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Anatomy of an Epidemic MP3 CD – MP3 Audio, April 29, 2014

by Robert Whitaker (Author), Ken Kliban (Reader)
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 1,413 ratings
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In this astonishing and startling audiobook, award-winning science and history writer Robert Whitaker investigates a medical mystery: Why has the number of disabled mentally ill in the United States tripled over the past two decades? Every day, 1,100 adults and children are added to the government disability rolls because they have become newly disabled by mental illness, with this epidemic spreading most rapidly among our nation’s children. What is going on?

Anatomy of an Epidemic challenges readers to think through that question themselves. First, Whitaker investigates what is known today about the biological causes of mental disorders. Do psychiatric medications fix “chemical imbalances” in the brain, or do they, in fact, create them? Researchers spent decades studying that question, and by the late 1980s, they had their answer. Readers will be startled—and dismayed—to discover what was reported in the scientific journals.

Then comes the scientific query at the heart of this book: During the past fifty years, when investigators looked at how psychiatric drugs affected long-term outcomes, what did they find? Did they discover that the drugs help people stay well? Function better? Enjoy good physical health? Or did they find that these medications, for some paradoxical reason, increase the likelihood that people will become chronically ill, less able to function well, more prone to physical illness?

This is the first audiobook to look at the merits of psychiatric medications through the prism of long-term results. Are long-term recovery rates higher for medicated or unmedicated schizophrenia patients? Does taking an antidepressant decrease or increase the risk that a depressed person will become disabled by the disorder? Do bipolar patients fare better today than they did forty years ago, or much worse? When the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) studied the long-term outcomes of children with ADHD, did they determine that stimulants provide any benefit?

By the end of this review of the outcomes literature, readers are certain to have a haunting question of their own: Why have the results from these long-term studies—all of which point to the same startling conclusion—been kept from the public?

In this compelling history, Whitaker also tells the personal stories of children and adults swept up in this epidemic. Finally, he reports on innovative programs of psychiatric care in Europe and the United States that are producing good long-term outcomes. Our nation has been hit by an epidemic of disabling mental illness, and yet, as Anatomy of an Epidemic reveals, the medical blueprints for curbing that epidemic have already been drawn up.

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  1. Language
    English
  2. Publisher
    Brilliance Audio
  3. Publication date
    April 29, 2014
  4. Dimensions
    5.5 x 5.5 x 0.25 inches
  5. ISBN-10
    1491513217
  6. ISBN-13
    978-1491513217
  7. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Brilliance Audio; Unabridged edition (April 29, 2014)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1491513217
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1491513217
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.4 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 5.5 x 0.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 1,413 ratings

About the author

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Robert Whitaker

Robert Whitaker

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Robert Whitaker is the author of four books: Mad in America, The Mapmaker's Wife, On the Laps of Gods and Anatomy of an Epidemic. His newspaper and magazine articles on the mentally ill and the pharmaceutical industry have garnered several national awards, including a George Polk Award for medical writing and a National Association of Science Writers Award for best magazine article. A series he cowrote for the Boston Globe on the abuse of mental patients in research settings was named a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 1998.

Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
1,413 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the research quality excellent and thorough. They describe the book as brilliant, enjoyable, and highly recommendable. Readers also find the content compelling, revealing, and interesting. They praise the writing style as clear, easy to read, and understandable. However, some customers report that the drugs have dangerous side effects. Opinions are mixed on the material quality, with some finding it excellent and good, while others say it's limited and fragile.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

Select to learn more
Research qualityReadabilityEnlightened readWriting styleValue for moneyMaterial qualitySide effects
157 customers mention "Research quality"143 positive14 negative

Customers find the book well-researched, thorough, and solidly referenced. They say it offers a great overview of how the process has played out and contains extensive citations.

"Whitaker does a very scholarly and candid exposure of the shoddy science surrounding the various "chemical imbalance" theories..." Read more

"...This book is a collection of very disturbing cases and extremely convincing data, and thorough, honest, research-based on scientific documents as..." Read more

"This book gives an interesting alternate viewpoint from the one espoused by traditional psychiatry holding that mental illnesses are the results of '..." Read more

"Well-researched with an abundance of scientific sources...." Read more

87 customers mention "Readability"87 positive0 negative

Customers find the book brilliant, enjoyable, and highly recommendable. They say it's an absolute read for every parent and professional. Readers also mention the book is an excellent indictment against the widespread use of psychiatric drugs.

