Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness, written by Susannah Cahalan, is a true story about a twenty-four-year-old woman who works for the New York Post and contracts a rare disease called anti-NMDA-receptor autoimmune encephalitis, while living in an apartment in New York City. The narrative begins by explaining that Susannah, the narrator, got some two interesting bug bites on her arm during the bedbug epidemic, though she had an exterminator come spray her studio despite seeing no signs of an infestation at all. She went to work the next day and tried to act as though they did not exist, but she could not get the bites off her mind. She then goes on to act out of character, throwing away keep-sakes and invading her boyfriend’s privacy, as she gets a migraine along with a pain in her stomach which further foreshadows her, approaching, dangerous condition. …show more content…
Although she got medical help as soon as she noticed things becoming abnormal, an accurate diagnosis was hard to come by. Susannah’s friends and family began so see her become a different person, all her mental and emotional ailments were matched by physical ones, she motor-control became unpredictable, her speech was slurred, and she was plagued by seizures. Although all her medical exams came back as normal and showing no reason for worry, Susannah’s health only declined. Seeking advice and help from her friends, Susannah decided to see to get further medical help after being released from the Emergency Room from her first seizure. From this point on, Susannah began to lose more and more of herself to the disease, becoming somebody else entirely until
Susannah's family took her back and forth from the hospital several times following this first hospital trip, and returned home unsuccessful each time. The doctors could not find any evidence of a physical problem, and her family was beginning to lose hope. They knew that without evidence of a physical issue, the examinations would suggest that the issue was in her brain. Cahalan's family feared they would lose their Susannah to an unfulfilling life in a mental
Everything is criticized at every level in this story, the people by the main character, the main character by the author and even the story by the author as well. The cruel egoistic personality of Anders is definitely identifiable through these different levels of criticism. I will prove that the inner motivation of this behaviour derives from Anders' egoistic personality which sometimes makes him cruel against others, sometimes against himself. Furthermore, I will prove that whenever Anders criticizes somebody or something he actually tries to punish because of the imperfectness of the object. In order to make the referring to the different part of the story easier I divide it into three parts. The first part ends when the robbers appear at the door of the bank, the second ends when one of the robbers shoots at Anders and the left is the third part.
trying to do nothing more that make her sick, but Deborah confirmed that a friend had
The book "Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness" by Susannah Calahan is a narrative telling the life changing story of an unimaginable descent into madness, and the genius, lifesaving diagnosis that almost didn't happen. Previously healthy Susannah never would have imagined waking up in the hospital one day with no recollection of her battle with a disease that not only threatened her sanity but also her life. A team of doctors spent a month trying to pin down a medical explanation of what exactly what had gone wrong. During this time, we learn more about Susannah's family, friends, and loved ones and how each of them affect her overall wellbeing. Eventually, with the help of one special
Her essay is arranged in such a way that her audience can understand her life - the positives and the negatives. She allows her audience to see both sides of her life, both the harsh realities that she must suffer as well as her average day-to-day life. According to Nancy, multiple sclerosis “...has opened and enriched my life enormously. This sense that my fragility and need must be mirrored in others, that in search for and shaping a stable core in a life wrenched by change and loss, change and loss, I must recognize the same process, under individual conditions, in the lives around me. I do not deprecate such knowledge” (Mairs, 37). Mairs big claim is that she has accepted herself and her condition for what is it, yet she refuses to allow her condition to define her. Through her particular diction, tone, satire, and rhetorical elements, Mairs paints a picture of her life and shows how being a cripple has not prevent her from living her life. She is not embarrassed nor ashamed of what she is, and accepts her condition by making the most of it and wearing the title with
The novel ‘Burning Eddy’ is about a young man named Daniel who has had a rough life so far, along the way he meets an old Dutch lady named Eddy who changed his life forever. Throughout the novel, Daniel is faced with problems that will change his identity and the way he looks at life.
Young Men and Fire is a profound story following the smokejumpers of the Mann Gulch fire, their tragedy and Norman Maclean’s mission to piece together the historic fire’s details. In 1949, before the breakout of the Mann Gulch fire, smokejumpers were seen as captivating, hearty, and borderline insane. They were the Forest Service’s most efficient and charismatic weapons against fire; ballsy and sure of themselves. This was until they dropped into the Mann Gulch fire, where instead of gaining control of the fire, it demonstrated an upper hand in experience, killing all but three of the men. Maclean’s narration on the event is insightful and robust in detail despite the fact that he was never actually involved in fighting the fire. He was haunted
In “Girl Interrupted” Susanna Kaysen, the main character, goes through many episodes that give a picture of the disorder she’s suffering from. The first such incident occurs when the psychiatrist talks to Susanna about her failed suicide attempt. During the conversation, she is seen as confused and irritated by his presence. While the psychiatrist questions her, her mind seems to be somewhere else because she is having flashbacks of her past, maybe a sign of ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder). Susanna seems uncertain about things, she claims that she does not know what she feels.
