Going Mad? Understanding Mental Illness

is as if they have become the Greek character Sisyphus, who has suddenly found the extra strength to push the boulder over the ridge of the mountain and down the other side, finally freeing himself from repeated failures.

It’s so ironic, setbacks were not part of his repertoire. It’s easier to be a big fish in a small pond, but Paris was shark-infested waters.

Within the world of the classical definitions we are actively psychotic.

Without being oversimplistic, we can come out of our psychotic dream state when the alarm rings and end it. However, John experiences his dreams in waking consciousness. In other words he is caught up in a continuous daydream.

The imprint left by years of self-loathing is not likely to be shifted by a pill or a potion.

Surely one of the fundamental laws of consciousness must be: As I am perceived by others, so shall I perceive myself.

f we see symptoms as expressions of an underlying personal history, they can be valuable sources of information — they can point the way to a solution. In much the same way as a pain in our big toe draws our attention to an ingrown toenail, a psychological symptom alerts us to an underlying problem. Anaesthetising the symptom or shooting the messenger defeats its purpose and is not a wise move.

Our threats are now both internal and external and operate at a much more subtle level. At times we may be unaware that we ourselves trigger the fear response by being self-critical and feeling that we are not being the people we ‘should’ be.

We are no longer cavemen but we still live in a jungle, the urban jungle, where the lion is the taxman and the car an approaching deadline.

If my mind is the place which my memories call ‘home’ and if I have lost it, then where am I to be found?