Friday, November 16, 2012

Not really an account of common, garden variety mental illness

A Young Reporter Chronicles Her 'Brain On Fire' : NPR

This is a good story & I will read the book as soon as I can... But this story is not going to change the stigma surrounding long term mental illness.


This young woman suffered a devastating and un-hingeing brain infection that left her temporarily as nutty as a fruitcake. She can't remember very much of what it felt like to  have hallucinations, and paranoid delusions that her family & friends were "after her". She didn't get a chance to compare what real thoughts felt like vs. crazy ones within the same day or hour. She has had an awful experience, but it wasn't the experience of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or psychotic depression.

If you suffer from one of those nasty chronic mental health conditions, this book won't make other people understand you much better; in fact, some of your friends and relatives might be trying to get you diagnosed with something else so you WILL miraculously recover & never look back.

Handle with care.

1 comment:

  1. Interesting. I guess it helps people to understand that mental illness, temporary or permanent, is not the fault of the individual. But yes, it's all much more complex than anyone wants to believe. Otherwise the DSM would be a slim paperback!

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