University of Sussex
Browse

File(s) not publicly available

Writing out prescriptions: hyper-realism and the chemical regulation of mood

journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-07, 21:13 authored by Alan Bleakley, Margaretta JollyMargaretta Jolly
Although many patients resist prescriptions for mood disorders and many doctors are open to alternative therapies, this paper explores the powerful ideological framework that normalises prescription dependency as part of everyday life in America and, arguably, Britain as well. Using a literary critical methodology, we read novels by American hyper-realists such as Bret Easton Ellis, David Foster Wallace, and Rick Moody as symptomatic of prescription culture. Though we argue that these writers brilliantly understand the dangers of mood-medication, they do not escape its logic, rather, writing it out at the same time they write against it. Indeed, we propose that their novels bear ironic similarities to medical texts such as The British National Formulary, usually seen as a neutral handbook for doctors guidance. We explicate their method as that of deconstruction, which, in contrast to more obvious critiques of chemical treatment, such as therapy, neither analyses nor cures. Though this method underplays the possibility of pragmatic resistance exemplified by alternative formularies such as the feminist health manual, Our Bodies, Ourselves, we argue that its very ambiguity uniquely exposes the complex determinisms associated with prescribed medication. We thus propose the value of introducing deconstructive literature to healthcare contexts

History

Publication status

  • Published

Journal

Advances in Health Sciences Education

ISSN

1382-4996

Publisher

Kluwer

Issue

5

Volume

17

Page range

779-790

Department affiliated with

  • Centre for Community Engagement Publications

Research groups affiliated with

  • Centre for Life History and Life Writing Research Publications

Full text available

  • No

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2012-12-02

Usage metrics

    University of Sussex (Publications)

    Categories

    No categories selected

    Exports

    RefWorks
    BibTeX
    Ref. manager
    Endnote
    DataCite
    NLM
    DC