Category: chemical imbalance

3 Books About Mental Illness That I Recommend

Living with mental illness, I sometimes get asked which are the really good books to increase compassion and on what it’s truly like to struggle day-to-day. My favorite three are as follows:

madness marya hornbacher

Madness by Marya Hornbacher pulls no punches in giving you a ringside seat into the devastating illness that is bipolar disorder. The most serious form is when psychotic episodes appear which I found similar to schizophrenia. The major plus for this read is that mental distress particularly during her hospitalizations spills from the page so effortlessly.

the center cannot hold elyn saks

I found Elyn Saks’ The Center Cannot Hold after watching the author’s TED talk, which is fascinating and very informative. I have the utmost admiration for the writer who, although clearly affected by the symptoms of her illness, didn’t allow it to define her or stop her from doing what she wanted to do with her life. It’s a truly honest, heart-wrenching account.

kay redfield jamison an unquiet mind

Kay Redfield Jamison’s An Unquiet Mind is another book about bipolar and not schizophrenia but the turbulence is similar and the fact that she fought meds for so long until she finally succumbed to the realization that they are indeed truly necessary and lifechanging so that sufferers can now fully function with their assistance in our lives. Jamison is a psychologist so she writes the scientific aspects in an easy to understand, charming witty and all too human way.

Schizophrenia: a chemical imbalance in the brain

easier to build child than repair adult

I’m starting to get feedback on my latest book, Resilience throughout Recovery; A Memoir of my Journey through Mental Illness. What I’ve noticed most are the common misconceptions: that my schizophrenia was caused by a dysfunctional family life and that it is cultural in nature. However, both of those are wrong.

every social economic demographicMy onset of schizophrenia didn’t occur until long after I’d left home. I was twenty-six years old and just starting college when the hallucinations began. Yes, I did have a dysfunctional childhood and I had to get over that just like anybody else that experienced similar. That did not cause my schizophrenia. And while my Native American uncle is both my Christian godfather and a medicine man, those cultural beginnings did not cause my schizophrenia. That misconception delayed my diagnosis for years. My immediate family thought that my hallucinating my deceased grandmother and aunt was part of my Native American culture. It was not. Schizophrenia is caused by an imbalance in the chemistry of the brain. Genetics may play a role but culture definitely does not.

Grandiose Symptoms

drowning help

At the height of my break from reality, I believed I could see, hear, and walk through walls. In one instance I thought I saw my neighbor kill herself in the adjacent townhome. When we found out that she actually did follow through with the suicide, I thought I had proof of my abilities. Little did I know it was just a chemical imbalance in the brain. It all seemed so real. For that I’m grateful to my Higher Power for helping me when I was drowning in delusion. I believe that I was helped to safety by a greater force which sent me down the route of medication, exercise, therapies, and group work.