T.E. W. (terez93) reviewed The Neuroscientist Who Lost Her Mind: My Tale of Madness and Recovery on + 323 more book reviews
The subtitle is somewhat misleading: I think this is more a tale of brain cancer and recovery, rather than "madness," but I don't want to discount the author's personal beliefs and experiences, which are admittedly extraordinary. A short but profound personal narrative of a struggle with cancer, it describes some of the symptoms of someone struggling with a life-threatening illness, and the determination to survive. I do want to point out the differences between what I would term "mental illness" with symptoms which closely mirror it, in this case, with a specific cause, metastatic melanoma which had spread to the brain. Due to both the tumor and the treatment intended to eliminate them, the author reports her experiences and bizarre behavior, which caught her completely off guard, as she at the time didn't connect with the disease, for some reason. For me, the fact that she had fellow neuroscientist and physicians in the family, who likewise didn't recognize the symptoms of someone struggling with a compromised brain, is striking.
Overall, the book is informative and inspiring, and makes for fairly accessible reading, although there is some moderately complex medical jargon to wade through. I think that the book will likely appeal to those who have had medical conditions they've had to contend with, however, so, as in my case, some of the material was at least familiar, and certainly accessible. Everyone will have their own take-aways from books of this type, but mine primarily rests on the admonition to trust yourself: if you think something is wrong, insist that your doctors do a through follow-up to find out what the problem is. It also speaks to watching out for other loved ones and friends: if something seems off, don't ignore it or discount it, especially if it occurs repeatedly over time. The author, by her own admission, was either in a state of denial (which also clearly affected her family members), or had by that time lost the ability to judge clearly what was happening to her, so it was left to those closest to her to act in her best interest, which they seemingly didn't do. Perhaps the most important lesson is to have these types of discussions with family beforehand, so if the unthinkable occurs, everyone is on the same page in terms of how to deal with it.
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Until quite recently, psychiatrists believed that schizophrenia was a psychological illness caused by stress and upbringing, particularly by the influence of a "schizophrenogenic mother" who did not provide her child with enough maternal warmth and care. Today, this theory has been soundly discredited. Schizophrenia, as we now know, is a disease caused by abnormal brain structure and function, just as heart disease is a product of faulty arteries.
You must be your own advocate... You can't rely solely on your doctors or you family or anyone else; you have to stay on top of your own care, no matter how sick or exhausted you feel. Learn everything you can about your disease and your diagnosis, locate the very best doctors, find out exactly what drugs and treatments your doctors are giving you and what they're supposed to do, never stop researching and asking questions, and check, check, check what the doctors tell you-get second and third opinions. All of this is up to you because ultimately no one else-not your family members who love you, or your doctors, who want you to survive-is responsible for your health. You need a support team, of course, but in the end, you run this race on your own.
People with damage to their frontal lobe-whether as a result of head trauma... cancer... or a neurodegenerative disease, as with Alzheimer's patients-often undergo significant personality changes. In some cases, these changes are truly bizarre, combining noticeable disinhibition with little appreciation or concern about the consequences of one's actions.
Overall, the book is informative and inspiring, and makes for fairly accessible reading, although there is some moderately complex medical jargon to wade through. I think that the book will likely appeal to those who have had medical conditions they've had to contend with, however, so, as in my case, some of the material was at least familiar, and certainly accessible. Everyone will have their own take-aways from books of this type, but mine primarily rests on the admonition to trust yourself: if you think something is wrong, insist that your doctors do a through follow-up to find out what the problem is. It also speaks to watching out for other loved ones and friends: if something seems off, don't ignore it or discount it, especially if it occurs repeatedly over time. The author, by her own admission, was either in a state of denial (which also clearly affected her family members), or had by that time lost the ability to judge clearly what was happening to her, so it was left to those closest to her to act in her best interest, which they seemingly didn't do. Perhaps the most important lesson is to have these types of discussions with family beforehand, so if the unthinkable occurs, everyone is on the same page in terms of how to deal with it.
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Until quite recently, psychiatrists believed that schizophrenia was a psychological illness caused by stress and upbringing, particularly by the influence of a "schizophrenogenic mother" who did not provide her child with enough maternal warmth and care. Today, this theory has been soundly discredited. Schizophrenia, as we now know, is a disease caused by abnormal brain structure and function, just as heart disease is a product of faulty arteries.
You must be your own advocate... You can't rely solely on your doctors or you family or anyone else; you have to stay on top of your own care, no matter how sick or exhausted you feel. Learn everything you can about your disease and your diagnosis, locate the very best doctors, find out exactly what drugs and treatments your doctors are giving you and what they're supposed to do, never stop researching and asking questions, and check, check, check what the doctors tell you-get second and third opinions. All of this is up to you because ultimately no one else-not your family members who love you, or your doctors, who want you to survive-is responsible for your health. You need a support team, of course, but in the end, you run this race on your own.
People with damage to their frontal lobe-whether as a result of head trauma... cancer... or a neurodegenerative disease, as with Alzheimer's patients-often undergo significant personality changes. In some cases, these changes are truly bizarre, combining noticeable disinhibition with little appreciation or concern about the consequences of one's actions.
