Anatomy of an Epidemic

Magic Bullets, Psychiatric Drugs, and the Astonishing Rise of Mental Illness in America

By: Robert Whitaker

Narrated by: Ken Kliban

Length: 13 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's summary

In this astonishing and startling book, award-winning science and history writer Robert Whitaker investigates a medical mystery: Why has the number of disabled mentally ill in the United States tripled over the past two decades? Every day, 1,100 adults and children are added to the government disability rolls because they have become newly disabled by mental illness, with this epidemic spreading most rapidly among our nations children. What is going on?

Anatomy of an Epidemic challenges listeners to think through that question themselves. First, Whitaker investigates what is known today about the biological causes of mental disorders. Do psychiatric medications fix chemical imbalances in the brain, or do they, in fact, create them? Researchers spent decades studying that question, and by the late 1980s, they had their answer. Listeners will be startled - and dismayed - to discover what was reported in the scientific journals.

Then comes the scientific query at the heart of this book: During the past 50 years, when investigators looked at how psychiatric drugs affected long-term outcomes, what did they find? Did they discover that the drugs help people stay well? Function better? Enjoy good physical health? Or did they find that these medications, for some paradoxical reason, increase the likelihood that people will become chronically ill, less able to function well, more prone to physical illness?

This is the first book to look at the merits of psychiatric medications through the prism of long-term results. By the end of this review of the outcomes literature, listeners are certain to have a haunting question of their own: Why have the results from these long-term studies - all of which point to the same startling conclusion - been kept from the public?

©2010 Robert Whitaker (P)2010 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"The timing of Robert Whitaker’s Anatomy of an Epidemic, a comprehensive and highly readable history of psychiatry in the United States, couldn’t be better." (Salon.com)

"Anatomy of an Epidemic offers some answers, charting controversial ground with mystery-novel pacing." (TIME.com)

"Whitaker tenderly interviews children and adults who bear witness to the ravages of mental illness, and testify to their newly found 'aliveness' when freed from the prison of mind-numbing drugs." (Daniel Dorman, M.D., Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, UCLA School of Medicine)

Eye opener

The state of psychotropic drug therapy is well documented in the book with macroscopic and microscopic details. The history of medical developments from science based development of drugs for known problems like infections to experimentation with drugs based on effects on behavior is well told. The story of greed by doctors and academic leaders is sadly similar to what we have witnessed in other areas of our community. Hopefully the incentives will change.

Amazing Information

We've been lied-to by the pharmaceutical industry for decades. This book exposes the multi-billion dollar lies and presents the scientific evidence in a clear and detailed way for anyone and everyone to understand. If your psychologist or psychiatrist has not read this book, they are not competent to do their job. Period.

Scary for All of the Wrong Reasons!

I picked up this book after reading "Cracked: The Unhappy Truth About Psychiatry" by James Davies as reviewers of Davies book also highly recommended this book.

I felt the big take-away on Davies book was that the DSM, Diagnostic & Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, is not science-based. It was created by a small select group psychiatrists who used consensus to determine what defined a mental disorder. The head of the team's who created DSM3 and DSM4 both admitted that no science was used to create these bibles of psychiatry.. Fearful of exposure, the American Psychiatry Association, APA, required the team who wrote DSM5, the latest version of their bible. to be sworn to secrecy. Now why would they require that?

Whitaker explains more about the history of psychiatry which leads to discussion of the DSM evolution and the growth of the industry. Basically, in the 1960s and 70's, psychiatry was falling apart due to high suicide rates from use of pschotopic drug prescriptions. Congress started investigations.

The APA realised they were in a crisis. They also wanted to be considered real doctors, which they interpreted to mean that they could write prescriptions just like medical doctors. They came up with a plan and then experienced some unplanned help along the way.
Whitaker called this "4 Part Harmony" The first step was to update the DSM, which expanded the scope of what is defined as a mental disorder. Then they needed to inform the public about the latest findings in psychiatry, so the APA developed a marketing plan. However, marketing is expensive. So the APA reached out to Big Pharma for funding their marketing plan. They both had a common goal to make money selling drugs.

