Dan Degerman

@ddegerman.bsky.social

Research Fellow in philosophy at the University of Bristol working on a project about silence in mood disorders. beyondvoice.blogs.bristol.ac.uk https://epistemicinjusticeinhealthcare.org

"protective silences are easily confused with those imposed by stigma...‘If I don’t talk about my diagnosis...it’s not because I’m ashamed. It’s because I know not everyone deserves to access that part of me.’" Such a good piece from @ddegerman.bsky.social psyche.co/ideas/for-so... #bipolar

For some with mental illness, it’s not always good to talk | Psyche Ideas

Well-meaning campaigns urge openness and conversation about mental health struggles. But there are those who cherish silence

psyche.co

"Break the silence" slogans can harm more than help BJPsych argues silence in mental illness isn't always stigma, sometimes it's a symptom (depression) or a coping strategy (mania) We need space for "positive silence" instead of pressure #WorldPhilosophyDay2025 #philsky #philpsy #epistemicinjustice

Lisa Bortolotti@lisabortolotti.com · 9mo ago

On #WorldPhilosophyDay2025, read Jae Ryeong Sul and Dan Degerman's opinion piece in the British Journal of Psychiatry: Why we need a new understanding of silence in mental illness www.cambridge.org/co... #philsky #philpsy #epistemicinjustice

cover of the journal issue where the paper was published

New paper! Its main idea is simple but overlooked: rumination isn’t just persistent negative thinking. It can also involve losing the ability to stop inner speech. This explains why rumination feels overwhelming and why practices cultivating inner silence make a difference. doi.org/10.1080/0020...

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I'm really excited to finally be able to share this after months of work - our new Project EPIC report on the epistemic determinants of health. With over 20 contributors, we make the case for incorporating this new framework into existing determinants of health models: bci-hub.org/documents/ep...

The Epistemic Determinants of Health

Health and illness are significantly determined by knowledge and its communication. At first glance, this might seem obvious; people use healthcare systems when they suspect that something might be wr...

bci-hub.org

Is silence always harmful in mental illness? My new article challenges this assumption. For those experiencing mania, reclaiming silence can be a powerful act of epistemic agency—enabling them to acquire, maintain, and share knowledge on their own terms. link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Silence as epistemic agency in mania - Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy

Silence is a byword for socially imposed harm in the burgeoning literature on epistemic injustice in psychiatry. While some silence is harmful and should be broken, this understanding of silence is un...

link.springer.com