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The Undercover Mission That Changed Our Understanding Of Madness By Susannah Cahalan

570 Words3 Pages

The book The Great Pretender: The Undercover Mission That Changed Our Understanding of Madness by Susannah Cahalan details her experience of being misdiagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizoaffective disorder before she is correctly diagnosed and treated for autoimmune encephalitis. Determined to help others that have been failed by our healthcare system, Cahalan investigates David Rosenhan’s 1973 study “On Being Sane in Insane Places” and sheds light on the evolution of the field of psychiatry. Cahalan’s reflections in her book have shifted my previous views about mental illness and caused me to further question the field of psychiatry.
Cahalan’s experience with psychosis was traumatic and made her realize ways her body can and has broken down on her. This portion of the text made me contemplate how everyone’s body breaks down on them eventually and can cause an imbalance in one’s …show more content…

In the text, Cahalan explained that our medical system typically separates health conditions by identifying them as either organic or inorganic. This distinction in our medical system further perpetuates the idea that mental illness is less real because it is inorganic or in the mind. Learning about this distinction caused me to feel frustrated with our medical system because this distinction can shape the trajectory of an individual's life. For instance, when an individual is diagnosed with an organic illness, they are usually provided with a life-saving treatment and aren’t questioned about if their symptoms are real. In contrast, when someone is diagnosed with an inorganic illness, they face more barriers with access to medication, treatment, and insurance. I also felt resentment toward our medical system after learning about this information because labeling someone’s illness as inorganic can negatively contribute to how an individual with mental illness views

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