"...This is MUST reading for every medical and mental-health professional, as well as anyone who wants to be informed, or is..." Read more

"...It's brilliant, engrossing, and at times, very unsettling reading. It should make you upset...." Read more

"...Very good, a bit sorta scary.Not all can benefit from what he is stating whom are on SSRI's...." Read more

"...and more people centred therapies at the end of the book makes for great reading...." Read more

80 customers mention "Enlightened read"77 positive3 negative

Customers find the book compelling, revealing, and riveting. They say it's interesting and well-written. Readers also mention the material is shocking and entertaining.

"...medications ( and the expansion of the diagnosis) is very revealing...." Read more

"...This book is a collection of very disturbing cases and extremely convincing data, and thorough, honest, research-based on scientific documents as..." Read more

"...on adults and children is accurate, this book is an essential and illuminating read.imgres-1..." Read more

"...Whitaker covers these issues very well with some illuminating case histories and also a comprehensive history of the development of the major..." Read more

57 customers mention "Writing style"48 positive9 negative

Customers find the writing style of the book very well-written, easy to read, and understand. They say it's written with attitude, elegantly argued, and in an easy-to-understand format. Readers also appreciate the clear opinions expressed without fanaticism.

"...This book makes a complex (and at times "mystical") set of theories understandable...." Read more

"IRobert Whitaker's 2010 book Anatomy of an Epidemic is written with attitude...." Read more

"...and thus far they all check out. He brings together, in a clear and compelling way, observations that I can confirm from my 42 years in the field..." Read more

"...This is the most well-researched and well-written book on this issue I have ever read...." Read more

17 customers mention "Value for money"14 positive3 negative

Customers find the book worth the purchase, saying it's very valuable. They also say psychiatric drugs are immensely profitable and an ideal product from a marketing perspective.

"...I thought it was well worth the money." Read more

"...Psychiatric drugs are immensely profitable, and are an ideal product from a marketing perspective...." Read more

"...Thanks Robert, for a very valuable piece of work." Read more

"...in psychology or specifically biological psychology, but it is well worth the effort...." Read more

17 customers mention "Material quality"10 positive7 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the material quality of the book. Some mention it's excellent and believable, while others say the pages are too fragile and the weakest part of the book.

"...I am in fine shape physically and mentally. I don't have cognitive problems and I am certainly not subdued or "drugged into a stupor."..." Read more

"...Independent parties confirmed that those drugs are not suitable for long-term use...." Read more

"...is often repetitive and occasionally preachy - but the reasearch for this book seems solid...." Read more

"...While poor long term outcomes are deplorable, they are seen as first and foremost caused by the illness itself...." Read more

27 customers mention "Side effects"0 positive27 negative

Customers find the side effects of psychotropic drugs to be extremely dangerous. They say the medications are more harmful than helpful, and they're extremely hard to get off of. Readers also mention the book is essential but scary reading for anyone who has used psychotropic meds.

"...and not too surprisingly, six months later, the neuroleptic treated monkeys had brain damage...." Read more

"...'ve discovered is that the more drugs you've been given, the more brain tissue you lose."..." Read more

"...worked quite well in the beginning, with time the drugs started having negative effects including severe side effects as well as addictions...." Read more

"...These drugs, for most people , are totally ineffective, completely unsafe, and lead to worse long-term outcomes that then create dependency than can..." Read more

AN 'ANATOMY LESSON' FROM A TRUSTED AUTHOR
5 out of 5 stars
AN 'ANATOMY LESSON' FROM A TRUSTED AUTHOR
Let's be clear from the outset that author Robert Whitaker is a man whose 'ANATOMY OF AN EPIDEMIC' was met with hostile, knee-jerk responses from those who simply don't want to discuss facts. In this case, Whitaker did not set out to discover the haunting truths about many of the psychiatric medications he began to reveal in this book and MAD IN AMERICA. In fact, just the opposite was true: Whitaker assumed that the information he was being provided by government officials at the National Institutes of Mental Health and elsewhere was all legitimate. After all, these doctors and leaders at NIMH were the experts, right? At the time, Whitaker embraced mental health drugs based on his belief that they were truly helping people.While researching some conflicting scientific information in a story he was writing on antidepressants, Whitaker discovered that the science was riddled with inaccuracies and unproven conclusions. He then felt the duty to share all of what he had discovered, so that other citizens could make a fully informed choice.In 'ANATOMY,' you will learn the kind of facts that have been withheld about psychotropic drugs. Whitaker was nominated for a Pulitzer in science journalism—and New Scientist called Robert Whitaker's ANATOMY OF AN EPIDEMIC "an enthralling and frighteningly persuasive book." I agree wholeheartedly.
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Top reviews from the United States

