Tag: Psychiatry and Psychology
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Creativity and psychopathology in literature
Montserrat KawasChicago, Illinois, United States “There is no great genius without a mixture of madness.” — Aristotle“I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity.” — Edgar Allan Poe William Faulkner, Graham Greene, Ernest Hemingway, Charles Dickens, Leo Tolstoy and Virginia Woolf, among many others, all suffered from one of the most challenging psychiatric illnesses,…
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Enhanced creativity in later life
Melissa Castora-BinkleyElizabeth HandingSouth Florida The increased capacity for creativity in later life is not a new concept. Both professional and amateur artists alike have created some of their best works in later life. Galenson1 described some well-known lifetime artists such as, Michelangelo, Rembrandt, Virginia Woolf, and Robert Frost who were arguably past their “prime” when…
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Dirty laundry
Mary ShannonPortland, Oregon, United States She was sitting in the dark with one leg hiked up on her bed, staring out the window, the street light angled across her face like a three-quarter moon. I sat cross-legged in the bed next to her trying my best not to yawn—I knew better than to look uninterested…
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A short story
Jonathan LewisChicago, Illinois, United States “Doctor, it’s good to see you again, but as I have told you many times, it is always good to see you because I feel better the moment I walk into your office. You have helped me in so many ways, but now I have something new to tell you.…
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If Cleopatra were alive today, she would be diagnosed as a borderline personality
Jonathan LewisChicago, Illinois, United States For anyone with the temerity to write about Shakespeare, Virginia Woolf has this amusing warning: “Shakespeare is flyblown; a paternal government might well forbid writing about him…one may hazard one’s conjectures privately, make one’s notes in the margin; but, knowing that someone has said it before, or said it better,…
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F. Scott Fitzgerald and mental illness in Tender is the Night
Jessica FrostBirmingham, United Kingdom In the 1930’s classic Tender is the Night, F. Scott Fitzgerald portrays Nicole Diver as “a schizoid – a permanent eccentric.”1 However, whether the diagnosis is clinically accurate is a question that arises as the novel explores issues of mental illness and the doctor-patient relationship. The evolution of psychiatry and the…
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On madness, poetry, and creativity
Jeanne PetrolleChicago, Illinois, United States Nineteen years ago I lost my mind. Working three low-wage jobs and plying myself with caffeine, wine, and marijuana, I became obsessed with a rising indie rock star. Insomnia and euphoria obliterated my good sense. After meeting the target of my obsession, I left my husband and all three jobs…
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Acting on your mind
Helga NoiceTony NoiceIllinois, United States Last month, anyone walking by the auditorium of Lewis University Oak Brook campus for the Hektoen Institute presentation would probably have been startled by the gales of laughter coming through the doors of this usually serious academic meeting. However, the reaction was simply the result of a demonstration of a…
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Conquering the stigma of mental illness
Eric LevyNew York, New York, United States You have an illness, you let your boss know, and he fires you. There are many first-hand accounts of people who have had such an experience. Moreover, not only can mental illness be a cause for dismissal, it is also a taboo subject. Not just to your boss,…
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Rock or bust: Ageing, alcohol, and popular music
Duncan Wheeler Gemma MatthewmanGreat Britain Don’t you know that I feel alrightDoin’ what I doI ain’t gonna tow the lineNot till’ I turn blueAll I got is one short lifeThat’s what people sayAnd I ain’t gonna waste a secondDoin’ what you say. (Lyrics to Slash featuring Lemmy, “Dr. Alibi”) The lead singer of The Who, Roger…