I found a book that has been looking for me for a long time, in an unlikely bookstore in Klamath Falls, OR.
Saints and Madmen, by Russell Shorto
I'm only about 40 pages into it so far, but it is fantastic. It gives voice to some of the things that are so difficult to express about the manic experience, to those who have not experienced it. It is also introducing me to a whole movement within "mainstream" psychiatry, that is not so quick to dismiss the spiritual aspect of mania, and in fact looks to integrate the worthwhile portions of it.
I'm sure you've all heard the recommendation to read "An Unquiet Mind" by Kay Redfield Jamison. That recommendation stands, but this is (so far) a tremendous secondary source.
Why should you care? A Harvard study completed last June showed that 4.3 of the U.S. population has some form of bipolar disorder. It is transmitted genetically. The average age of onset is 18-22. Two out of the eleven cousins who have released that 18 y/o threshold are bipolar. You do the math, but to me it looks like there may be more on the way...
Not to scare all you youngsters, though, because it isn't all bad......
Russell Shorto's "Sains and Madmen is a book for which many of us have waited for a great many years. Without conflating mysticism and psychosis, it shows the manifold connections between the two, including their relation to the brain, the interplay of mind, body and soul, consciousness, psychedelic drugs, and spiritual exercises. The scope of this book is awesome and the vividness of its stories and examples breathtaking."
--Maurice Friedman, Ph.D., author of "Religion and Psychology"
9 comments:
Boo:
Thanks for that post. One of these weeks soon I hope to get to read up on bi-polar and now Crohn's. In the meantime I'm just finishing "Under the Banner of Heaven" about the Mormons. Wow! When I saw the title of your post, I thought of that book I'm reading...
Dan
Under the Banner of Heaven....Fantastic book.
I love you too Aunt Liz!
Boo, great post. Dad
John,
Hope you can give me an overview of the book until I can get a chance to read it. I don't get much reading in these days. By the way, Wayne is sleeping soundly!
Love,
Katie
Thanks, John, for the recommendation. I really enjoyed the candid insights in "The Unquiet Mind" and look forward to reading this new book.
Anybody out there ever find a good book that provides a cogent and sympathetic view by an apologist for fat white guys who are barely holding it together?
Bill
Boo,
Thanks for the recommendation, I will read the book.
xoxo
Chambers,
You're the best. I'm glad you're in my family!
KT
It is also introducing me to a whole movement within "mainstream" psychiatry, that is not so quick to dismiss the spiritual aspect of mania, and in fact looks to integrate the worthwhile portions of it.
I'm coming late to the discussion, nonetheless, I thought I'd suggest you take a look through my blogs, one of which is devoted to my own "mystical" experience and the other to recovery from same.
In this culture, these kind of experiences are typically labelled as a form of "mental illness". If you've gone through a similar experience you could likely find numerous articles and recommended books at my site that would be helpful to you in not only integrating the experience, but also finding others who have had similar experiences.
Feel free to wander about and share the link with others if you think it would be helpful. Meantime, if you have a story as related to your own experience and recovery from same, I am attempting to gather a collection. I think it's very important that others not only know how common the experience can be, but also that many people recover, and recovery has many different faces.
Spiritual Emergency,
I don't know who you are, or how you were even allowed to post to this blog. I'd ask you on your own blog, but you don't allow commenting.
So, I'm curious, how did you find us and how were you able to post on a private family blog?
I checked your blog out and it has some valuable information. I have had multiple "spiritual emergency" situations, and am heartened to find that there are those in the accepted Western Medical paradigm who are coming around to realizing their significance and value in the spiritual realm, without discounting the ability for real harm to occur if they are not approached appropriately.
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