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Sedated

How Modern Capitalism Created Our Mental Health Crisis

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Sedated

By: James Davies
Narrated by: Mark Elstob
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About this listen

A provocative and shocking look at how western society is misunderstanding and mistreating mental illness.

In Britain alone, more than 20 per cent of the adult population take a psychiatric drug in any one year. This is an increase of over 500 per cent since 1980 and the numbers continue to grow. Yet, despite this prescription epidemic, levels of mental illness of all types have actually increased in number and severity.

Using a wealth of studies, interviews with experts and detailed analysis, Dr James Davies argues that this is because we have fundamentally mischaracterised the problem. Rather than viewing most mental distress as an understandable reaction to wider societal problems, we have embraced a medical model which situates the problem solely within the sufferer and their brain.

Urgent and persuasive, Sedated systematically examines why this individualistic view of mental illness has been promoted by successive governments and big business - and why it is so misplaced and dangerous.

©2021 James Davies (P)2021 W. F. Howes Ltd Mental Health Psychology Psychology & Mental Health Social Psychology & Interactions Health Human Brain Capitalism Economic Inequality

Critic Reviews

"A wonderful, moving and truly life-changing book. Sedated is an urgent intervention for post-pandemic society, written with expertise and clarity. Warning: it will cause irritation to powerful interests who fear us all becoming better informed about the root causes of so much human suffering." (Baroness Shami Chakrabarti, former Director of Liberty)

"James Davies is one of the most important voices on mental health in the world. This is a beautiful and deeply sane book. Everyone who's suffering - and wants to know how to make it stop - should read it right away." (Johann Hari, author of Lost Connections)

"In this game-changing polemic, James Davies leaves us in no doubt: to tackle the mental health crisis we need major social and economic reform." (Nathan Filer, author of This Book will Change Your Mind about Mental Health)
All stars
Most relevant  
great insight, describes the problem of modern day mental health clearly. Opened my eyes to the power of the pharmaceutical companies in politics and policies.

must read

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Every aspect if this book should appeal to people, the entirety of the knowledge is obvious but brilliant.

Absolutely Brilliant

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Excellent book. So important to understand the damage done by the medicalisation of human suffering.

A must read for anyone interested in ‘mental health’

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Well narrated. Bit oveely fixated on neoliberalism but otherwise a well balanced perspective and challenges the overreach of unregulated capitalism as the foundation for many western societies values.

Worth a listen

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An unbelievable account of how we have, and continue to make decisions that knowingly negatively impact millions of people’s lives. Brutally honest. It’s a must read for all policy makers, heath care professionals and everyone working in ‘mental health’ - workplaces, justice, education, community, etc!! And also everyone who has ever been diagnosed with a mental health condition. This book has truly got me thinking about my own role and how I can influence change. Thank you!!

Must Read for everyone!

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….for anyone invested in making systematic and long term improvements in improving mental health. The narrative does have a (declared) political bias but the arguments and observations all sit on researched evidence. Some scary insights into the vested interests and influences of big Pharma and an even scary insight into the UK’s leadership over the last few decades. Leaned a lot.

A must read…

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Dr Davies has written a compelling and sobering critique of psychiatry and over-medication, at the same time examining the role of changing political agendas and the way in which psychiatry, corporations and politics have joined forces - sometimes wittingly but often simply because they are working to the same capitalist agenda. An important read for anyone uneasy about current trends in medicine, politics and working conditions.

A must-read

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I bought this audiobook in good faith being a researcher and active practitioner in mental health. I finished it in order to be able to provide a fair review. In brief, this book is really using the distress, which many suffer due to mental ill health, as a segue to further inflate your hurt and blame it on neoliberal politics. The critique of the neoliberal system is cliché and offers nothing new. As is often the case it is provided by an individual who has benefitted immensely from it, a ‘Mercedes-Marxist’. Throughout the book the author mentions how they are jet-setting around the world to interview people in exotic cities, and researchers from tax funded institutions in progressive neoliberal economies. All very expensive. What I was amazed about was the bias and cherry picking in relation to the research. All intended to inflate the distress of the reader and attempt to discredit the neoliberal approach, not to look for answers, and no contrast is made with non-neoliberal governments just to make it a bit fair. As it is usual for these kinds of pseudo critiques, the comparison is made against a Utopia which exists nowhere on earth. My favourite quote was that the Soviet Union was ‘pseudo-socialism’. Yes, we haven’t really tried it yet! My question to the author is which non-neoliberal economy is doing better at addressing the needs of their population in relation to mental health? Similarly, I couldn’t believe when the author mentions the past research on Thalidomide without any reference to the falsification of data that was carried out in that research, which is well known in the research community. If you are experiencing distress due to your mental health and are seeking answers, this is not he book for you, there are none. Talk to your GP, ask to change therapist, seek alternatives to your treatment. Due to the fact that you live in a non-perfect neoliberal democracy you can question authority and no one will be coming knocking on your door at night. If you wish to listen to a book written to just confirm your own beliefs against neoliberal economies, this still is not the book for you as not a single new argument is made against it. If, on the other hand, you are a Mercedes-Marxist who probably owes everything to the neoliberal democratic economy you live in and are feeling guilty, dive right in.

Warning: propaganda

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