NYT Reporter

Today the New York Times has an article about a recently deceased (2004) journalist named Lucy Freeman who, in the 1940s and 50s, wrote a great deal about mental illness. Apparently she wrote many articles about how great lobotomy was, though she was actually a psychoanalysis devotee. From the article:

In truth, many psychiatrists were trying to convert such institutions from overcrowded, custodial facilities to state-of-the-art medical centers. Believing that mental illness stemmed from organic problems within the brain, psychiatrists had devised a series of treatments, including electroshock therapy and lobotomy.

It was these advances that Ms. Freeman relentlessly publicized as The Times's reporter on mental health. Writing scores of articles like "Action Now Urged on Mental Cases" and "State Mental Care Entering New Era," she willingly blurred the roles of reporter and advocate.

Ugh, some legacy. I wonder how many people underwent that horror of an operation because of her senseless cheerleading.

Later it says, "'By saving them,' she wrote, 'in some way I also saved myself.'".

Good Lord, who did she think she saved exactly? I bet she never even bothered to meet a lobotomy victim.

The article also includes this gem, "Moreover, recent studies have demonstrated that disorders like schizophrenia have a genetic basis and result from chemical abnormalities in the brain."

Yeah, right. How come whenever Mindfreedom confronts these "studies" head-on, they never turn out to be anywhere near as conclusive as their authors claim?

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