mental health

The story of twenty-four-year-old Susannah Cahalan and the life-saving discovery of the autoimmune disorder that nearly killed her -- and that could perhaps be the root of "demonic possessions" throughout history.

"Author, speaker, and autism advocate Jesse A. Saperstein knows a lot about living with Asperger's. Diagnosed at the age of fourteen, Jesse has struggled, triumphed, flubbed, soared, educated, and inspired. Along the road to adulthood, he has learned many lessons the hard way. In this honest book, he offers a guided tour of what he's learned about getting along with others, managing emotions, succeeding in school and work, building relationships, and more"--Provided by publisher.

Highlights the personal journey the author lived through when he participated in TMS, transcranial magnetic stimulation, to treat his autism. Addresses questions about the benefits and downfalls of diminishing his disability.

Recounts the authors troubled childhood in a famous family haunted by depression, alcoholism, mental illness, and suicide, and shares her own experiences with depression, eating disorders, and OCD, and how she learned to overcome these issues.

"The dramatic story of one man's recovery offers new hope to those suffering from concussions and other brain traumas. In 1999, Clark Elliott suffered a concussion when his car was rear-ended. Overnight his life changed from that of a rising professor with a research career in artificial intelligence to a humbled man struggling to get through a single day. At times he couldn't walk across a room, or even name his five children. Doctors told him he would never fully recover. After eight years, the cognitive demands of his job, and of being a single parent, finally became more than he could manage. As a result of one final effort to recover, he crossed paths with two brilliant Chicago-area research-clinicians--one an optometrist emphasizing neurodevelopmental techniques, the other a cognitive psychologist--working on the leading edge of brain plasticity. Within weeks the ghost of who he had been started to re-emerge. Remarkably, Elliott kept detailed notes throughout his experience, from the moment of impact to the final stages of his recovery, astounding documentation that is the basis of this fascinating book. The Ghost in My Brain gives hope to the millions who suffer from head injuries each year, and provides a unique and informative window into the world's most complex computational device: the human brain"--.

The author documents her struggle with depression through words and drawings. Explains the causes of what she describes as "a dark little cloud that can quickly turn into a black hole" and the help she received as she learned to cope.

At the age of eleven, Rita Zoey Chin began to run away from home because of her parents' violence and neglect. She was in search of a better life. But what she found on the street was danger and predatory men, as well as the occasional kindness from a stranger. The grown-up Rita survived her harrowing childhood and became a prizewinning poet and the wife of a successful neurosurgeon. She thought she had put the past behind her until she began to have a series of debilitating panic attaks that threatened her comfortable existence. And then the chance arrival of a spirited, endearing horse named Claret, who had a difficult history himself, arrived and saved Rita from herself.

Post-traumatic stress disorder haunts us in the early years of the twenty-first century. Over a decade into the United States' "global war on terror," PTSD afflicts as many as 30 percent of the conflict's veterans. But the disorder's reach extends far beyond the armed forces. In total, some twenty-seven million Americans are believed to be PTSD survivors. Yet to many of us, the disorder remains shrouded in mystery, secrecy, and shame. David J. Morris -- a war correspondent, former Marine, and PTSD sufferer himself -- has written the essential account of this illness.