Before even finishing Eyes Wide Open, I came across letters to the editor of the New York Times Magazine in response to
an editorial on involuntary commitment to mental institutions. The letters related personal experiences that
either supported the benefits of involuntary commitment or refuted commitment
as a barrier to living life to its fullest.
Obviously, there are costs and benefits to both
sides of this argument. What came across in all letters was the pain and
torment of the writers who all had bipolar disorder.
Shortly after reading this, I was leafing through a
copy of the Philadelphia Inquirer
when I noticed a picture of a middle-aged couple with two young adults. The
caption told me that the son, age 24, committed suicide after suffering with
Body Dysmorphic Disorder . The mother’s description of the family’s anguish at
watching their “unfailingly kind, and universally loved, compassionate,
teacher’s dream and a varsity athlete son”, sounded so familiar.
She spoke of how people with this disorder find
schooling, holding a job, or developing a romantic relationship difficult or
impossible. She could have been describing Andrew. While the diagnoses were different, her son was suffering from a form of
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, the life impact was very similar.
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