Becoming Mentally Disordered: The Examples of Schizophrenia, Anxiety, and Depression

A review of patient biographies and autobiographies suggests that the general experience of becoming mentally ill can be organized into seven distinct phases: (1) alienation from “place,” (2) recognizing symptoms, (3) madness as a method of coping, (4) the definitive outburst, (5) rendering of accounts, (6) the paradox of normalcy, and possibly (7) removal from “place.”