Beautiful Brains by David Dobbs is an article about why teenagers usually take more risks than adults. In the article Dobbs begins by discussing how his son once got in trouble for speeding down a highway just because he was curious to know what it felt like. He then goes into asking why teenagers often do "stupid" things and then explains that teens have always done that throughout time. He provides scientific evidence that the brain changes between the ages of 12 to 25 affecting our decision making. One way that a reader could interpret this data is that teenagers have a hard time using new parts of their brain and seem to be in a state of retardation. Dobb also describes the reckless acts of teenagers in order for them to adapt to any situation.
As Katelyn talks, she transforms from an average college student to one with a serious illness, a condition that almost 24% of college students had been diagnosed with in 2003, at one time in their life.
We know that she tried to kill herself by taking a bottle of aspirin with vodka even though she denies it so many times claiming that she took it because she had a severe headache, but everyone including Susanna knew it wasn’t true, she just didn’t want to admit it. The second unhealthy behavior was Susanna’s attempts to remain in meaningless relationships to avoid feeling abandoned. In the middle of the movie, she had a flashback of the affair she had with one of the teachers and with a guy that she met at a party after her high school graduation. In both cases, she was having meaningless sex and staying in the relationships so that she felt loved and wanted, and not rejected. The third unhealthy behavior was her mood swings. She experienced a shift in moods and felt like she had no sense of herself at all, she felt herself getting worse. Toward the end of the movie, Susanna was convinced she wasn’t going to get better and she even got defensive over what Dr. Wick (Vanessa Redgrave) and Nurse Valerie (Whoopi Goldberg) were telling her about her diagnosis. Luckily Nurse Valerie insist she is not crazy but
Sita, silhouetted against a fiery orange window in a green sari, is about to embrace Radha, her lover (image 1). Against their family’s morals and their country’s traditions, these women are in love. Fire, an Indian film by Mehta Deepa, is a film which deals with the topic of lesbianism in India, and the dominance of males over females. Aesthetically, Fire has a second layer of meaning conveyed through the use of symbolic imagery, light, and colour. This paper will analyze the symbolic emblems, lighting techniques, and colour choices which enhance the major themes in this film.
In “The Brain on trial”, David Eagleman (2011) recounts the horrifying events which occurred on August 1, 1966. Charles Whitman entered the University of Texas with a rifle and secured himself in the bell tower. He then proceeded to shoot and kill 13 people and injure 32 more. Whitman was also shot and killed; however, during his autopsy it was discovered that a tumor was pressing against his amygdala. According to Eagleman, “The amygdala is involved in emotional regulation, especially of fear and aggression” (2011). Therefore, Whitman was possibly experiencing a fundamental change in his emotions and personality due to the tumor. Though Whitman did not survive, his case still poses questions as to whether or not he should be held accountable for his actions; moreover, should Whitman have received the maximum punishment for the murder he committed? Charles Whitman may not have had control over the feelings of “rage and irrational thoughts” (2011) he was experiencing; however, the precision of the attack indicates he was well aware of the actions he was committing.
She was envious that she could take care of her son and husband and she couldn’t. Although the story states she wasn’t pretty, I believe the woman is envious of her. It took the grass hopper once again, something so little to set her off. She states “the girl upsets me.” And I believe that statement alone can prove that she is quit envious of her. This woman is in her room all day everyday sleeping, eating and rarely comes out. That is what the person I know done to. Although this woman does want to do things for her son, her husband, and herself, this disease prevents her from even getting out of bed. It makes you feel restless and helpless, like “Young queen, a virgin in a tower.”pg.41 According to the story the caretaker had a thousand energies and she was dynamic. She was young full of energy and the woman I think overreacted by firing her.
At the beginning of the film, Susanna is speaking with a psychologist. She appears out of touch with reality and discusses experiencing having lapses in time. As the psychiatrist According to Varcarolis’s Foundations of Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing, “Borderline personality disorder is characterized by severe impairments in functioning. The Major feature of this disorder are patterns of marked instability in emotional control or regulation, impulsivity, identity or self-image distortions, unstable mood, and unstable interpersonal relationships.