Tag: Politics & society

The problems of describing mental illness

Articles & Essays

We are often told that there is still a stigma surrounding mental illness. It is therefore strange that the England cricketer Jonathan Trott was stigmatised for allegedly not having one. Trott left the England tour of Australia in November citing a “long-standing, stress-related condition”. But when he gave an interview last month explaining that he was burnt out rather than depressed, the former England captain Michael Vaughan said that he felt “a little bit conned”, saying, “When I hear players talking about burnout, I suspect it is an excuse.”

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What is England?

Asides, Podcasts & Videos

HOUSE OF COMMENTS PODCAST. “In the week of St George’s Day, Nick Denys tries to find out what England and English is. He talks to Sunder Katwala (Director of British Future), Caroline Kent (feminist columnist for the Telegraph) and Julian Baggini (philosopher and author of Welcome to Everytown). Sunder is interviewed at the beginning, Caroline at around 14 minutes, and Julian from 26 minutes 20 seconds.”

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How allotments lost the plot

Articles & Essays, Food

The arrival of the BBC’s The Big Allotment Challenge shows that grow-your-own is a pursuit worthy of the same attention as baking, dating and home improvement. As an allotment holder myself, albeit very much the head gardener’s lackey, I’m ambivalent about this. Allotments are wonderful things but the rise, fall, and rise again in their popularity tells a story about social change that is both encouraging and dispiriting…

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Shellburne Thurber’s images of consulting rooms

Articles & Essays, The Shrink and The Sage

American photographer Shellburne Thurber’s images of consulting rooms reveal the tensions of psychoanalysis. The “patient” lies on the couch, as though receiving medical treatment. At the same time, the walls are lined with books, paintings and objets d’art, telling us this is not a hospital but a site of intellectual endeavour. So is psychoanalysis a “talking cure” for the sick or a creative, humanistic exploration of the psyche? The ambiguous set-up of the therapeutic space suggests it is a little of both.

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