Jezebel
an artistic temperament?
Posts Tagged “
Mental Illness
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an artistic temperament?
Jeannette Eyerly, one of the first authors to bring serious issues like death, abortion, and drugs to the once-bubble-gum world of young adult fiction, has died at the age of 100. In addition to writing popular novels like Drop-Out, More Than a Summer Love, and A Girl Like Me, Eyerly was also a mental health advocate. She campaigned to reduce the stigma of mental illness, and to provide alternatives to hospital care — she even helped found a mental health center in Polk County, Iowa. RIP Jeannette Eyerly, and kudos for addressing people's hardships, both in fiction and in life. [NY Times]
loss of appetite
The Most Disgusting Thing A Person Has Ever Done To Lose Weight
Today I saw one of the most disturbing clips I've ever seen on television, courtesy of the Tyra show. It featured a 19-year-old anorexic named Cassie, who weighs 85 lbs and, as her disease would dictate, believes that she's fat. Cassie takes drastic measures to lose weight, like taking 35 laxatives at a time, chewing on paper, and eating cotton (the latter two, she admits, she learned to do by reading "pro ana" sites). When she does actually eat food, she only allows herself 150 calories a day. (She used to eat dirt, but then stopped because she was afraid of "dirt calories.") Because years of purging have ruined her gag reflex, she can no longer vomit, so instead, she sticks a feeding tube down her throat and suctions food out of her stomach. Even Tyra, who has undoubtedly seen a whole lot of disordered eating in her life working as a model, was beyond shocked. Clip above. More »
what it feels like for a girl
Are Men Less Likely To Be Depressed Because They Don't Even Know What It Is?
The National Alliance on Mental Illness has announced that while 18 million Americans experience depression every year, one in eight women get depressed, which is twice the rate of depression in men. Twice the rate. In addition, depression hits minorities the most: Middle-aged Hispanic women have the highest rate, then middle-aged African-American women. Young Asian-American women have the second highest rate of suicide among those ages 15 to 24. There are many reasons that women are more likely to experience depression: In addition to genetic factors, brain chemistry issues, and psychosocial losses or changes, there are things that women have to deal with that men usually do not. "Some experiences are unique to women," Dr. Ken Duckworth of the NAMI says, "including post-partum changes, infertility and hormonal fluctuations throughout their lives." But one has to wonder: Do men even realize what depression is? More »
prozac nations
In Post-Industrial Society, Women Are Either "Princess Crazy" Or Her Handmaidens
How many times has a dude accused you of being "crazy" when you think you're being perfectly rational? Well there's a new book out by Paris-born writer Lisa Appignanesi, Mad, Bad and Sad: A History of Women and the Mind Doctors from 1800, which argues that women's so-called madness has been gerrymandered by shifting definitions that often equate craziness and "feminine" behavior. In a review of Mad, Bad and Sad, Telegraph scribe Melanie McGrath says that, "Our current expectations to be made, as one advocate of Prozac puts it, 'better than well', along with ever-expanding definitions of what constitutes mental illness, have served to turn us all, if not into Princesses of Crazy then into her handmaidens." More »
something stinks
Drowning In Perfume? You Might Be Depressed
Researchers from Tel Aviv University recently discovered a link between depression and the olfactory glands. "Our scientific findings suggest that women who are depressed are also losing their sense of smell, and may overcompensate by using more perfume," explains Professor Yehuda Shoenfeld. The good news? "People who are depressed seem to respond well to aromatherapy. Certain smells seem to help them overcome the effects of the biological factors, suggesting that depression may have a biological cause." Dr. Shoenfeld suggests that a standardized "smell test" cold be developed so that doctors could diagnose depression and other autoimmune diseases. Haven't you always suspected the aroma of fresh-baked brownies was a miracle cure? More »
literary lionesses
Susanna Sonnenberg Adds Another Chapter To The Unhinged Mother Canon
In today's New York Times, famously-scurrilous book critic Michiko Kakutani gives a rave review to Her Last Death, Susanna Sonnenberg's debut memoir about her totally batshit mother, "Daphne." While Sonnenberg's mom "possessed a magical charm and a contagious, manic enthusiasm, especially in...her 'Let's-Take-Over-Central Park' moods," Kakutani explains, Demerol addict Daphne was also prone to "falling-down, passing-out drug binges and [she had a] relentless obsession with sex, which she shockingly shared with her young daughter." Daphne made Susanna read aloud from Penthouse Letters at age ten and told her about orgasms when she was eight. Though Daphne's mother-of-the-year antics are terrible, she joins a robust literary pantheon of bad mommies: Christina Crawford's juicy Joan Crawford takedown Mommie Dearest, and probably the best book about living with a mentally ill parent, Mary Karr's unparalleled The Liar's Club. More »
polls
