Ode to the Duke

I saw my shrink today. I call him “The Duke.” We had a perfectly fine half-hour meeting. He wrote me some scripts and listened to my current take on my life. Mainly, we talked about my son Tommy’s fear of entering sixth grade. The Duke warned me that the junior high years are awful and to brace myself. The Duke is a straight shooter. At the end of the appointment, I asked him how he thought I was doing. “Fine,” he said. “You’re doing fine.” “I think I’ve licked bipolar illness,” I said. “Don’t say that,” he replied quickly. Perhaps he was worried that I wasn’t taking my illness seriously enough. On the other hand, he’s always seems a little superstitious. In hindsight, I think he just didn’t want me to call down the evil eye. Actually, I found his comment ironic. Here is an accomplished medical doctor, the finest psychiatrist in town; here is a scientist of the highest caliber, and he still seems, again, a little superstitious, as if mental illness is still caused by demonic possession or something similar. It seems as if mental illness, despite all of the scientific research and effective medical treatments, will always be linked to mysterious, inexplicable causes. The Duke has a statue of St. Dymphna, the patron saint of mental illness, on his bookshelf. He seeks help from any place he can get it. He also has a statue of Sigmund Freud. (Funny, The Duke looks a little like Sigmund.) I love The Duke. It’s a classic case of falling in ...
Source: World of Psychology - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Bipolar Caregivers Disorders General Personal Psychiatry Treatment Bipolar Disorder Love Medicine Patient Sigmund Freud St. Dymphna Source Type: blogs