Obsessively Yours

Exploring the social and cultural roots of personality and its disorders.

by Lennard Davis

Five Reasons not to take SSRIs

Five reasons not to take your SSRIs. Read More

Brain Surgery for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: A Cautionary Note

Psychiatric surgeons are rushing back to psychosurgery for obsessive-compulsive disorders. Not so fast!! Read More

Ghostwritten Medical Articles Cast Doubt on Reliability of Psychiatric Drugs

Don't be so sure that the drug you are taking really does what it is supposed to do. Con jobs happen even with scientific studies and peer-reviewed articles. Read More

OCD and Swine Flu--disorder or survival technique?

Is Everyone Developing OCD in the Swine Flu Panic? Read More

Obsession: A History

I've been generally happy with the reviews of my new book Obsession: A History but a recent one requires a response. Dag Agins in The Huffington Post writes that when someone tries to cross the line between science and the humanities, that person ends up pleasing neither side of the divide. Read More

The New York Times on the DSM V

The New York Times today carried a story about the machinations and politics behind the DSM V, the diagnostic and statistical manual used by therapists and medical doctors to assign diagnoses to patients seeking treatment. Read More

Axl Rose: Obsessive Monomaniac Perfectionist

The 15-year run of suspense is over. Guns N' Roses fans, and anyone who has followed the release of "Chinese Democracy," Axl Rose's grand obsession, can now buy the album. Read More

Obama erotomaniacs become stalkers?

During this election, frequently sighted at Obama rallies were women falling into a faint. These occurrences became so common that Obama would throw a bottle of water to the woman or routinely ask for medical care. Women weren't just fainting from the heat or dehydration-they were fainting with love Read More

Sex Addiction? An Obsession? A Disease?

Actor David Duchovny, who plays a sex-addicted writer in the TV series Californication, had recently checked himself into and now out of Meadows Rehab in Arizona for being, well, sex addicted in real life. Read More

Lennard J. Davis is professor of disability studies, medical education, and English literature at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and the author of Obsession: A History.

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