Summary Of Secret Life Of The Manic Depressive By Stephen Fry

“What happens to a society that cannot distinguish between reality and illusion?” As our country crumbles and our economy crashes, Chris Hedges asks this one question to his readers. Throughout his article, “American Psychosis,” he provides hit after hit of shocking proof that reveals the United States to not only be in desperate need of change, but also that the American people, with their obtuse nationalism and selfish greed, are blissfully ignorant of what could possibly be the downfall of this country. Hedges wants his reader to be shocked at the startling facts that he throws at them, to be angry at him for saying what must be blatant lies and exaggerations, and then to be inquisitive, to discover for themselves just how real the problems of the United States are and how dire the consequences can become. Hedges uses this article as a warning, he desperately wants his readers to understand just how bad things really are and he wants them to be inspired to change it, to stop whatever dark future that could happen. In this article, Hedges touches many subjects: Americans and

In Antonia Peacocke’s essay, “Family Guy and Freud: Jokes and their Relations to the Unconscious”, she defended how vulgar Family Guy is. Although she agreed with many people who the show is “a cartoon comedy that packs more gags per minute about race, sex, incest, bestiality, etc.” (pg 300), Peacocke clearly stated “Family Guy is not harmful and derogatory, but a comical parody of day-to-day circumstances about taboos.” (pg ) She supported her thesis very well by including many evidences from Family Guy, when it talked about social injustices and such. However, there are a few things that made the essay imperfect. Peacocke forgot to include a counter argument for her own claims. Her organization is also very poor, making her essay quite

Given her accreditation and awards for her work in her community, as well as her literature, it is easy to see why she continues to make an impact in her field. Throughout her college career, and thereafter, she has made monumental influences in the lives of others through her research. Moreover, her knowledge of those who have disorders helps people understand that she truly does know what they are going through. Jamison was diagnosed with bipolar disorder when she was 28 years old. Not only does this allow her to empathize with others by allowing her to walk in the same shoes as them, she is still able to perform her duties as a psychologist. Not only does she understand others with bipolar disorder, she understands how she affects others with her disorder. Some may think that by “outing” herself as having a mood disorder, she may have hindered her career. In fact, it

Forney’s suffering arises not just from the symptoms of her bipolar disorder, but from the self-isolation that results from her fear of losing her creativity. After her diagnosis, Forney characterizes herself as a “rock star” cheerfully eating an energy bar and casually tossing Klonopin into her mouth (28). With the same carelessness, she begins reading Kay Jamison’s memoir, a story by a psychologist who suffers from the same disorder as she. Here, Forney’s face shows a dismissive skepticism, betraying her adamant refusal to let her disorder “dictate everything in [her] life” (27-28). Her reasons for this refusal become readily apparent when we

The author, Kay Jamison talks about her life with bipolar I disorder in her book, An Unquiet Mind. Jamison was a Caucasian woman who at the age of forty seven wrote this memoir. Currently she is seventy years old and dealing with her disorder. She spent her life moving around a lot because her father was an air force pilot. She grew up with an older brother who was very caring and an older sister that she bumped heads with. Kay’s father was a really delightful person. His emotions were contagious. Her mother was always helpful and caring for her family no matter how busy she was. Kay’s parents were supporting in all her interests; such as pets, poetry, science, and medicine. When she was fifteen, things took a turn and her family moved to California for her father’s new job as a scientist. Her father began to show worsening signs of depression. Around the age of sixteen, Kay realized that she was having mood swings that were very drastic. In her senior year of high school, she had her first manic depressive attack. She started her undergraduate study at UCLA dealing with her constant depression and manic episodes. As she was studying as an undergraduate, Kay began to take an interest in psychology. She pursued her PhD in psychology at UCLA again studying mood disorders. As a graduate student, she also began working in the psychiatric ward and dealing with marital problems in her first marriage. She was slowly spiraling out of control until she had a terrifying

Walking down the street, everyone seems to go about their business, not taking the time to look at others around them and see the potential suffering that could be occurring. While reading Unquiet Mind by Kay Redfield Jamison, it became clear how frightful it is to travel through life with Bipolar disorder. Kay began as a child growing up within a household of mental illness without knowledge until she was much older. Yet at the age of fifteen she did know that her sister had an “enormous artistic imagination and soul” (Jamison 15). This included having raging anger at different times co-occurring with her father's increased negative behavior of depression, rage and drinking after he retired and they moved. In California, Kay had to recreate

Self-pity and pessimistic attitudes remain a topic of discussion with a mentally ill patient, however the more valuable picture revolves around the stigma that the public holds towards those with a mental illness. Unrun Ozer, member of International Committee of National Journal Editors, acknowledges that, “Stigmatization is described as attributing someone in a way that would decrease the person’s reputation because the individual strays away from the general norms of the society” ( 225). Ozer clarifies that a stigma is an unfavorable viewpoint that society has on someone that is perceived as different. Those with a mental illness are susceptible to vulnerability because they are at a small disadvantage than the normal person. Negative connotations, such as adverse viewpoints and perplexing labels, affect the care and treatment process of those suffering because their compliance to treatment decreases. Society is too quick to judge and be ignorant if someone isn’t in perfect form, and Ozer reports, “ It has been reported that individuals with mental illnesses are seen by the society as dangerous, frightening, unstable, irresponsible, unpredictable, and having communication problems” (Ozer 225). Ozer declares that these labels are degrading to an individual with a mental illness, and cause feelings of introversion, decreased self-confidence, worthlessness, shame and despair. If we want happiness to be achievable for all, then criticizing individuals is a step in the wrong

