In the first episode of a two-part series, Heather and Joanne look at how the traditional American medical establishment has conceived of mental health over our national history. What can these designations say about the pandemic-associated mental health crises we currently face? How have powerful Americans defined “normalcy” and “abnormalcy” at various points?
They explore the pioneering and controversial Philadelphia physician Benjamin Rush, the rise and fall of the “neurasthenia” diagnosis, and the 1950s emergence of antidepressants.
How can we be in touch with our own mental health? Join CAFE Insider to listen to “Backstage,” where Heather and Joanne chat each week about the anecdotes and ideas that formed the episode. Head to: cafe.com/history
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Executive Producer: Tamara Sepper; Editorial Producer: David Kurlander; Audio Producer: Matthew Billy; Theme Music: Nat Weiner; CAFE Team: Adam Waller, David Tatasciore, Sam Ozer-Staton, Noa Azulai, and Jake Kaplan. Now & Then is presented by CAFE and the Vox Media Podcast Network.
REFERENCES & SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALS
- Kat Lonsdorf, “People are developing trauma-like symptoms as the pandemic wears on,” NPR, 4/7/2022
- Deidre McPhillips, “90% of US adults say the United States is experiencing a mental health crisis, CNN/KFF poll finds,” CNN, 10/5/2022
- “Psychologists struggle to meet demand amid mental health crisis,” American Psychological Association, 2022
- Katie O’Connor, “Biden Urges Bipartisan Effort on Mental Health,” American Psychiatric Association, 2/9/2023
BENJAMIN RUSH
- “Rush and Mental Health,” University of Pennsylvania Libraries
- Aaron Levin, “The Life of Benjamin Rush Reflects Troubled Age in U.S. Medical History,” American Psychiatric Association, 1/29/2019
- Bernard A. Weisberger, “The Paradoxical Doctor Benjamin Rush,” American Heritage, 12/1975
- Stephen Fried, “Rush on the Mind,” Philadelphia Gazette, 10/26/2018
NEURASTHENIA
- Julie Beck, “‘Americanitis’: The Disease of Living Too Fast,” The Atlantic, 3/11/2016
- David G. Schuster, “Neurasthenic Nation: America’s Search for Health, Happiness, and Comfort, 1869-1920,” Rutgers University Press, 8/29/2011
- David G. Schuster, “Neurasthenia and a Modernizing America,” Journal of the American Medical Association, 11/5/2003
- George M. Beard, American Nervousness: Its Causes and Consequences, National Institutes of Health, 1881
- Anne Stiles, “Go rest, young man,” American Psychological Association, 1/2012
- Matthew Wills, “Go West, You Nervous Men,” JSTOR Daily, 5/1/2019
- Charlotte Perkins Gilman, “The Yellow Wall-paper,” National Institutes of Health, 1892
- Charlotte Perkins Gilman, “Why I Wrote The Yellow Wallpaper,” The American Yawp, 1913
- Silas Weir Mitchell, “Nurse and Patient, and Camp Cure,” Wellcome Collection, 1877
ANTIDEPRESSANTS
- Todd M. Hillhouse and Joseph H. Porter, “A brief history of the development of antidepressant drugs: From monoamines to glutamate,” Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, 2015
- Lindsey Gruson, “Nathan Kline, Developer of Antidepressants, Dies,” New York Times, 2/14/1983
