The Birth of Biological Psychiatry

We lost the poetry, on our way.

[we come to] learn the incomparable lesson of calm and scientific intelligence, of its systematic application to the improvement of the social conditions and to the refinement of the beauty of the soul and the body. In the harmony of lines and attitudes, the rhythmic grace of gestures, and the balance of thoughts, one would recognize the god of Delos, passing in his chariot, joyful and full of promises.

—Antonio Egas Moniz, Nobel Prize Winner in Medicine for the Lobotomy, on his Journey.

In psychiatry, we spend much time focusing on the side effect profiles because most medicines don't work very well. Unfortunately, that's just the truth.

The unfortunate side effect of this educational and informational approach is that we spend much more time communicating the risks of treatment than the benefits of being well.

We underemphasize the risks of being crippled by a psychiatric illness. We avoid difficult conversations about trade-offs to avoid confrontation with the dangers of a life tha…