Because other ways of understanding mental illness are possible, and I have come across a particularly interesting one in my day job.
The clinical psychologist Caroline Cuppitt writes about Charles Dickens' view of the topic and the character of Mr Dick in David Copperfield in particular:
There is no suggestion that Mr Dick should be cured of his unusual ideas; indeed, they are never directly challenged by anyone. At first the young David finds them hard to accept, but as Mr Dick proves his worth and, most importantly, finds his place within his community, they become increasingly irrelevant.
Indeed, it is even suggested that he is able to bring about a reconciliation between Dr and Mrs Strong that someone with a more conventional mind would find impossible. As Mr Dick puts it himself: “a poor simple fellow with a craze, sir … may do what wonderful people may not do.”
By the end of the novel Mr Dick has recovered, not in the sense that his ‘symptoms’ have changed, but that they no longer define him. Miss Trotwood tells David that by using the strategy of copying documents Mr Dick can keep King Charles at a respectful distance and live his life free and happy. He is one of the novel’s heroes and an exemplar of recovery for the modern age.The bicentenary of Dickens' birth falls on Tuesday 7 February. He was a remarkable man.
1 comment:
Absolutely agreed. One reason of many that I stopped working on a psych ward a few years ago was the enforced treatment of people who were no threat to anyone. One patient was convinced that he was Harry Potter, Jesus and Superman, but perfectly capable of taking care of himself and behaving in an appropriate manner, but he was forced onto medication that made his speech slurred, made him sleep all the time, and brought him out in a terrible rash.
Towards the end of his time on the ward he told me "Of course, I still know I'm Jesus really, but I'm going to tell them I don't so they'll let me out of here." - unfortunately, my legal responsibility was to report that fact. I can't see, in retrospect, that by doing so I did anything but harm.
If a mental illness causes the person with it serious distress and there's a treatment that will alleviate that, by all means help them. And if their illness makes them a serious danger to others then do the minimum necessary to prevent that danger. But the drive to medicalise and 'treat' eccentricity is utterly wrongheaded.
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