Why read Chemically Imbalanced?

Book cover of Chemically Imbalanced: Everyday Suffering, Medication, and Our Troubled Quest for Self-Mastery

Book description

Everyday suffering-those conditions or feelings brought on by trying circumstances that arise in everyone's lives-is something that humans have grappled with for millennia. But the last decades have seen a drastic change in the way we approach it. In the past, a person going through a time of difficulty might…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Chemically Imbalanced as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Adam Ellwanger

Author

Davis tackles the way that depression or sadness came to be medicalized. He reminds us that these feelings are normal, integral parts of the human experience and analyzes how modern people started to view those emotions as abnormal, psychological conditions in need of pharmaceutical treatment. In his account of conversations with people who use anti-depressants, Davis shows that the medicalization of sadness can actually compound the suffering of people who struggle with depression. Is it really normal to be happy all the time? This book suggests it might not be.

From Adam's list on why looking for your ‘true self’ is pointless.