Debbie Holden was 16 when she first started to slip into the lonely, nightmare world of anorexia. She won a competition with school friends over who could lose the most weight. And it was from this ominous beginning that the eight stone teenager became trapped in a cycle of binging, vomiting and laxative abuse. Read more
There we were on a train, my son and I. Second row in, on the left. I was in the window seat. Behind my son, a man. In front of me, a lady in a pink coat, with pink nail varnish, on a pink mobile. Opposite us sat a man by the window. Behind him, on the first row, by the window, another man. I was aware of two ladies further up on our side and one lady further up at the end of the carriage, on the right. Well I do have SAS blood in me, ipso factso! Ridiculous, but a safety habit. Oh Bruce, where is the conveyor belt! Read more
During the 1980s I was an Approved Social Worker, and I cannot quite understand how so much power was invested in me. I now understand how little I knew and how little I needed to know in order to satisfy the authorities that appointed me. Read more
The new Diagnostic & Statistical Manual (DSM5) is soon due to be published. DSM is the modern ‘bible’ for diagnosis in psychiatry. Yet there is little or no evidence to support the idea that the categories used in DSM are either based on sound science or clinically helpful. So I decided earlier this year that it was time to start a campaign. Read more
Welcome to this issue of Asylum magazine. There are lots of highlights but you may be particularly moved by our featured piece – Stephen R Killeen’s chilling call for ‘mad independence’. Responding to readers’ feedback, we are trying to keep articles shorter. We are also covering more ‘news’ stories. Please do give us any feedback on this. And send us other news items you think we should cover. Read more
‘One Step Beyond: Alternatives beyond Psychiatry’ Edited by Peter Stastny and Peter Lehmann; Book Review by Helen Spandler… Read more