The third part came as a surprise. Two women from Oregon formed NAMI, which advocated the use of psychotropic drugs. This was the public endorsing what the APA and Big Pharma wanted adding legitimacy to the new partnership.

Likewise, the fourth part was not planned either. In this same time frame L. Ron Hubbard, who created Scientology came out against against drugs for psychiatric treatment. The public's view of Scientology being what it is allowed the APA and Big Pharma to label anyone who questioned the use of psychotropic drugs as one of the Scientologist wackos.

That is the setting as it currently stands. The industry is growing as the APA redefines more and more normal conditions as a posdible mental disorder. Example: Being sad or unhappy for more than 2 weeks could mean depression. But if you just lost a loved one?

Whitaker spends a lot of time talking about the drugs and an out people who have taken them. This is not an easy read, nut it is very eye opening.

Both Whitaker and Davies said about the same thing about the efficacy of psychotropic drugs based on numerous medical studies which is: "Psychotopic drugs only help about 2% , or 2 out of 100, of the population with mental disorders. The problem is the psychiatists are not able to identify the two people."

I highly recommend both books for anyone who has an interest in psychiatry and definitely if you know someone who has fallen or may fall into this nightmare. The audio versions are easier to work through due to the terminology can be pretty technical at times.

Well thought out, evidence based and clear.

I thoroughly enjoyed Whitaker's multiple year compilation of hundreds of studies to bring into one book. Know the truth and the truth shall.set you free. I wish more American mental health professionals sought to find the truth and then actually apply it. Thank you Robert for all of your dedication and tireless effort to spread the truth for the betterment of the mental health system.

This book is terrifying and is a must read.

Reminds me of where we are with the vaccination hysteria we just went through.

Courageous Truths Unveiled

Thank you Robert Whitaker for having the courage to research and publish this book! We nearly lost our 31 year old daughter to poly- pharmacy and psychiatric meds this past year. We were desperately seeking medical help from numerous physicians for her worsening symptoms that included debilitating anxiety, extreme nausea and vomiting,losing control of her bowels and bladder, inability to sleep, daily seizures, horrific nightmares and night sweats. The list goes on and on. She was dying and we didn’t know why! Finally we found an educated Psychiatrist who diagnosed her with Seratonin syndrome and recognized that her symptoms were all drug induced. Over the past 9 months she has been tapering off her psych medications and has regained her life. She is healthy and gaining strength day by day. We got our daughter back!
The more we have talked to people- we are seeing the truths taught in this book! I wish the whole country would read this book! Let’s wake up to the lies we have been told!

Interesting But Repetitive

The information was fascinating. I'll be checking some of the research just to confirm the author's conclusions. There was a mind-numbing amount of repetition.

Paradigm Altering

I bought this based on the high reviews it received on audible and I was not disappointed. As a book geek with four undergraduate degrees and working on my second masters, it is not very often that I am told something I don't already know but this book totally blew my mind. The brilliance of it lies in Whitaker's meticulous research and presentation. The basic thesis is: psychiatric drugs are largely marketing ploys, not science. This is a bold crazy claim, but by the time you are halfway through the book and have heard hundreds of snippets of the outcomes literature from big pharma's horse's mouth (and heard from eight major sources that no one has ever been able to provide evidence of a "chemical imbalance" occurring in the brain), you aren't just convinced, you are utterly terrified at what the future will hold for the next generation, all growing up right now on these noxious drugs. As someone getting their master's in psych, I purchased the book after listening to it, as it is the most relevant reading I have done so far in my studies.

If you or anyone you know is on, has taken, or has ever considered taking medication for depression, anxiety, bipolar, schizophrenia, or ADHD, or you plan on living in this country for the next 20-40 years, you really owe it to yourself to read this book. It will light a fire.

A Frightening Reality

An eye opening read through the history of antipsychotic and antidepression medications over the course of time in America. A must read for those contemplating medication for themselves or a loved one.

extreme misuse of the pharmaceutical companies

it's pathetic what the "so called" doctors are doing in the USA, when it comes to kissing the backside of the pharmaceutical companies just for the almighty dollar, at the cost of the long-term health of their patients. Mental illness is real and must be properly dealt with, but not by over-medicating. Deal with causing the illness, not hiding it behind a mental fog caused by the medication.