks!

[SixString]

7. Any affiliation with the author of this book?

[MineralMan]

8. Yes. What's your point?

[SixString]

9. You may want to include it in your advertisement.