Reviews for Drinking behavior among southwestern Indians

The average rating for Drinking behavior among southwestern Indians based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2020-04-04 00:00:00 Annette Raab This book was basically my life for a whole semester. Emily Martin’s Bipolar Expeditions takes a focused look at United States culture and society, particularly in regards to how it views people with bipolar disorder and to an extent other mental illness as well. Her work in this book suggests that in a country that is so geared towards viewing success in economic and political terms, different aspects of bipolar are both revered and feared. To a critical outside observer, the slowing down and more introverted aspects of depression associated with bipolar can be viewed as succumbing to the pressures of what is deemed ‘normal’ life, while the more hectic side of bipolar, mania, is almost viewed as a type of creative energy that keeps pushing against all odds to achieve this nebulous idea of success. Martin draws on her own experiences with being diagnosed with manic depression and subsequent psychosis in the US mental healthcare system as both inspiration for, and hindrance to her research. She found conflicting societal views that could shape a person’s experience with this kind of mental illness raging from praise for the creative potential of a manic high, to the barely concealed disparagement of the ability of someone with mental illness to function in an academic environment in institutions such as Princeton. While it seems this work by Martin does face some shortcomings in discussing the day to day reality of those living with manic depression, it also presents very valid concerns about how society markets some aspects of bipolar disorder while demonising others. However because of this, there does seem to be a tendency through the piece to lump the manic appearing nature of individuals driven to financial success in the same category as those suffering with mania as a mental illness, which may serve to marginalise their experiences as individuals. What is clear however, is that bipolar disorder, as well as other forms of mental illness, do not exist in isolation from a broader cultural context. Mental illness both influences and is influenced by cultural norms and politics. In this light, Martin appears to maintain, mental illness can be viewed as both being produced through culture and being productive of culture, with socially acceptable forms of engagement inevitably being as fluid as the highs and lows of manic depression itself.

Review # 2 was written on 2007-09-19 00:00:00 Robert Trend I especially recommend this book for anybody who has bipolar disorder or knows somebody close to them struggling with this disorder. Emily Martin has really chosen a personal topic this time. She reveals her own struggles with bipolar disorder and her search for medication. She spent years interviewing people with this disorder, visiting support groups and even interviewing pharmaceutical advertising execs. However what is really interesting about this book is Martin's ability to track mania as a cultural object throughout history. She shows how mania has been associated with femininity and masculinity in Western culture. She also asks why mania is often cast as a desirable form of creative productivity in the contemporary business world. Finally, she starts to show through interviews with real people how these cultural ideals can actually be troublesome for those who suffer from this disease.