Lessons from the yellow wallpaper
Most of us are embarrassed when we feel unwell in our mind. In fact, stigma attached to mental illness is almost as bad as the illness itself in some cases.
Often when we are dealing with depression (could be post natal depression, thyroid issues, gut dysbiosis, inflammation in the brain, seasonal deficit disorder), or anxiety (could be stress, panic, inflammation, high blood glucose levels), or other labelled ailments of the mind, we keep them to ourselves as we are made to feel abnormal, or 'less' in some way.
The negative connotations associated with feeling emotionally unhinged originated long ago. In fact, Charlotte Perkins Gilman wrote a piece of literary brilliance over a century ago with The Yellow Wallpaper . The story has so many layers, one being the degradation of a woman merely suffering a hormone imbalance after giving birth - and boy oh boy did that postnatal depression snowball!
In short the story is told in the first person, and we follow the woman’s journey from, what appears to be postnatal depression, to full-on crazy. Like many overzealous physicians, her doctor/husband wants to ‘fix’ he and her brother - also a physician, agrees on the treatment method. The woman concedes “whatever these doctors say must be true” (that sounds familiar).
Her doctor states that she has a slight hysterical tendency, and that she shouldn’t even think about her condition, rather she should stay away from friends and her work, and take tonics, and get some fresh air. She journals her thoughts and chronicles feeling depressed, anxious and misunderstood. She knows that her doctor/husband thinks the world is one happy go-lucky place, and as such he wouldn’t understand her immense suffering; and anyway, “he is off treating really sick people”!
So there she is, left alone in a room with ghastly yellow patterned wallpaper. She despises the wallpaper and is lonely and miserable. She attempts to pretend that she is ok (to pull one over her bully of a doctor, so that he frees her from the yellow-clad Alcatraz), but he sticks to his guns and tells her to rest.
She feels like she has no choice, as she is unwell right? Can't just be a hormone imbalance right? She shouldn't be talking to other people about what is going on in her mind, as she is abnormal, right?
She succumbs to depression, and eventually she becomes just a tad psychotic. The hallucinations start as a result of isolation and tonics, and she believes that there is a woman creeping around in the stinky, yellow wallpaper. Eventually, full-blown crazy hits, and the poor woman adopts the belief that she is the woman trapped in the wallpaper. She sets out to rip the wallpaper down to free herself and then she concludes, she can creep around at will, which she does, and also terrorises her husband.
A few take away messages.
Doctors should work with patients, and take into consideration other factors, rather than only focus on symptoms.
If there are signs of illness in your brain, don’t pretend that everything is ok, as it may get worse.
Although GPs are important in the mental health space, they don’t always prescribe the best treatment - we need to be proactive.
Mental illness can be a result of environment, rather than precast genetic blueprint.
Mental illness is a common issue in the 21st century. It is great that we are talking about it now, but much needs to be done in this area. Medical practitioners take away their patients autonomy in many instances when prescribing medication as the first point of call. When was the last time you visited your doctor with concerns about your mental health and were asked how many serves of oily fish you consume a week, or were asked for a stool sample, or had systemic inflammation checked? There needs to be a halt to the diagnose and 'adios' approach now.
A well mind is a goal that we should be striving for and we have the power to make the changes- don't give away the power to your local GP.