Review: The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

3 stars for The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath.

This book has been at the back of my mind ever since my ex-colleague turned friend Gi mentioned to me in passing, that she has read it. I know vaguely that the story has something to do with depression, but other than that, I have no idea the writing style nor the finer details of the story. Due to recent happenings, I decide to read this book, to see if it can offer me a better understanding to this mental illness.

The Bell Jar is a depressing story of a woman struggling with mental health. The protagonist, a 19-year old Miss Esther Greenwood, feels inadequate all the time. Even though she excels academically, she sees herself as anything but good; she is a terrible cook, she cannot dance, cannot ride a horse, cannot ski, does not know shorthand and does not know enough languages. She has trouble sleeping, eating and reading. As her condition progressively worsens, she undergoes the dreaded bell jar experience, the sudden descent into deep depression, one that triggers suicide attempt, and was finally warded. Through it all, the novel explores social expectations of women in the 1950s. It examines Esther's quest to forge her own identity, to pursue what she wants in life, to be herself rather than what society expects her to be. The book also gives an account of the treatment of mental health in that same period of time.

It is interesting to note that the protagonist's descent into mental illness parallels that of the author's own experience with what may have been clinical depression. Author Sylvia Plath died by suicide at the age of thirty, a month after the book's first United Kingdom publication. The writer's suicide on 11 February 1963 brought her instant fame in England. Unfortunately, the limelight comes too late to help this young American woman stranded in the British countryside with two young children and no money in the early sixties.

Truth be told, I find no joy in reading this book. It is sad and gloomy and all too depressing. Each time I put the book down for a break, I find myself dreading to continue with this cheerless story. I am also put off by the way the story flits about and moves on before finishing the parts that are clearly left hanging in the air. The book list down all possible ways to end one's life. You name it, the story has it. It is definitely not a book for those who are suffering from depression, anxiety or panic attacks. At the end of the book, I find myself none the wiser about major depressive disorder. It does not offer me any further information to what I already know about depression, except that this book, the only novel by the American writer and poet Sylvia Plath, contains references to real people and events in the author's life.

Review: Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness by Susannah Cahalan

5 stars for Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness by Susannah Cahalan.

This book unfolds like a heartrending drama of a person's descent into madness, but sad to say, it is a true story, a work of non fiction, a blend of both memoir and reportage, of a girl's struggle against losing herself.

The author, Susannah Cahalan, is diagnosed with a rare auto-immune disease called anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis. Put simply, it is a condition caused by the body's antibodies going haywire and attacking normal, healthy brain, leading to brain inflammation. This book is a detailed account of her tumultuous journey, her long and painful road to recovery, from the onset symptoms of headache, insomnia, forgetfulness, numbness, loss of appetite, nausea, confusion, hallucinations and seizure to her hospital admission, brain surgery, diagnosis, treatment and finally rehabilitation. This book is also the result of her attempt to uncover the time lost, to piece together the events which she has no recollection of, and to share those confusing months with the world.

In reading the dark period that Susannah Cahalan has put together, it is petrifying to imagine teetering on the edge of existence between the real world and a murky fictitious one filled with hallucinations, paranoia, seizures, strange thoughts and visions. As if these are not enough, she also suffers from high blood pressure, erratic heart rate, breathing difficulties, psychosis (disconnection from reality which results in strange behavior), catatonia (abnormal state of unresponsiveness, affecting behavioral and motor functions in a person who is apparently awake), language impairment and motor speech impairment (inability to speak properly and express oneself coherently).

As a result of all the horrors that the author has to go through, it is especially touching and heartwarming to see how her family and friends and even her appointed doctors stand by her and fight for her throughout this difficult period in her life. Her recovery process is filled with love and care and unwavering support from her parents and boyfriend. They believe that though Susannah's personality is buried under all those fuzziness, deep down, she is still there, and that things will get better, with time. It is equally heartening to see how she slowly recovers, gains back her health, confidence and sense of self.

All in all, Brain on Fire is a remarkably well written book. The fact that the author is a journalist working for the New York Post, in all likelihood, contributes to her excellent writing and great arrangement of events in chronological order. Though the book is a long account of her illness, including the before and after, author Susannah Cahalan makes it easy to read by breaking down the lengthy narrative of connected events into short manageable chapters.

At the end of the day, what stands out most in the entire story, is not the illness itself, nor what happens before the diagnosis or after, but the realisation of how critical it is to be at the right place, at the right time, without which there can be no comfort to finding the cause to the unpredictable changes in behaviours and symptoms, and getting the correct diagnosis and receiving the appropriate treatment. It is scary to think of the flip side to being at the right place, at the right time which translates to being wrongly diagnosed and wrongly treated - which is as good as being left untreated - and subsequently condemned to a life in a a psychiatric ward. *shudder*

Brain on Fire, a powerful account of one girl's struggle to find back herself, is a riveting story of survival, faith and love. It is a memoir worth every bit of my time - and yours - to read.

