Top 10 books about depression | Alex Riley

From Robert Burton ’s 17th-century Anatomy of Melancholy to new insights from Ed Bullmore, these are welcome guides to one of the loneliest experiencesIn the autumn of 2015, I felt numb, worthless, and had thoughts of ending my life. I was 25 years old and I was experiencing my first bout of depression, an illness that has ebbed and flowed ever since. At first, I was hesitant to take medication and opted for a course of cognitive behavioural therapy. I worried that medication would dampen my brain, dull my experience of the world and my ability to describe it. Only later did I find that the right drug is a key tool for my career. When I ’m stable I can write. When I’m depressed, I can barely walk or talk.There are many writers who have struggled with depression and still had successful careers: William Styron, JK Rowling, Sylvia Plath, Virginia Woolf, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Samuel Johnson, to name just a few. While the link between mental illness and creative writing has become a stereotype – a ruminating mind that skirts the extremes of mood and suffering can make for bold and creative books – there is also the possibility that the life of a writer is a seedbed for depression. With variable income, social isolation, disturbed sleep, and constant critical judgment from readers and peers, is it any wonder that writers are particularly prone to this illness?Continue reading...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - Category: Science Authors: Tags: Books Culture Psychology Science Depression Society Health, mind and body books Bipolar disorder Andrew Solomon William Styron Source Type: news