Within this essay I would like to compare the different prospect of mental illnesses with the story I chose and the story of ‘Don Quixote’. The story I chose to do the comparison of is called, ‘The Neuroscientist Who Lost Her Mind: My Tale of Madness and Recovery’. It’s a story of a lady named Barbara Lipska. She is a neuroscientist and the director of National Institute of Mental Health organization in Maryland. Within her years of experiencing the horrifying yet fascinating dismantling of countless brains. In order to analyze the distinctions of mental illnesses within the brain. But during this process of collecting analysis and data something tragic befell her. The neuroscientist who lost her own mind!
The likelihood of this came next to none. Because within a recent study in the US, it said that more than 43 million people experience different types of mental illnesses. For the worldwide report it said that one in every four individuals suffer with mental illness. From this study and experience with dealing with dealing with mental illness Dr. Lipska believes our society can improve at treating mental illnesses. As she describes in her book that difference between understanding mental illnesses is a matter of mental and physical problem.
For a neuroscientist they want society to understand more of the process of a mental illness which can be categorized as an organ malfunction. She also states in her book she argues that due to these brain malfunctions, it changes the individuals characteristics and values rather than the physical process. Also from the experience Dr. Lispka said it transformed her perspective on the process of mental illness.
The reason for including this author’s backstory was because of the perspective it could leave in the reader’s mind. It also gives good examples of what Don Quixote might’ve felt or experienced. For Don Quixote he suffered from various conditions. To name a few he was diagnosed with paranoia, persistent delusional disorder, also he may have had a case of what is called “dream fish nightmares”.
I found this case study while I did my research on Dr. Lipska’s book. This ‘dream fish nightmares” consist of 36 hours of hellish hallucinations, which this individual experience. It started off with a migraine like headache followed by the memories from the past, present, future. Sitcoms and stories. Movies and TV shows. Jumbled into one memory filled headache. So thereafter the individual experienced episodes of absences and soon was unable to read. They saw different scenarios of stories which they had played out in real life. From different characters, down to talking dogs.The individual soon went to see a doctor which said nothing seemed to be a problem. Then seeked redemption in a psychiatrist. In which he said “People with as much education as you don’t go crazy”.