Scott Alexander critiques therapy books, highlighting their exaggerated claims and questioning the validity of their approaches, based on his clinical experience and historical misdiagnoses in psychology. Longer summary

Scott Alexander reviews the common patterns in therapy books, noting their tendency to promise miraculous results and criticize previous methods. He observes that while these books claim extraordinary success, his clinical experience doesn't match these claims. The post explores the concept of 'historicism' in therapy, where current problems are linked to past traumas, and questions the validity of this approach. Scott expresses skepticism about the dramatic transformations described in therapy books, comparing them to past misguided theories about mental health conditions. He concludes by warning readers to be cautious when evaluating individual therapy books, as they can be convincing in isolation but problematic when viewed as part of a larger trend. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander reviews Foucault's 'Madness and Civilization', examining its controversial historical analysis of societal attitudes towards mental illness. Longer summary

Scott Alexander reviews Michel Foucault's 'Madness and Civilization', exploring its historical analysis of societal attitudes towards mental illness from the Renaissance to the 19th century. The review highlights Foucault's controversial interpretations, including the mythical 'Ship of Fools', the confinement of the mad with criminals and the poor, and the author's critical view of mental health reforms. Scott notes the book's fascinating historical insights and beautiful writing, while expressing skepticism about some of Foucault's claims and his postmodern approach to analyzing history. Shorter summary

Scott presents a case of postpartum panic attacks, explains the theory of panic as a false suffocation alarm, and discusses how understanding this mechanism can help treat the condition. Longer summary

The post discusses a case of a woman experiencing panic attacks and feelings of suffocation after childbirth. Scott explores Donald Klein's theory of panic disorder as a false suffocation alarm, explaining how the brain monitors CO2 levels and other factors to determine if suffocation is occurring. The theory is linked to postpartum panic attacks due to hormonal changes affecting breathing patterns. Scott explains this to the patient, which helps calm her down. The post concludes by discussing how understanding the mechanism behind panic attacks can be therapeutic, drawing parallels with other psychological experiments. Shorter summary

Scott Alexander examines the theory linking inflammation to depression, finding it promising but cautioning against overconfidence, and discusses the potential and limitations of anti-inflammatory drugs as depression treatments. Longer summary

Scott Alexander discusses the theory that depression may be caused by inflammation, reviewing evidence for and against it. He explains how inflammatory cytokines are linked to sickness behavior and depression-like symptoms, and how this theory connects to other known facts about depression. While finding the theory promising, he cautions against overconfidence given past experiences with other depression theories. The post also explores the potential of anti-inflammatory drugs as depression treatments, concluding that while celecoxib shows promise, its cardiovascular side effects make it unsuitable as a first-line treatment for most patients. Shorter summary