https://www.amazon.com/Gang-Leader-Day-Sociologist-Streets/dp/014311493X
True story, that's how it worked in the Robert Taylor homes. The gang leaders, building managers, and police had an uneasy truce.
If someone did some stupid shit that was out of line, the gang leaders would make sure to quietly rat out the perpetrator via the building crew.
I'm pretty sure that the recent rise in random street violence is directly related to the breakup/gentrification of the project homes. It's no different from the mafia or yakuza - once the central power is broken up, there are lots of low level thugs scrambling for money/power and nobody to keep them in line.
Not exactly a psychiatric nurse but elyn saks has schizophrenia and she did something similar (link below with her book) I highly recommend reading her book because part of her inspiration for writing it was for people who have a diagnosis of schizoprenia. She is absolutely brilliant and highlights some of her difficulties.
https://www.amazon.com/Center-Cannot-Hold-Journey-Through/dp/1401309445
This is a good non-fiction book about British culture :)
I'm learning Russian, can you recommend me any good books (fiction or non-fiction) in return which have 'Russian spirit'? (especially that go beyond the common stereotypes?) I can read quite well so fine if it's in Russian!
Your old boss was right and if you're interested in reading about this topic more I would highly recommend reading The Psychopath Test by Jon Ronson. There's a lot of fascinating info in this book about psychopaths and how they operate and there is a section that talks about the fact that there is a higher rate of psychopaths among CEO's compared to the general public. Unfortunately, in business it does tend to be beneficial to only care about yourself and what you can gain and to not have any qualms about screwing people over to benefit yourself and the company.
Not OP and I’m not a dr but I did read Hallucinations by Oliver Sacks (Link) and it’s seems they’re more common than people think. Especially benign ones where the person knows they’re not real. The books describes lots of different kinds and their potential causes for a few kinds (like loss of eye sight when older). It might be worth checking out for you. I thought it was super interesting. However, do be warned at one point it goes on a weird tangent about the author’s drug use and his experience with drug induced hallucinations.
I'm not sure if this is exactly the kind of book you're looking for, but The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat has always been one of my favorites. I think it does a good job of walking through a lot of history and basic neuroscience in the context of some pretty bizarre neurological disorders. Here's a full text if you wanna give it a look.
If you've read The Psychopath Test by Jonathan Ronson, he comes to that very conclusion and it's a fascinating book. https://www.amazon.com/Psychopath-Test-Journey-Through-Industry/dp/1594485755
Check out: Gang Leader for a Day: https://www.amazon.com/Gang-Leader-Day-Sociologist-Streets/dp/014311493X -- the dealers don't make much money at all. They are kickin' the money to people up the food chain.
Look, as someone who has American relatives but lives in UK, I really advise you read this book to get a sense of country you’re in. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Watching-English-International-Bestseller-Revised/dp/1444785206/ref=asc_df_1444785206/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=310979557093&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=6842910368035548227&hvpone=&hvptw...
There is a popular book The Center Can ot Hold , where the author talks about her journey with Schizophrenia. In the book, she talks about her breaks she had to take in her education, and how she dealt with going back.
Some sociologists hate it, but I think Gang Leader for a Day is an entertaining read that gives a nice introduction to sociology and being a being a sociologist, especially the research and fieldwork aspects. And audiobook is available if that's your preference.
https://www.amazon.com/Gang-Leader-Day-Sociologist-Streets/dp/014311493X
It’s not about students per se, if you want to understand the English per se, read this: Watching the English: The International Bestseller Revised and Updated https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1444785206/ . It’s very readable.
There are also plenty of films and TV series (which can help provide cultural references). I’m ancient, so I’m sure people can come up with better examples, but watch Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz.
NTA.
Your wife needs a lot of therapy. What's scary is that your son may need help in future, and she is essentially making it impossible for him to approach her. I hope she can get her head around that - what she is doing is the worst possible outcome.
Good luck OP, and well done supporting your son. Out of curiosity have you read The Centre Cannot Hold? It's an incredible book written by someone with schizophrenia, and her experiences. No doubt you have heard of it, but if not it is well worth looking at.
The fake compliments!!! Having read Watching the English I can appreciate that it's just a thing you say, a conversation formula, but it still grates me. Worse still, I started doing it too after almost 10 years here. I recently saw a Lithuanian friend who's only been here a few years, and upon greeting her I felt compelled to blurt out "Awww I love your coat!" (needless to say I didn't love it). She looked at me all puzzled and went "It's just a normal coat, no?".
Also single glazed windows, low water pressure, lack of wilderness, the amount of litter everywhere, alcohol culture.
I'm currently reading this book, which is written by an anthropologist. How the English view their gardens is one of the topics covered, and the author states that front gardens are only for show, not for sitting in.
Gender dysphoria is a mental illness by definition and was only removed for political reasons. Given that you're read up on DSM I'd at least presume you know this.
>I think that the DSM is heavily flawed- there is a relationship between diagnoses and medications and constant changes as well (homosexuality/ADD is now ADHD, aspergers is now Autism) I feel that more research indicates that person in the environment plays a key role and that there is more individualization than people fitting into neat “diagnosis” boxes.
Very much agree.
If you haven't read it yet,I'd highly recommend this book.
An interesting critique of the DSM; written by a psychotherapist.
It's not immediately inherited but tends to be over the first 16-21 years of someones life. After that it's very hard to change, even with extreme wealth, but extreme wealth makes it very easy to raise your childs social class.
