What is Mental Health?
According to the World Health Organisation, mental health can be defined as ‘the ability to think, learn, and understand one’s emotions and the reactions of others’. Mental health disorders are impairments of these mental processes that influence how we feel about ourselves and others, and how we interact with the world.
There are different types of mental health conditions. Common mental health conditions such as Anxiety and Depression are more readily treatable with talking therapies and medication, and often people with these diagnoses can live a fulfilled life despite the difficulties they may face. However, severe and enduring mental health conditions such as Bipolar Affective Disorder, Schizophrenia, Personality Disorders and Treatment Resistive Depression are much more difficult to treat and more prone to relapse, often affecting all aspects of an individual’s life and their loved ones.
As time goes on, people talk more openly about mental health and their experiences, and it’s good to see that this is becoming better represented in works of fiction. Below I will discuss what I believe are examples of accurate mental health representation in fictional books. Please note, some of these may contain spoilers, so if you wish to avoid these, skip them.
Are We All Lemmings and Snowflakes? By Holly Bourne
Summary: Olive has been shipped off to ‘Camp Reset’ by her parents, but she does not feel she needs to be there. She does not want to know what the psychiatrists believe is “wrong” with her. All she knows is she has a great idea of how to help her campmates – she will lead this project and nobody is going to stop her.
Evaluation: Olive has a diagnosis of Bipolar Affective Disorder, meaning her mood fluctuates between periods of ‘mania’ – feeling elated, full of energy, being unable to sleep, and having unreasonable expectations of her abilities, and ‘depression’ – where Olive’s mood drops and she feels little or no interest in things, has low energy levels and neglects her self-care. The way this book was written not only demonstrated how well Holly Bourne understood this condition, but Olive’s moods were also reflected in Bourne’s writing style. During Olive’s ‘manic episodes’, the chapters were written in a way that encouraged me to read them very quickly, whereas other chapters were really slowed down. If you are interested in learning more about Bipolar Affective Disorder, then this is the book fr you.
My rating: * * * *
The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn
Summary: Anna is a recluse trapped in her own home. She loves nothing better than to pour herself a large glass of wine (or two, or three) and spy on her neighbours through the window. However, one night, Anna witnesses something she never expected to see, and nobody believes her.
Evaluation: Anna suffers from severe Agoraphobia, to the extent where she feels unable to leave her house. Despite seeking help with her condition, she continues to seek refuge in her own home and is unable to venture into the world outside it. This, however, is not helped by significant alcohol misuse in addition to poor medication management. When Anna witnesses a violent crime from across the street, nobody believes her. I’m absolutely sure people in the real world have been accused of “making things up” or “misunderstanding” things, and Anna even begins to doubt herself – did she really see what she thought she saw? As well as being a thoroughly entertaining read, with an unexpected twist, I feel A.J. Finn accurately described Anna’s difficulties whilst trying to achieve justice.
My rating: * * * * *
The Split by Sharon Bolton
Summary: Felicity is on the run from ex-husband Freddie who has just been released from prison. No matter where she goes, he will find her, and she is scared for her safety. After experiencing “blackouts” or “memory lapses”, she seeks help from therapist Joe. Throughout the course of their sessions together, their lives become intertwined and it becomes evident that nothing is what it seems.
Evaluation: Felicity has an extremely rare condition called ‘Multiple Personality Disorder’, more commonly known within the Psychiatric field as ‘Dissociative Identity Disorder’. This means Felicity adopts multiple identities at different times and can only remember the “host” personality, Felicity. Despite this condition being a popular feature in pop culture (the film ‘Split’ starring James McEvoy, and new Marvel series Moonknight), there are very few examples of this being formally diagnosed in the real world. Even as a mental health professional, it is extremely unlikely that I will ever meet someone with this condition, and for this reason I found the mental health representation a tad less convincing. Netherless, this was a great book which I thoroughly enjoyed.
My rating: * * * * .5
Jemma @banksyyy_books
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