SOLVING PSYCHIATRIC PUZZLES
by
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PREFACE
Throughout human history there have been wars for acquiring more power through land, trade, religion and political conversion and domination, as well as extinction of races and religions, thus leading to human suffering. Human genes for survival adapted to these adversities and continue to reproduce. At the basic family unit, there are happy moments of falling in love, marriages, raising children, being successful at a trade, celebrating birthdays and festivals, and just trying to forget the sufferings of the destruction of life, demolition of property by bulldozers, rapes, lootings, and killing of people for differences in color, race and religion. According to Gandhi, love always triumphs over hatred and war.
Besides the physical sufferings and deaths of millions of innocent people, what happens to the mental sufferings? Does our brain chemistry adapt to forget the pains of deaths and sufferings, or does it becomes more sensitized to tell these stories in poems, paintings, religious books or just by oral traditions from one generation to the next? We should have had more post-traumatic stress disorder from one generation to the next if it was genetically ingrained. Further, why do psychiatric genes of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression or anxiety not die with wars, diseases and famines? Are they part of the survival genes that make us human?
The incidence of major psychiatric disorders through different parts of the world is similar, independent of religion, socioeconomic, racial or regional differences. The common thread in the human race is shaped by the feelings of love, hatred, sorrow and joy emanating out of human bonds in family and social structure. These feelings are very important in raising children and building family, society and nations. Therefore depressive feelings over the break-up of relationships, loss of job or business, or death of loved ones are universal and possibly essential for the survival of the human race.
Among all clinicians, psychiatrists and therapists are in a unique position to see the unfolding of a life story of a person in the form of a movie, whereas other physicians see only one part – cardiologists see the heart, and gastroenterologists see the colon. I sincerely hope that the future generation of psychiatrists will continue to see the whole human being rather than focus on “depression”, “schizophrenia” or “panic disorder.”
The stories described in this book could be true of patients in
TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements Preface SECTION ONE: VOICES OF PATIENTS
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SOLVING PSYCHIATRIC PUZZLES
Please visit this this book’s official website at www.solvingpsychiatricpuzzles.com for more information.
Despite revolutionary advances in the field of diagnosis and treatment of mental illness, psychiatry is still shrouded in mystery and those facing mental illness are often stigmatized. What does a psychiatrist do? How are mental illnesses diagnosed and treated? Does mental illness run in families? Do people with mental illness function normally?
SOLVING PSYCHIATRIC PUZZLES gives readers an unprecedented look into the entire experience of mental illness – from patient to doctor, from diagnosis to treatment.
In this book, Dr. Sethi describes stories of 28 patients with mental disorders, in their own words, and from the hospital and office notes. These stories are universal, and they resonate with patients from all races, classes, genders and socio-economic backgrounds throughout the world.
There are no uniform standards for the treatment of mental illness in the
Dr. Sethi also describes common psychiatric disorders and psychiatric medications, as well as evolution of history of psychiatry in the
SOLVING PSYCHIATRIC PUZZLES enables us to better understand mental illness through lucid and powerful descriptions from the perspectives of both patients and clinicians. It reminds us that, despite the lingering stigma of mental illness, 90 percent of all mental illness is treatable like any other physical illness.
About the Author
V. Sagar Sethi, MD, PhD
Dr. Sethi has a rich multicultural background. He was born in the state of
In his “first life” as a scientist-professor, he published more than 80 scientific papers in the fields of biochemistry, molecular biology, pharmacology and anti-cancer drugs.
He has been in the private practice of psychiatry since 1991 in
George W. Jacobs is a writer, professor and ordained Presbyterian minister. He is the director and co-founder of the Davidson Clergy Counseling Center in Davidson, N.C.