Darian Leader Libros

En nuestra sociedad, la locura suele asociarse a síntomas visibles como delirios y alucinaciones. Sin embargo, surge la pregunta: ¿y si la locura no es lo que pensamos? ¿Por qué personas aparentemente normales pueden perder el juicio de repente y cometer actos criminales? ¿Es lo mismo estar loco que volverse loco? Leader explora la idea de que los síntomas que consideramos locura podrían ser mecanismos de estabilización que el paciente desarrolla para llevar una vida normal. A través de figuras del psicoanálisis como Lacan y Freud, y casos célebres como Aimée y el asesino en serie Harold Shipman, se plantea una nueva perspectiva sobre la locura. Se cuestiona la efectividad de los tratamientos farmacológicos actuales, que buscan convertir al paciente en un ciudadano "normal" y eficiente. La obra invita a dejar de lado prejuicios y simplificaciones, enfatizando que no hay fórmulas predeterminadas para tratar a los pacientes ni etiquetas válidas para clasificar las "enfermedades mentales". En última instancia, se destaca la importancia de escuchar al paciente y ayudarlo a utilizar sus recursos para hacer su existencia más llevadera, creando un "espacio seguro en el que vivir".

Although the term 'jouissance' is common currency in psychoanalysis today, how much does it really tell us? While often taken to designate a fusion of sexuality, suffering and satisfaction, the term has fallen into a purely descriptive use that closes down more questions than it opens up. Although assumed to explain the coalescence of pleasure and pain, it tends to cover a range of quite different issues that should be distinguished rather than conflated. By returning to some of its sources in Freud and elaborations in Lacan, this essay hopes to stimulate a debate around the relations of pleasure to pain, autoerotism, the links of satisfaction to arousal, the effects of repression, and the place of the body in psychoanalytic theory. Unlike other studies in Lacanian psychoanalysis, it aims to contextualise Lacan's work and encourage dialogue with other analytic traditions.

Ranging from Freud to Hitchcock, from Dracula to Jane Austen, and from Agatha Christie to Greek tragedy, this contribution to the field of gender studies aims to tease out surprising insights of contemporary psychoanalysis to show why there is little chance of a harmonious relationship between a man and a woman. It suggests what it might be that Claudia Schiffer sees in the magician David Copperfield, and why women are more likely than men to fantasize about making love in public.

What separates the sane from the mad? How hard or easy is it to tell them apart? And what if the difference is really between being mad and going mad? This title is the study of madness, sanity, and everything in between.

'In scary films, people say "I'll be right back," and they're usually wrong. In beds, people say "I'll always love you," or "I'll always be faithful to you", and they're usually wrong too.' A characteristically intriguing and insightful look at love, promises and fidelity by the author of Why do women write more letters than they post? Women very rarely make promises at the start of a love affair. In fact it is men who say 'We'll always be friends' or who swear eternal love. Why is this? Starting with the motif of the promise, by way of the Bronteuml;s, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Daphne du Maurier, Nick Leeson and Elizabeth I, psychoanalyst Darian Leader explores the essential questions: Why do people open their mouths when surprised? Why should men often have a compulsion to count things? Why do so many lovers adopt silly baby talk? And why are self-help manuals always less complicated than video-recorder instructions?

What could explain this explosion of bipolarity? Is it a legitimate diagnosis or the result of Big Pharma marketing? Exploring these questions, this title challenges the rise of 'bipolar' as a catch-all solution to complex problems, and argues that we need to rethink the highs and lows of mania and depression.

Unique graphic introductions to big ideas and thinkers, written by experts in the field.

'It was just sex.' It's a familiar claim. But is it really possible? The old idea that sexuality is a smouldering, animalistic force within us, desperate for release yet restrained by social forces, has little to support it. Bodies aren't just sticks that make fire when you rub them together, and the pain, heartache, and regret that can accompany the highs of sexual excitement show us that much more is at stake. So, what are we really thinking about when we think about sex? And what are we really doing when we do it? As acclaimed psychoanalyst Darian Leader argues, with his trademark clarity, energy and wit, there is no such thing as 'just sex'. It is always about so much more than that - about phantasy, anxiety, guilt, revenge, violence, love - and Leader draws on his analytic experience, historical research and case studies to explore their importance to every aspect of our sexual lives.

"Why do zombies walk with their arms outstretched? How can newborn babies grip an adult finger tightly enough to dangle unsupported from it? And why is everyone constantly texting, tapping and scrolling? For anyone curious about how human beings work, the answers are hidden in plain sight: in our hands. Rather than seeing the history of civilisation in terms of technological breakthroughs, it can be seen as a history of how we have kept our hands busy. From early tools to machinery, from fists to knives to guns, from papyrus to QWERTY to a glowingly swipeable screen, the hands have always been kept occupied. But why this incessant activity? Why can't we keep our hands still? And what might this reveal about our innermost selves? Drawing examples from popular culture, art history, psychoanalysis, modern technology and child development, Handspresents a unique and fascinating odyssey through the history of what human beings do with their hands, and why."

The authors explore the relationship between human health and happiness, combining cutting-edge research and neglected medical insights. With case studies and advice for a fitter life, this is an intriguing and thought-provoking book, one which should be read by anyone who cares about their wellbeing.

From the brilliant psychoanalyst behind Strictly Bipolar and What is Madness, a short and fascinating guide to the history of human sleep - and why we can't seem to sleep any more One in four adults sleeps badly. Sleeping pill prescriptions have increased dramatically over the last three decades, as have the incidence of sleep clinics. Sleep used to be a natural state, easy as breathing, but increasingly it is an insecure commodity. ...Isn't it? Our relationship to sleep surfaces and resurfaces throughout human history, each time telling us something new about our indivudual and collective psychology. From the industrial revolution to blue-light on our phones, from the ancient art of dream interpretation to the modern science of Freud, sleep is connected to wider social patterns, to shifting norms and expectations. Weaving together cultural, social, economic and psychoanalytic influences, Darian Leader delves into the truth about this universal human experience.