It's determined on accent, wealth (or perceived wealth), the sort of school you attended (probably the most important factor), if you attended University, where and studying what, if you were eligible for certain benefits (e.g free school meals), the newspaper you read, the sort of cultural entertainment you partake in, the vocabulary you use... so many factors. Do you call the main room of your house the living room, the lounge, the sitting room, the drawing room or the front room? Does it contain a sofa, a couch, a Chesterfield or a settee?
It's really hard to explain it, but we can identify each others class (and there are really 7 classes split into 3 levels) within about 5-10 seconds of being introduced to somebody who is from the same system.
You should really look into this book if you are interested in the English class system and it's language, it's ridiculously accurate.
This sort of related to your ask: Gang Leader for a Day - https://www.amazon.com/Gang-Leader-Day-Sociologist-Streets/dp/014311493X
While not focused on your question, it does show the impact that poor urban designs can have on the poor.
OK, I didn't give you the benefit of the doubt. You might very well be in a toxic relationship and are venting. I understand, I've been there as a man with a crazy ex who lived and breathed drama and fighting. I get kind of defensive and you don't deserve that. I don't know your life. My own daughter and myself read the book The Psychopath test and we figured out her mom was like 99% a psychopath. I'd look into the book. It is very interesting. Turns out many CEOs of major corporations are such
They're weird.
As an aside https://www.amazon.co.uk/Watching-English-International-Bestseller-Revised-dp-1444785206/dp/1444785206 has a chapter on this.
I know the feeling. Growing up being “sent to therapy” was a threat. Took a panic attack and the feeling life was slipping through my fingers to take the plunge. Therapy lead me to the most positive outcome I’ve ever experienced.
If you’re the reading type, Carl Jung (founder of modern psychotherapy) wrote an autobiography and in it he describes what therapy is. He’s also an extremely interesting and well written person with a great story that sometimes seems like fiction. https://www.amazon.com/dp/0679723951/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_6M7Z046HD0JR61KGHFJE
When were you diagnosed AIWS? It's amazing and frustrating what the mind does on it's own. You're not crazy. Thanks for sharing your story!
This is just one doctor's opinion:
> Alice in wonderland syndrome (AIWS) describes a set of symptoms with alteration of body image. An alteration of visual perception is found in that way that the sizes of body parts or sizes of external objects are perceived incorrectly. The most common perceptions are at night. The causes for AIWS are still not known exactly. Typical migraine, temporal lobe epilepsy, brain tumors, psychoactive drugs ot Epstein-barr-virus infections are causes of AIWS. AIWS has no proven, effective treatment. The treatment plan consists of migraine prophylaxis and migraine diet. Chronic cases of AIWS do exist. NCBI 2014
A good read is Hallucinations by Oliver Sacks. He mentions AIWS several times in addition to tactile cases among many others. Don't let the first doctor you see talk you into off the wall treatment and be wary of anyone who says they can completely cure you.
If it causes you distress and you decide to see some experts, go for not just first, but second and third opinions before committing to any drug or other therapies. CBT and talk therapy can be helpful because it can help change "how" we deal with it on a personal level. The biggest thing you can do is make friends with it. Don't treat it like an enemy. You're not cursed or doomed. You have a window to experiences nobody else has and it illuminates the human experience. Hope some of this helps.
>But I already know any political scientist that while combining data lumped left wing violence in with right wing violence wouldn’t get their paper past peer review.
James Lindsay, Helen Pluckrose, and Peter Boghossian proved this is bunk. There were others before them that proved as much as well. And just as someone who has worked in Academia I know it's bunk. I've seen some of the nonsense that comes out. Just to note, not all of academia is bullshit, but the social sciences are infamous for their lack of standards. If you want a more direct example, you can read (or listen to) The Psychopath Test. It's a short read and it details out some of the antics in the psychology field. Sociology is a lot worse in this regard but the Psych field is something I'm more familiar with. And don't get me wrong, I am a big advocate for the social sciences when applied correctly and with an understanding of its limitations, but many people who are in it for more, shall we say, religious reasons, and because of how it's structured it's able to be abused to trick people who just don't understand the field.
>If you know of any academic parties that have done that please send me a link so I can take note of the author and the journal that published it so I avoid them in the future.
They all do it. No publication is perfect because many of the people reviewing them are either not experts themselves, just fine with the nonsense for other reasons such as money or politics, or they're overworked and don't properly review it. It's better if you just look at the paper itself and just be reasonably skeptical. Ask for sources with claims, ask for explanations, and just read. Why the hell would you want someone else to tell you what is okay to read and what isn't?
Tea vs. dinner and supper is supposed to be correlated with social class. At least according to the anthropologist Kate Fox: Watching the English: The International Bestseller Revised and Updated https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1444785206/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_fabc_1CMW9DPX0R814BEB3JQN
You ever read this book: The Psychopath Test? https://www.amazon.com/Psychopath-Test-Journey-Through-Industry/dp/1594485755 had to get you the link in case you wanna check it out. It’s insightful and a really good read (imo)
I not only Love Books, I am addicted to books.
I would recommend the The Psychopath Test it is very interesting and also amusing to read.
Many, many people hear voices and live perfectly productive lives. Check out Hallucinations by Oliver Sacks. Do not treat them as the enemy or as a bad part of you. You're not doomed or cursed. Be gentle with them. Fighting them or hating them will make it more difficult. So just treat them like something that comes and goes, like leaves on the wind.
The amnesia, I'm sorry I can't respond to, but similarly, don't beat yourself up about it. Keeping a daily journal may help with remembering important details. Definitely call your doctor and ask who you should see about it if you find memory problems affect your life and work. Hang in there.