Review: My Lovely Wife in the Psych Ward: A Memoir by Mark Lukach

4 stars for My Lovely Wife in the Psych Ward: A Memoir by Mark Lukach.

This is a difficult book to read; not because it is boring or badly written, but because it is a blatantly honest outpour of a husband's innermost thoughts and beliefs and actions that do not sit well with me.

The husband thinks that there is a pill that can and will fix all mental problems. I know it must have been terrible to feel helpless and clueless but it is frustrating and traumatizing to see the husband sending his wife to the hospital and Psych Ward time and again, to be pinned down by orderlies to have medication injected into her body.

It is also equally disturbing to read about the mental health system as described in the book as it goes about its way of admitting and treating patients. It seems like a whole load of self-serving, profit driven structure where doctors dish out drugs too readily and think that they are above all, that their decisions are the best, when in fact, I don't see them putting the patients' interests at heart at all.

Overall, what I see mostly is a controlling husband who does not know how to give space, who suffocates the wife with well-intentioned but ill-managed care, who does not trust the wife to make her own choices and decisions, who tries to control and run the wife's life, and on top of it all, who believes medication and pills are the solution to anxiety, stress and depression.

The above said, at the end of the day, who am I to criticize the husband's beliefs and actions? It is after all his life to live and none of my business. Still, I am glad to have read this book, expressed my view and said my piece.

Review: Cracked: The Unhappy Truth about Psychiatry by James Davies

5 stars for Cracked: The Unhappy Truth about Psychiatry by James Davies.

The book is easy to read, thought provoking and it challenges what we think we know about psychiatry - the study and treatment of mental illness, emotional disturbance, and abnormal behaviour. It should be read by anyone who thinks there is a pill that will fix your problems, and by everyone who is concerned on the basic humanity and social well-being.

The official story we often hear is that psychiatry has the tools and knowledge at its disposal to help us when our lives break down. In reality, the psychiatry industry has often resorted to half-truths and cover-ups. The book addresses the pressing issues with psychiatry, breaks them down and tells it all.

- Why has psychiatry become the fastest-growing medical specialism when it still has the poorest curative success?

- Why are psychiatric drugs now more widely prescribed than almost any other medical drugs in history, despite their dubious efficacy?

- Why does psychiatry, without solid scientific justification, keep expanding the number of mental disorders it believes to exist — from 106 in 1952, to 374 today? What is going on?

- What role does our biology play in our mental distress?

The truth is never far behind. There is no smoke without fire. It is an unfortunate but ugly truth. And the truth is, psychiatry can be explained simply as the lure of power and money putting the pursuit of pharmaceutical riches and medical status above that of patients’ well-being.

Written to create and heighten awareness, this book educates and enables people to be better informed about the current state psychiatry is in; to get away from the escalating craze for psychiatric drugs and diagnoses. As the proverb goes "all that glitters is not gold", we need to be wary of what we read in the news and decide for ourselves what the truth is.

If you are not already aware of the numerous doctors being enticed by huge pharmaceutical rewards into creating more disorders and prescribing more pills, of the psychiatric organization concealing information and distorting the facts, this book is a good place to start.

Review: The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: 27 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assess a President by Bandy X. Lee

2 stars for The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: 27 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assess a President by Bandy X. Lee.

Is Donald Trump "crazy like a fox" or is he "crazy like a crazy"?

This book is a collection of articles written by 27 different mental health professionals, citing all the reasons, to the moon and back, why Donald Trump, the 45th and current President of the United States, is now the most dangerous man in the world.

These articles, categorised into 3 parts: The Trump Phenomenon, The Trump Dilemma and The Trump Effect, are interesting and even educational in the sense that we see the application of psychological concepts on Trump behaviour. Some of these mental health professionals associate Trump with a variety of diagnoses, such as narcissistic personality disorder, antisocial personality disorder, paranoid personality disorder, delusional disorder, malignant narcissist, and even some form of dementia.

I get it that these psychiatrists and mental health experts recognize the urgency of the situation in which they come to the conclusion that the most powerful man in the world is also the bearer of profound instability and untruth. Yes, I dig it. What I don't understand is the need for repetition. Reiteration. Be it personality disorder, or dangerous individual psychological patterns, or creation of own reality, or inability to manage the inevitable crises, it is not necessary to harp on the same over and over, again and again. Seriously! I have lost count of the number of times it has been mentioned about Trump's assertion that President Obama wiretaps Trump Tower during the election campaign, or Trump's claim that he has the biggest inaugural crowd in history, or Trump's firing of FBI director James Comey, to name but a few.

In any case, the die has been cast. The choice made. What's done is done. Barring an impeachment, resignation or assassination, Mr Donald John Trump will remain president until at least the end of his four-year term: 20th January 2021.

Well, the world as we know it may cease to exist with a 3:00 a.m. nuclear tweet. If it comes to pass, so be it.