In this documentary of Stephen Fry, The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive, actor and comedian Stephen Fry goes on a journey to deepen his understanding of his mental illness. Fry starts by looking into his own past, beginning when he was just a young boy in boarding school, and searches for any signs that may have been a precursor of his eventual diagnosis. Fry also spends a good portion of the documentary talking to others’ with his shared diagnosis and listens to each of their own unique experiences and stories. Then Fry takes a deeper look into medications and treatments that are commonly used to treat bipolar disorder including electroconvulsive therapy, ETC, cognitive-behavioral therapy, CBT, and a common bipolar drug called Lithium. While doing so, Fry talks to those who have already been through or administer these various treatments, considering if he should start due to the increasing severity of his own depressive and manic states. Fry explains that although the depressive states of this illness is tremendous, the manic states are ones that have contributed considerably to his career. Just like many people suffering from bipolar disorder, he wouldn’t trade his life now for one without this mental illness.

Depression is something serious that ruins the lives of many. In “The Depressed Person” by David Foster Wallace, he introduces the reader to a person who suffers from depression but also is narcissistic; someone who hungers for attention and makes and situation about them. There’s a difference in depression alone and depression that is accompanied by narcissism. Being sad and keeping to yourself is symptomatic of depression, but being sad accompanied by the need to blame others as well as having a grandiose view of one’s self would be more representative of depression with narcissism. This combination brings an unhealthy lifestyle and burdens ones around the sufferer. The Depressed Person may not reach out

There is a dark stigma surrounding mental illness in general, and bipolar disorder is no exception. According to the Mental Health Commission of Western Australia, a stigma is “a mark of disgrace that sets someone apart.” Bipolar disorder is incredibly misunderstood by society at large, which leads to this stigma, prejudice, and discrimination. In everyday conversation, the word “bipolar” is frequently used to describe how someone is feeling at that moment. If a person is sad one moment and

I learnt that using anti-psychotics is just a component of a holistic approach to a patient with psychotic illness and that care should also include psychological treatments

The social construction of mental illness limit an individual’s life opportunities as they are labelled “psychotic stalkers, comic figures, neurotics who do everything to excess, or sometimes as sympathetic characters” (DeVoe 2003-2004, p. 926) rarely are they viewed as competent members of society as illustrated by Howard Geld experience, “many years ago, I was diagnosed manic depressive psychotic and ever since then I have tried to live up to it.” (Howard Geld cited in DeVoe 2003-2004, p. 925). However events such as NSW Mental Health Month (October) which emphasises the promotion of social and emotional wellbeing by encouraging people to maximise their health and increase their mental health literacy provides a great opportunity for reducing the fear associated with this group by raising awareness of mental illness which over time serves also to eliminate the stigma associated with

“Hallucinations and voices that caused schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders have been stopped with the use of new medications”. (MHT, 2) “Just as aspirin can reduce a fever without curing the infection that causes it, psychotherapeutic medications act by controlling symptoms,” (MFMI, 4). “Another advantage of these medications is an increased understanding of the causes of mental illness. Scientists investigate the results of the medications, and through these results, they have learned a great deal about the working of the brain system.” (MFMI, 4) The use of new drugs has made it possible for mentally ill persons to live a normal life.

The purpose of this essay is to explain the definitions of mental health, mental illness and psychiatric disability, using bipolar disorder as an example to illustrate these points. Bipolar disorder will also be used to explain the concepts of the medical and social models of disability, highlight the influence these two models could have on people with the disorder and the experiences they might encounter. There will be a focus on some of the experiences a person suffering from mental illness might have in society, the effect these experiences can have on an individual and the influence of stigmas and stereotypes. This leads to the final discussion point, the action of self-disablement. This section discusses how a person with a mental health issue can be influenced by labels, stigmas and stereotypes, and how this can stop them from seeking help and achieving their goals.

Often in our lifetime we come across someone with mental illness but do we actually know how they feel or what they are going through. In the film “The Dark Horse” directed by James Napier Robertson, we go through a journey with Genesis Potini who suffers from bipolar disorder. The film gave me an insight on how society often puts down people with mental illness, which results in self-doubt, but with the support of people who look beyond your illness and the right type of medication we can see how this man truly goes through the obstacles that come along with bi-polar. My hypothesis is that people with bipolar often are discriminated in society and feel different from others, also the most effective types of treatments are prescription medication . To test my hypothesis I researched the following questions. How do people with bipolar feel about themselves? how does society view people with bipolar? and what are the most effective treatments when coping with bipolar.