October 17, 2008 
David Brooks as psychologist? He wrote a great opinion piece for the New York Times today ((Source: Thinking About Obama)) on the psychology of Barack Obama. Brooks is certainly conservative but he is always level-headed and critical – that’s why I like his editorials. I suppose in his logical, dispassionate analytics he finds Obama a kindred spirit. Of course, by the end of the article he raises his elephant flag but up to that point he gives a fair and cogent psychological analysis.
Read the full article → June 13, 2008From the New Scientist, “Yet one culprit is rarely mentioned: the broad range of psychiatric drugs that can cause substantial weight gain. They include drugs marketed as antidepressants (such as amitriptyline, doxepin and imipramine), mood stabilisers (including lithium and valproate) and antipsychotics (including clozapine, olanzapine and chlorpromazine). After 10 years on lithium, for example, two-thirds of patients put on around 10 kilograms. And in December 2006, The New York Times published an article based on internal documents from the drug company Eli Lilly which indicated that it had intentionally downplayed the side effects of olanzapine, which it sells as Zyprexa. The company’s data showed that one-third of patients who have taken the drug for a year gain at least 10 kilograms, and half of these gain at least 30 kilograms.”
