The Paranoid's Pocket Guide to Mental Disorders You Can Just Feel Coming On

by Dennis DiClaudio

Giving neurotics everywhere something to worry about, The Paranoid's Pocket Guide to Mental Disorders You Can Just Feel Coming On profiles more than 40 of the most outrageous and yet eerily familiar psychological disorders—a fascinating array of obsessions, compulsions, phobias, fixations, and full-blown mental maladies.

Every disorder is well documented, including common symptoms , causes , and treatment options , along with a handy quiz for easy self-diagnosis . And in case you can't tell whether or not you're losing it, each entry includes a sample inner monologue detailing the thought processes at play—because sometimes you don't know you're crazy until you see it in writing. 

This humorous guide to the nuttiness within all of us will have even the most rational thinkers second-guessing their sanity.

Genres: Nonfiction, Psychology, Humor, Science, Medical, Mental Illness, Medicine

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Dennis DiClaudio lives in Philadelphia, PA with one wife, one son, and two dogs. He is a former editor for Comedy Central's Indecision website and has contributed to The Onion and The AV Club. His plays have been staged in New York City, Philly, Atlanta, and Oxford, MS.

Reviews

[Rossella · Rating 1 out of 5]

Credo di stare sviluppando un talento fuori dal comune nel trovare libri comici e umoristici che non mi fanno per niente ridere.

[Linnea McGowan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aww... it was like a trip down memory lane! I was a psych major back in the day and my abnormal prof (abnormal psych, not the prof herself... though she was a trip...) did a fine job teaching me about disorders of all kinds! I must admit that I literally knew or remembered every single disorder in the book... I don't really know what that says about me other than abnormal was my favorite class! Sadly, my favorite personality disorders were NOT included. :( I wept a little.

Oh, and the snark/sarcasm was greatly appreciated by moi!

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.
I have a psychology degree so a lot of these I have heard of before reading this book. But I enjoyed reading about them again and reading about some of the really "out there" disorders. Pretty much abnormal psychology of the more rare disorders in a nutshell.

[Orçun Güzer · Rating 4 out of 5]

10 yıl kadar önce bir arkadaşıma aşağıdaki wikipedia maddesini göndermiştim:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delusio...

Bir senarist ve korku filmi müptelası olan arkadaşım, “delüzyonel yanlış tanıma/tanımlama/özdeşlik” maddesi altında sıralanan hepsi birbirinden ilginç hezeyan türlerinin, bütün korku filmi temalarını içerdiğini (biraz da coşkuyla) söylemişti. Daha sonra, içeriği bu maddedeki bozukluklarla sınırlı olmayan, bütün az görülen ve tuhaf psikopatolojiler hakkında genel bilgi veren bu kitap karşıma çıkınca, tereddütsüz edindim. Çok ilginç bir okuma olmakla beraber, tek eleştirim, yazarın üslubuna: Bazen, nüktedanlık hevesi bilgilendirici içeriğin önüne geçmiş; üstelik, tüm o esprili anlatımların komik olduğu da söylenemez. Hastaların iç sesini dile getirmeye çalıştığı kısımlar kötü yazarlık numunesi olarak incelenebilir; o kısımları genelde atladım. Bu yüzden, 5 yerine 4 yıldız veriyorum…

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

While author Dennis DiClaudio states plainly in the introduction that this book is not intended to be seen as making fun of any of the people who have these diseases, it's a bit hard to see it as anything else. DiClaudio keeps the tone light and humorous (Chapter 1: Anxiety Disorders, "because life's too short not to spend it worrying"), but it's difficult to find anything amusing about illnesses that are very real to the people suffering from them. Perhaps I'm just too sensitive? There must be a diagnosis for that...

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book that is entertaining as hell for those that need a good laugh if they have an insane amount of stress going on in their life. Like me! ;) I enjoyed the book and annoyed my husband by asking him if he had any of the ones in the back, but I will behave and not post them because that would be naughty. LOL. Great book.

[Ann Keller · Rating 5 out of 5]

I chuckled my way through this little book. Although it has many bases in fact, I found some of the manias and phobias incredible. Quite a few were couched in thoughts and fears from the past, too. The illustrations also offered period direction, as well. If you're seeking that perfect book for someone who has everything, this little gem offers a humorous alternative.

[Izabela · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked up this book a few years ago, when I was a psychology major in college. Whenever I'm feeling down (or nutty!) I just read a passage from here. Great little guide to pick you up and make you just a tad craz(ier)!

[Peta · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was so funny that while I was reading it I could literally not put it down. I certainly would not suggest reading it on public transport! I actually ended up reading most of the entries out to a willing, (demanding, really) audience.

[Suzanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

What began as an amusing gift book ended as a truly fascinating primer on the numerous mental afflictions that befall our society. Warning! It will have you rethinking your own thoughts and actions, as well as analyzing those of others.

[J.M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting snapshot of some of the strangest mental disorders recorded. There were a few they left out that I felt would've been good additions to the list, but I guess they had to save some for the next volume, eh?

[Dennis DiClaudio · Rating 5 out of 5]

In reviewing this book, I can think of no better means than to loosely paraphrase a passage of "The Confessions of St. Augustine": Holy shit! That was super bitchin'!

[Neriah · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Narcissistic Personality Disorder:
Because you are the fulcrum around which the rest of the world spins and anyone who doesn't understand this is an idiot."

Every disorder is well documented, including common symptoms, causes, and treatment options, along with a handy quiz for easy self-diagnosis. And in case you can't tell whether or not you're losing it, each entry includes a sample inner monologue detailing the thought processes at play—because sometimes you don't know you're crazy until you see it in writing.

You can very well see that I copy-pasted the description. I never expected any less good sequel for the highly hilarious and extremely amusing/informative prequel The Hypochondriacs Pocket Guide to Horrible Diseases You Probably Already Have.

As someone pursuing Psychology as majors, this book turned out to be highly informative and the author's sense of humour just made this 'reference' read quite an incredible experience! Dennis had already taken a chunk of my heart with his brilliant, quite graphic writing but he took eternal place in my heart BECAUSE HE LITERALLY TREATED MENTAL ILLNESS AS ILLNESS not with ALL OF IT IS IN YOUR HEAD nonsense! Definitely the book you'll find me throwing at the people who say it. When he said 'Because sometimes the mind conspires to screw with your body', it spoke to me on a spiritual level.

A brilliant, incredibly hilarious, non-offensive and genius sequel to the prior and it's just the best! I love this book even if it screwed my thinking! Truly made me question my sanity. :)

Recommended: Anyone in the medical/psychological field will find it educative and everyone else, it is for you as well!

[Jamie Bee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Somewhat Irreverent Guide to Offbeat and Typical Mental Disorders

As the title might suggest, this book is meant to be a lighthearted guide to some typical and rare mental disorders. I know; that seems like a strange concept. The author does address this in the introduction, where he states that he knows that mental disorders are a serious subject. He has written some other somewhat humorous books on difficult topics, like diseases and deviant behavior. When you actually start to read about the various syndromes within the book, over half of each disorder is actually quite serious. The causality and the treatment sections actually seem like solidly researched information about the actual disorder. It's only in the first parts of the section—namely the quiz, inner monologue, and diagnosis sections—that humor seems to reign. I actually found this combination of slightly silly parts and on-point parts along with sometimes rather bizarre cartoons to make for a fascinating read. I am an RN and have some experience dealing with mental disorders, so that may be why I found this to be a book I couldn’t stop flipping through.

I received a free copy of this book, but that did not affect my review.

[Theediscerning · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the third book of this author's I read this month, following enjoyable rattles around the human body's worst diseases, and the human bedtime's worst sexual ideas. This concerns a host of mental disorders, pretty much all of the kind you'd rather not have. Well, pretty much – since when is synaesthesia a disorder, as in something to cure? And is not "Intermittent Explosive Disorder" just a perfect legal invention, to get you off a trial case when you throw someone through a bar window for no reason? Seems that way to me. Grr. Anyway, common things are here, such as kleptomania, pyromania, Münchhausen's Syndrome, et al, and a lot more that raise the eyebrows for being rarer, harder to fathom or just blackly fun to read about while you're perfectly sane – allegedly. It's certainly a lot more welcoming to read here how long Sleep Terror Disorder may last, than to find out first hand. All this, plus imaginary worms, and a glossary of phobias and manias to round up. The book is not perfect – the author gives us pointless, eminently skippable bits to each entry that aren't needed, as he did with the pre-coital yucks in the sex book – but this series has been highly educational.

[Rachel Noel · Rating 4 out of 5]

*Free copy in exchange for an honest review.

I saw the title of this book and knew I had to get it. As a former hypochondriac, for physical and mental issues, I knew I needed to read this book. Good news! I was able to tell myself, "Yeah, I don't have this" time and time again. This is likely due to how DiClaudio writes each section. Each disorder starts with a few questions for you, followed by an inner dialogue that someone with the disorder would have, and then the diagnostics and causes of each. That inner dialogue is a great help for paranoids to distance themselves from thinking they have this disorder or that. In the introduction, DiClaudio talks about wanting to present these things in a humorous fashion, while also being respectful to those with mental disorders. I have to say, I think he nailed it! His format made learning about these disorders engaging, without being overly sensitive or overly callous. This was a good read and I look forward to his other book, "The Hypochondriac's Pocket Guide to Horrible Diseases You Probably Already Have". 4 hoots!

