Analyzing Mitch's Tuesdays With Morrie: Battling Depression

Tuesdays with Morrie: Battling Depression

This is one of the most inspirational stories I have ever had the privilege of reading. I chose this book from the list because I was interested to read about how Lou Gehrig’s disease changes a person’s life. I found this story especially captivating because of the two different perspectives in the book that serve to give a better understanding of the disease. However, I did not expect to learn so much about the mental difficulties that tend accompany this disease. Given the prevalence of Lou Gehrig’s disease, I will most likely come into contact with it during my career and knowing more about it will allow me to better help my patients.

Summary and Mental Illness Depicted

The main characters of

Mitch seems to suffer from a mild form of depression. According to The Essentials of Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing by Mary Townsend, “Symptoms at the mild level of depression are identified by those associated with uncomplicated grieving” (Townsend, 2014, p. 394). He describes instances in his life where there have been trouble in his relationships with friends and family, broken dreams, and even death of a loved family member. As Mitch describes these traumatic events, the signs of depression are laced among them. Townsend (2014), holds that grief for the loss of a loved one is a gateway for depression as well as

Secondly, it is important to discover the cause of depression in order to combat it. However, many times it is a cause that would not be particularly devastating to most healthy people. In that case, the patient should be slowly supported through the stages of grief at their own pace. Townsend states, “As one is able to work through the stages of grief, the loss is accepted, symptoms subside, and activities of daily living are resumed within a few weeks (Townsend, 2014, p. 392). This seems to be a great way to help patients cope with their