Old Finn
5.0 out of 5 stars Startling dirty secrets exposed!
Reviewed in the United States on May 29, 2010
Verified Purchase
Whitaker does a very scholarly and candid exposure of the shoddy science surrounding the various "chemical imbalance" theories extant in psychiatry today. He has done his background research very carefully. Though I am a retired psychiatrist who was skeptical of the various chemical imbalance theories, I could not do the extensive background research he has accomplished. I did not know, for example, that Prozac was ruled ineffective in German studies before it was introduced with major hoopla in the US. (picked up by major magazines, featured on covers). He shows how the drugs create imbalances by modifying the brain receptors, which can be then, permanently altered. Our brain chemistry has been, through evolution around for many thousands of years and is durable. To modify it with a chemical, the brain takes steps to keep the chemistry in its original balanced state, but turning off or eliminating receptors, for example. Kept under the barrage of continued chemical assault, some of these changes are permanent, which accounts for the distress many feel when they go "off meds". This book makes a complex (and at times "mystical") set of theories understandable. This is MUST reading for every medical and mental-health professional, as well as anyone who wants to be informed, or is considering medication. The section on ADHD medications ( and the expansion of the diagnosis) is very revealing. The initial results can be magical, the long-term results can be tragic.
He is clear that there are some dramatic positive results. He also explains the placebo effect. This book should provoke some serious discussion of long-term risk vs benefits of medication.
He also demonstrates how the APA, with its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual has magnified and increased the scope of diagnosable mental illness has created a market for its biological product. He is very clear how the main-stream psychiatric community cozies up to Big Pharma. A must read.
13 people found this helpful
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doctor mom
5.0 out of 5 stars I strongly urge all the psychiatry must read this book and carefully prescribe medicine to all patients just like they would do to their loved ones
Reviewed in the United States on August 18, 2017
Verified Purchase
As a former general physician and a current mental health professional, I strongly urge all the psychiatrists must read this book and carefully prescribe medicine to all patients just like they would do to their loved ones. This book is a collection of very disturbing cases and extremely convincing data, and thorough, honest, research-based on scientific documents as well. It proved what I have been suspecting: How my college child got the diagnosis of bipolar disorder from her college psychiatric clinic in the first place and was prescribed Risperdal by a nurse practitioner. It happened five years ago in a cold North East winter season when she felt bad mood after experiencing difficult personal issues. She went to the clinic and immediately got prescription of a combination of two antidepressant. One week later she felt the symptom was getting worse and became different, a suicidal thought, then she ended up getting Risperdal to treat the "mania." We asked her to stop the med and she did it with the doubt that she probably had a mental illness. Five years later, she became insomnia, probably due to work and stress. She thought her mental illness relapse due to the "fact" that she discontinued the med and it resulted now as an episode of "mania". She went to another university psychiatry clinic in the North West and was diagnosed bipolar again in the first visit and was told that she needs a lifetime medicine to control mental illness. It began with a young, inexperienced, some how panic, nowhere to get support, college student's one-time episode of a mood swing, and then ended up a chronic mental illness needing life time -long medicine. I felt my heart-wrenching and I am a failure of being a mother. I am a nice person and a professional woman with ethical standard and I never hated any one in my life until my child recently was diagnosed "bipolar disorder." Nowadays many college students are taking antidepressants due to little tolerance of mental stress and physical discomfort. Pharmaceutical companies and some psychiatrists should be responsible for these young lives. The thought of believing herself is a patient of mental illness and needing life time treatment is a heavier burden than the drug side-effect itself. The long-term effect of the medicine is a future consequence but the immediate consequence is the constant anxiety of "mental illness" lingering in her mind, which would cause/create/induce, so to speak, more "mania episode" happening again and again. Once the patient decides to stop the med, he or she would soon be immersed again into a strong anxiety of the coming relapses of the original symptom. That is why depression label is so difficult to get rid off by patients and by doctors. The human mind can be conditioned. What you think can make how you feel about your body and in turns, how you feel emotionally can lead to your physical response/symptoms --- insomnia, chronic muscle and joint pain, heart racing and palpitation, thoughts speeding, irregular bowel , blurred vision, lapse of memory, concentration deficits, lost interests and sexual drive, lost appetite, suicidal thoughts, etc. you named. A vicious cycle !!! A beautiful mind will eventually be destroyed. A young person with a promising degree and high achievement shouldn't be imprisoned by this kind of cruel life time sentence.
