Shortly after the birth of her daughter, Rebekah Beddoe was diagnosed with postnatal depression. Two years later she was taking six different drugs, including lithium, a tranquiliser, an antipsychotic and antidepressants. She had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, given electric-shock therapy, made numerous attempts on her life and was alternately manic and consumed by crippling despair, when .

A guide to the uses, benefits and impact of psychotropic drugs. It explains how people taking the drugs experience their side effects compared to the benefits they may bring. It includes thinking on the rationale for drug treatments to help mental health professionals and service users understand therapeutic decision making.

Explores the history of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) - from their early development to their marketing campaigns - and the controversies that surround them. This work demonstrates the potential hazards associated with these drugs. It also demonstrates that the problems go much deeper than a side-effect of a particular drug.

Beginning with the origins of the concept of mania - and the term maniac - in ancient Greek and Roman civilizations, this work examines how concepts of mental afflictions evolved as scientific breakthroughs established connections between brain function and mental illness. It recounts the changing definitions of mania through the centuries.

David Healy follows his widely praised study, 'The Antidepressant Era' with an even more ambitious and dramatic story: the discovery and development of anti-psychotic medication.

Electroconvulsive therapy, or ECT, has been considered a method of last resort in the treatment of debilitating depression, suicidal ideation, and other forms of mental illness. This book traces the controversial history of ECT and other shock therapies. It exposes the myths about ECT that have proliferated over the years.

This is a collection of interviews with 25 leading figures in the field of psychopharmacology - mind altering drugs. The interviews cover the history and development of the major drugs in the field as well as their marketing usefulness.

An account of the phenomenon of antidepressants. The book chronicles the history of psychopharmacology and the current debate over drugs replacing psychotherapy, and explores the regulation of drug companies, what antidepressants reveal about the human brain and the sociology of drug marketing.

A practical, state-of-the-art handbook answering all the queries most commonly experienced by clinicians in deciding which, if any, of the numerous antidepressants currently available should be used to treat a particular patient.