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Articles on Mental illness

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Henry Darger worked as a hospital custodian. After his death in 1973, hundreds of his illustrations were discovered. Brooklyn Taxidermy/flickr

What is vernacular art? A visual artist explains

The genre – also known as ‘folk art’ or ‘outsider art’ – serves as a reminder that art is a universal human pursuit.
Winona Ryder played Susannah Kaysen in the film of Kaysen’s memoir, Girl, Interrupted. Columbia Pictures/IMDB

Girl, Interrupted interrogates how women are ‘mad’ when they refuse to conform – 30 years on, this memoir is still important

Why was Susanna Kaysen really hospitalised? Her memoir Girl, Interrupted turns 30 this year. It investigates whether she was ‘mad’, or medicalised for a ‘chaotic’ life that defied gender norms.
A diagnosis of treatment-resistant depression can lead to a sense of hopelessness and despair in some patients. Maria Korneeva/Moment via Getty Images

Depression too often gets deemed ‘hard to treat’ when medication falls short

An overreliance on medication as the first-line treatment for depression can lead some people to be labeled with treatment-resistant depression when there are other viable alternatives for relief.
Given how quickly MAID eligibility has changed in Canada in the past six years, it is time we take a step back to ask whether current MAID practice is still something we want to support. (Pexels/Karolina Grabowska)

As eligibility for MAID expands, the ethical implications of broad access to medically assisted death need a long, hard look

Since 2016, Canada’s practice of offering MAID has followed a trajectory of ever-expanding eligibility. The ultimate expansion would make MAID available to anyone who wanted it, for any reason.
Psychedelics are being held up as a potential solution to the growing need for mental health treatment. But, magic mushrooms are not magic bullets. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Alberta’s new policy on psychedelic drug treatment for mental illness: Will Canada lead the psychedelic renaissance?

Alberta’s new policy on psychedelic-assisted therapy for mental illness may set a precedent that moves Canadians one step closer to accepting psychedelics as medicinal substances.
The planned expansion of Canada’s medical assistance in dying (MAID) law to include people with mental illnesses whose death is not imminent has been delayed, but not cancelled. (Shutterstock)

Canada delays expanding medical assistance in dying to include mental illness, but it’s still a policy built on quicksand

Canada’s planned expansion of MAID to mental illness is based on ignorance — if not outright disregard — of fundamental suicide prevention principles.
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When does mental distress become a mental illness?

Mental distress can be a temporary reaction to life stress, or the beginning of a serious mental illness. It’s important to choose strategies and supports that work best for the individual.
Ethical and equitable scientific collaboration could help increase the genetic diversity of genomic data. gmast3r/iStock via Getty Images Plus

Uncovering the genetic basis of mental illness requires data and tools that aren’t just based on white people – this international team is collecting DNA samples around the globe

Existing genetic data and sequencing tools are overwhelmingly based on people of European ancestry, which excludes much of the rich genetic variation of the world.

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