[J. d'Merricksson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Paranoid's Pocket Guide to Mental Disorders You Can Just Feel Coming On by Dennis DiClaudio covers forty different real psychological disorders that are hilarious and terrifying both. Hilarious because they are so outrageous as to be unbelievable, yet terrifying because they are very real, and YOU could be suffering from one. Thankfully, each entry comes complete with a self-diagnosis quiz, and a sample inner monologue so you can make extra certain. In humourous fashion, symptoms, causes of the disorder, and various treatment options are listed for each. I was cracking up reading this! I recognised a few, but many of these were new to me. Highly recommended, both for humour value, and trivia value!

***Many thanks to the Netgalley & Quarto Publishing for providing an egalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

[Nerdy Housewifey · Rating 5 out of 5]

If your like me you love reading and learning the most random things. Do you want to know what the fear is your already dead but no one has told is? Then read this! This was one of the most interesting books I’ve ever read, ever... well aside from Dennis DiClaudio’s two other books. I love learning random things and these books not only describe what they are/mean they give examples and all with such hilariously witty dialogue that by the end I was genuinely sad that I wasn’t friends with Dennis in real life.

These were literally a joy to read and I learned so many freaking random things, it’s awesome. I of course have to get these in hardback when they’re available because I do believe a big hardback is the only way to do justice to these works of greatness.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

The internal monologues made this book. Having the symptom list is fine and all, but the monologues brought everything to life. This whole book puts a light-hearted spin on mental illness. Yes, mental illness is serious, but bringing some humor to it helps make a taboo topic more approachable, which is needed. The way everything is written also helps clarify what these illnesses really are. It isn't just a bunch of medical jargon that no one understands.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Author: Dennis DiClaudio
Publisher: becker&mayer! Books
Publication Date: 2007

[Renee · Rating 1 out of 5]

The Paranoid's Pocket Guide... by Dennis DiClaudio was offered in NetGalley. I thought maybe the author had an issue but no. It is sort of narrated by someone who has a disorder. The idea of it is a little weird, not as weird as the book.

The author is not a medical doctor, CNA, NP, or naturopathic doctor. The first chapter is more of a question page with some cartoon drawings. What got me sick was the chapter "God is Watching" This should not even be for sale. It makes no sense and the author is giving the impression he is an MD who researched these disorders.

Don't waste $9.99 on rubbish

[Corey · Rating 1 out of 5]

I picked this book up because as a person with multiple complex mental illnesses and two neurological conditions, I thought it might be fun to see someone poke a little bit of fun at them.

So imagine my surprise when most of the book features disorders that aren't mental in nature at all. The book is inexplicably divided into sections of real mental illness categories but many of the disorders listed are not part of that category. Some of the "disorders" in question are actually symptoms. A weird number are cultural conditions or culture specific presentations of certain disorders.

Overall, I found this disappointing. It wasn't all that offensive, but it also wasn't funny either.

[Kirsten Lost 2022 · Rating 4 out of 5]

A rapid-fire look at weird mental disorders that you definitely have coming on. How about the desire to lop off a limb, the only treatment for which is the amputation of that limb? (Body Integrity Identity Disorder) A condition where sometimes, as you're falling asleep, a massively loud sound happens in your head and wakes you back up? (Exploding Head Syndrome) Or being convinced that you are the second coming of Jesus himself? (Jerusalem Syndrome)

A jolly entertaining read.

[Kim Hamilton · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a hilarious book. The title pretty much says it all: it's a collection of disorders and the associated symptoms...that you most likely have, of course. It was such a fun read and I'm definitely passing it (the book) along eventually. This would make a really funny gift as well, truly ideal for any hypochondriac. I highly recommend this book for anyone who likes a good laugh!

[Nicola · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was attracted by the the title of this book, which promises a somewhat quirky and entertaining read. While not meaning to insult people who are diagnosed with any of the disorders, Dennis DiClaudio finds humour among the various conditions. A printed copy of this book would make a perfect gift and something to dip in and out of.

[Heather Bennett · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is slap stick humor with no real useful medical information. It is well written, but makes fun of those with mental issues.

[Joshua (ithildins) · Rating 3 out of 5]

a few chuckles, lots of information about things i didn't know - i liked it

[Lindsey Schuster · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is filled with false medical advice. Shouldn’t even be allowed to be published imo. Shame on the author.

[Mathea Mae · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still can't decide if it's a good or bad idea to have read this book. On one hand, I learned a lot- on the other there are quite a few questions I need to be asking myself now🤔😂

[Bailee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm actually surprised by what is included in this book like there were disorders I didn't even know existed until I read this book.

[Tina · Rating 2 out of 5]

That was weird.