Charles Barber begins his narrative, or rather, his investigation of mental illness, by talking about his time working with the mentally ill in shelters for homeless and in New York-Presbyterian Hospital. Not only does Mr. Barber discuss the cases of some of those he has helped, but readers quickly notice how much he focuses on what outsiders thought of the matter. For example, Barber claims that the high society figures who attended parties in his native Connecticut were never familiar with his work and did not regard him with the same respect as doctors and lawyers as many of them did. Then, Barber notes, a significant shift occurred, in which he and his work took center stage. Many stigmas were alleviated, as people no longer felt shame, personality defects became disorders, this therapeutic work alien to many became national news. Barber explains the phenomenon of drugs, the absence of stigma, and aggressive marketing campaigns to explain the sudden change in Americans. Barber clearly makes his central claim that so many people turn to medications hoping that they will improve their lives, while those with true clinical mental illnesses do not receive the proper treatment. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Barber is completely thorough in his investigations into this topic. He cites scientific discoveries, testimonies from doctors and researchers, medical articles and journals, first-person statements from mentally ill people, and all of this is well matched to his personal experience. Barber uses primary sources, such as research and people's statements, while also providing us with secondary sources that evaluate many of the topics he introduces, such as critiques and analyzes of studies and methods in both psychology and psychiatry. Barber organizes the information he presents to us well. Start with your own experience, then move on to discuss the impact big pharmaceutical companies have had. Next, Barber writes about real cases of mental illness that aren't brought to light by the media and discusses approaches to psychiatry that don't involve drugs. His writing style is also an important element to discuss in his book. He writes in a very conversational way to ensure that everyone understands and this also creates a very conversational feeling with the reader, which is always a great strategy. That said, Barber also writes by citing relevant scientific data and facts that more than adequately support his main claim. The only downside, perhaps, is the inclusion of so many scientific aspects that people without a fairly good understanding of biology and medicine may not receive the full effect of everything Barber is trying to tell. Yet, this is also a great read for anyone interested in both the science and business of modern medicine. Patients put so much power in the hands of doctors and trust them completely, why wouldn't they? The answer, as Barber bluntly and shockingly admits, is that modern science has ultimately failed us. In my opinion, we are truly in the dark ages of medicine. This is because it is currently impossible to design drugs for a specific purpose, rather drugs are discovered more or less randomly. Even new drugs that are supposed to treat mental illnesses are simply reproductions of pre-existing drugs. Scientists are just starting to look at the brain and nervous system in an understandable way, there are 100 trillion connections in the brain and we still don't understand the function ofentire regions of the brain. For example, while drugs in the United States appear to focus on increasing the amount of serotonin in the brain, drugs derived in Europe reduce the amount of serotonin, and both classes of drugs have the same results. This is surprisingly not taken into account in our knowledge of the brain. This then suggests to us that if we truly do not understand these drugs or their long term effects, despite showing little data to ever make anyone better, then why are they being advertised so aggressively? Well, to no one's surprise, it's because of corruption, bribery and cutthroat business. The allegations of corruption and bribery are explained by the fact that pharmaceutical companies are actually financing the financing for the inspection of their drugs and that these companies are paying for the new headquarters of the Food and Drug Administration. Drugs are considered innocent until proven guilty, a completely absurd idea. Barber includes a quote from Michael F. Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest: "Roosevelt would feel sick to his stomach if he could see how Harvey Wiley's [first FDA commissioner] unyielding tiger of an agency is become such a flexible kitten” (Barber 36). And as for corporate affairs, Barber reports that the top ten pharmaceutical companies earned more than the other 490 companies in the Forbes 500 (Barber 22). These companies' products, like Prozac, are prescribed to millions of people, it's no wonder they push them so hard on the general population. As Berber frankly says, what better way to make more money than to create a bigger customer base broad targeting perfectly healthy people? One of the topics addressed in class in this book is the debate between mental illness and problem behavior. Thomas Szasz argues that mental illnesses are not, in fact, illnesses, but rather a great myth passed on to the public. Barber would partially agree with this idea. Many people, especially those who can afford prescription medications and treatments, do not medically need medications to treat themselves, but are seeking help for something wrong in their life. Barber says many people with social anxiety are simply shy, and people suffering from depression are simply not happy. In both cases, the vast majority of people do not meet the threshold for receiving a clinical diagnosis of disease. Because many mental illnesses are not concretely defined enough to be identified with 100% accuracy, it is possible that these conditions are nonexistent for many people. As Barber says, “there is the umbrella term depression” which means there is a difference between depression and clinical (actual and diagnosable) depression. And Szasz may be on to something, as pharmaceutical companies profit hugely from “curing” these people. For the most part, I really agree with Barber's statements. For example, he says the stigma of mental illness isn't as great anymore. People are free to discuss their lives and contact qualified doctors. Case in point, myself. I have, or at least I think I have, social anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Now, as far as I'm concerned, these are minor obstacles in my life; it's just a struggle to overcome just like everything else in life is. I would never feel the need to actively pursue medications. My father, an executive at Pfizer (a company Barber attacks numerous times), doesn't even support the use of the drugs. He doesn't even care about using Advil. There was a time, not too long ago, when?.