The Two Faces of Mental Illness

摘要

Hallucinations, delusions, frightening behavior―when we think of "craziness" or "insanity," we picture the more extreme symptoms of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Although these conditions each claim about 2.5 million victims in the United States and indirectly affect many others (family members, friends, coworkers), there remains a great deal of misunderstanding among the general public about such mental disorders. Influenced by classic films like The Three Faces of Eve and Sybil, many people often confuse schizophrenia with multiple personality disorder (or split personality). Others perhaps remember Hannah Green's 1964 novel, I Never Promised You a Rose Garden, in which the young mentally ill patient is cured by psychotherapy. (She was probably hysterical rather than schizophrenic.)