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A review by libraryofemilyjayne
This Book Will Change Your Mind About Mental Health: A journey into the heartland of psychiatry by Nathan Filer
4.0
4.5⭐️
I was so excited to read this after reading Nathan Filer’s Shock of The Fall a few years ago - a book which I urge you all to read if you haven’t done so already.
I’ve always considered myself pretty well versed when it comes to a lot of the issues that surround society’s understanding of mental health experiences. In spite of this, however, I will always admit where my knowledge fails me and where I can educate myself further. For schizophrenia specifically, this has long been the case. Schizophrenia is undoubtedly one of the most commonly misunderstood - if not the most misunderstood - mental health conditions. It is a condition that is deemed as “one of the more scary” mental health conditions a person can experience, and it is commonly thought to make a person more dangerous, more aggressive. What Nathan Filer seeks to do throughout this book is dispel a lot of the common myths surrounding this illness and initiate a more honest and open conversation about what it means to be an individual living with and experiencing schizophrenia.
The book is made up a series of personal stories from people who have had varying experiences with schizophrenia - some have lived with the illness themselves, while others speak through their understanding of schizophrenia having seen their loved ones experience this condition. Each of these stories are deeply moving and incredibly poignant, and, ultimately, what each of these stories prove further is that no two people experience schizophrenia in the same way.
After hearing these stories, Filer then discusses the issues that are raised during these personal narratives: he discusses how rife stigma and discrimination are in today’s society and how this has implicated our understanding of schizophrenia more generally; the problematic nature of diagnosis; the hotly debated topic of medication; and what causes of schizophrenia have been identified, while admitting to their issues of determinism and simplicity.
The book reads like an extended essay, but is incredibly compassionate and perceptive. Above all though, the thing I would credit this book the most for is it’s accessibility. For those who come to this book with little or no understanding of schizophrenia will find that Filer doesn’t rely on heavy, medical language but uses his own experiences as a former mental health nurse to inform those reading this book about such a devastatingly misunderstood condition. Filer uses his humour and his personality to add real depth to this book, and it reminds us all exactly what means to be human.
I loved this book - it’s profound, it’s interesting but it’s also inspiring. Filer has written a book that is simultaneously heart-warming yet heart-breaking. There’s still a long way to go in society’s mission to understand what mental health is and the various conditions that can affect a person’s mental health, (including schizophrenia), but this book will take us all one step closer into understanding what it is like to experience mental ill-health.
I was so excited to read this after reading Nathan Filer’s Shock of The Fall a few years ago - a book which I urge you all to read if you haven’t done so already.
I’ve always considered myself pretty well versed when it comes to a lot of the issues that surround society’s understanding of mental health experiences. In spite of this, however, I will always admit where my knowledge fails me and where I can educate myself further. For schizophrenia specifically, this has long been the case. Schizophrenia is undoubtedly one of the most commonly misunderstood - if not the most misunderstood - mental health conditions. It is a condition that is deemed as “one of the more scary” mental health conditions a person can experience, and it is commonly thought to make a person more dangerous, more aggressive. What Nathan Filer seeks to do throughout this book is dispel a lot of the common myths surrounding this illness and initiate a more honest and open conversation about what it means to be an individual living with and experiencing schizophrenia.
The book is made up a series of personal stories from people who have had varying experiences with schizophrenia - some have lived with the illness themselves, while others speak through their understanding of schizophrenia having seen their loved ones experience this condition. Each of these stories are deeply moving and incredibly poignant, and, ultimately, what each of these stories prove further is that no two people experience schizophrenia in the same way.
After hearing these stories, Filer then discusses the issues that are raised during these personal narratives: he discusses how rife stigma and discrimination are in today’s society and how this has implicated our understanding of schizophrenia more generally; the problematic nature of diagnosis; the hotly debated topic of medication; and what causes of schizophrenia have been identified, while admitting to their issues of determinism and simplicity.
The book reads like an extended essay, but is incredibly compassionate and perceptive. Above all though, the thing I would credit this book the most for is it’s accessibility. For those who come to this book with little or no understanding of schizophrenia will find that Filer doesn’t rely on heavy, medical language but uses his own experiences as a former mental health nurse to inform those reading this book about such a devastatingly misunderstood condition. Filer uses his humour and his personality to add real depth to this book, and it reminds us all exactly what means to be human.
I loved this book - it’s profound, it’s interesting but it’s also inspiring. Filer has written a book that is simultaneously heart-warming yet heart-breaking. There’s still a long way to go in society’s mission to understand what mental health is and the various conditions that can affect a person’s mental health, (including schizophrenia), but this book will take us all one step closer into understanding what it is like to experience mental ill-health.