Score

Fascinating idea for a list.

I believe that I too must be insane because I didn't recognize insanity in some of these that I've read.

Alice wrote: "I believe that I too must be insane because I didn't recognize insanity in some of these that I've read."

No, it actually takes some training! I think its interesting that we want to read about the mentally ill as they are more interesting.

Who is mentally ill in Picnic at Hanging Rock (currently #102)? And in The Story of O (currently #156)? Or in The English Patient (currently #163)?

All three books were added by the same voter, but unfortunately, in the 'Why you added this book' section, there is no name mentioned of the mentally ill character (and as far as I can remember, there was none...)

Alice wrote: "I believe that I too must be insane because I didn't recognize insanity in some of these that I've read."

Seems you're not the only one ... :-)

so far only one book on the list has a main character who suffers from my mental illness.

For those who have struggled with trauma/mental illness or know someone who does, these books are a must-read:
—The Body Keeps the Score by Dr. Bessel van der Kolk is a best-selling, compassionate book by one of the world's top experts in mental illness. The book describes the physiology of trauma, many case studies, and new non-pharmaceutical treatments. Note: the case studies involve some graphic descriptions of atrocities.

—Trauma and Recovery by Dr. Judith Herman is a classic on the history of the treatment of mental illness: how Freud was pressured into retracting his discovery that his female patients were victims of childhood incest (resulting in the cruel psychoanalytic practice of blaming the victim), the use of borderline diagnosis as a pejorative substitute for PTSD, trauma in the military, etc. Note: the Recovery section is out-of-date.

Good fiction can reduce the need for medications by distracting ill readers from their pain. Please vote on and/or add suggestions to this list of healing books: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

It seems people who are obsessed by someone (Wuthering Heights, #23) are seen as mentally ill in this list. i wouldn't go that far myself. as mentally ill has a different meaning to me.

After looking at this list, I viewed the regional library's catalog for "mental illness" and was surprised, discouraged to see a quite high percentage of books listed were in the young adult sections.

I voted for Tara in Prisoners of War; she has OCD.

Is masochism a mental illness? What about sadism? I guess its been 40 years since I took abnormal psychology and things have sure changed since then. There are all sorts of new mental illnesses.

Thea wrote: "so far only one book on the list has a main character who suffers from my mental illness."

If you don't mind sharing, what one is yours?

Chrisl wrote: "After looking at this list, I viewed the regional library's catalog for "mental illness" and was surprised, discouraged to see a quite high percentage of books listed were in the young adult sections."
Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams

I recently read a book about sleep and it said that many mental illnesses start in teenagers as they need lots more sleep but our society doesn't allow for this. Starting school later would really help these students. The people this happens to NEVER RECOVER! I was very shocked to read this and I think the book was:Matthew WalkerWhy We Sleep: The New Science of Sleep and Dreams but I may have the title wrong.

Lyn wrote: "For those who have struggled with trauma/mental illness or know someone who does, these books are a must-read:
—The Body Keeps the Score by Dr. Bessel van der Kolk is a best-selling, compassionate ..."

I am so glad to read that Old Fraud had to retract on the labels he put on his patients. Psychologists still like to blame the victim and so do psychiatrists.