Throughout her story, Susannah Cahalan experienced two types of stigmatization which can be conditionally called self-perceived and professional. In my opinion, the author’s sincerity and bravery are what society needs to combat stigmatization and dismissive attitude to mental health. Lastly, I was inspired by Cahalan’s effort of spreading awareness about mental health problems. Najjar, the neurologist who correctly diagnosed Cahalan with an autoimmune disease, received well-deserved recognition. Susannah Cahalan’s example showed that professional treatment combined with love and support could beat even the mortally dangerous illness. However, the book inspired me with the story of the successful fight against the odds. It is terrifying to imagine how many people might be suffering because they were not diagnosed in time or were ashamed to ask for help. By the beginning of the second week, hallucinations and paranoia were followed by drooling and an inability to speak in full sentences (Cahalan 106). The disease was already damaging her brain, but nobody could realize that and intervene. Cahalan remembers how she distanced herself from everyone because she was embarrassed by her unexplained behavior (48). Since mental health-related illnesses may not be diagnosed timely or correctly, people have to live with their worsening conditions. In addition, I was astonished by how easily the precious time for helping people with mental disorders can be lost. It is quite disturbing to realize that a germ or a virus can totally alter behavior, dramatically changing a person you used to know. For instance, Cahalan remembers a sudden urge to read Stephen’s emails and investigate his relationships with his ex-girlfriend (11). She started to experience previously unknown feelings such as jealousy and paranoia. However, the developing anti-NDMA receptor encephalitis had profoundly impacted her behavior. In Cahalan’s words, the doctors did not know how she contracted the disease (9). Most importantly, the book surprised and terrified me about how mysterious a human organism is and how fragile human life can be. The lack of awareness leads to stigmatization and isolates patients from society, contributing to their suffering. In this regard, Cahalan’s main message can be summarized as the call for unity and social awareness. The suffering that she had experienced gave her an opportunity to spread awareness and help many people who otherwise would have been forced to fight for survival alone. Therefore, Cahalan elaborates the message and calls her disease a “gift that she would not bestow to her worst enemy, but a gift nonetheless” (232). Najjar, who diagnosed her condition correctly however, many cases do not end well (Cahalan 230). Mental and autoimmune illnesses rarely have any logic behind them, which may sound unfair and terrifying. Despite the positive outcome, her main message is rather scary - there is no miracle diagnosis for everyone. Susannah Cahalan almost fell victim to a rare disease and several medical errors in diagnosis.
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