Thank to Robert Whitaker. You lead the movement of "Mad in America." Every patient and every doctor should read this book.The medical field of mental health should be reformed. All psychiatrists need to take continuing education to learn about the other trends of treatment of symptoms, but not rush to verdict the patients who come to you for help.
Scientific studies have proven that there is no such thing as "chemical imbalance." It is scary that many psychiatrists prescribe drugs based on what patients said about their feelings, not based on blood tests, high-tech imaging, biopsy, lab tests and long-term close observations and anecdotal of patient's daily functionings. Although a great majority of psychiatrists have a good heart to help patients, they need continuing education. In the entire medical field, there is no such highly controversial treatment of long term use of drugs as in the case of mental illness. Look at the treatment of diabetes, hypertension, thyroid problems, heart diseases, kidney diseases, autoimmune diseases, etc. , how many controversial debates can you hear? The diagnosis of these conditions is based on blood tests, high-tech imaging, biopsies and many lab tests. Yet, diagnosis of depression and bipolar disorder are based on none of the diagnostics tools. Be, aware! DSM itself is more art than science. Depression is a spectrum of symptoms, not a disease. There are other ways to manage these symptoms. Social, emotional, environmental aspects should be considered. The lifetime drug is not an answer, which does more harm than help.
Please also read more comment below. Thanks.
65 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Janet Sheppard
5.0 out of 5 stars An Inconvenient Truth or Life Saver book?
Reviewed in Canada on August 18, 2024
Verified Purchase
Read this book… however inconvenient to big pharma and psychiatrists who blindly follow big pharma, this book is probably saving lives! No exaggeration.
This is a comprehensive review of the literature, combined with reports of several people who have experienced psychotropic medications. The book is easy to read and written with several descriptions of neurological functions that help the reader follow the story of how psychotropic medication affect people in the short and long-term.
It includes history of the marketing, prescribing and researching of psychiatric medications. Also included are stories and information about other approaches to psychosis, depression and anxiety that has been successful. This book is for anyone who has experienced service from the mental healthcare system and for anyone who cares about someone receiving such treatment, and all therapists.
Some reviewers said that Whitaker didn’t cite studies and research: wrong! Just look at his extensive bibliography.
Whitaker should get a citizens advocacy award for this very difficult but necessary piece of journalism. Kudos
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Bruna Lima
5.0 out of 5 stars O livro é bom mas...
Reviewed in Brazil on July 1, 2024
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Comprei a versão em inglês porque tava mais barato que a traduzida. Ainda não terminei de ler mas o assunto é extremamente pertinente e atual. Só a entrega que deixou a desejar.
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Johan Gabrielsson
5.0 out of 5 stars An unprecedented analysis of long-term use of CNS active drugs
Reviewed in Sweden on February 26, 2023
Verified Purchase
Robert Whitaker's "Anatomy of an Epidemic" AoE should be a required textbook that all students (pharmacy, medical etc) who take a course in pharmacology should read in parallel to standard literature. Whitaker presents, analyzes and communicates his conclusions of long-term drug treatment of CNS disorders in a concise and professional way, that made me totally absorbed until I reached the last page. Whitaker works as a top class scientist turning all stones and searching for the big picture. Excellent text, and among the best scientific books I have read.
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AlejandrA
5.0 out of 5 stars Muy buen libro
Reviewed in Mexico on October 13, 2019
Verified Purchase
Excelente
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent. Deeply thought provoking.
Reviewed in Australia on April 7, 2021
Verified Purchase
This book is the most powerful book ever written about psychiatry, lifting the lid on how they operate and how they medicate people that have what is deemed mental, mind disorders, when really what's happened to people is what creates distress. I loved this book and think it should be read by parents before they allow any doctor or psychiatrist to diagnose their son or daughter or any family member for that matter.
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