The Psychiatric Tales consists of ten sections, a conclusion and an introduction, which begins with Cunningham’s account of the things that inspired his decisions to write the book. In the first instance, he wasn’t sure if to use a graphic format, but after encounter with Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, which is a lauded comic strip about her Iranian childhood, he eventually decided on choosing drawings, which he was sure could creatively enhance the book.
The ten subsequent sections after the introduction are organized around specific disorders, symptoms, or societal viewpoints. In the beginning two sections, Dementia and Cut, which deal majorly with the elderly and self-harm respectively, it is evident that the author never shies away from harsh depictions of the unpleasant scenes that are usually present in the psychiatric hospitals.
In addressing the psychiatric problems further, the author proceeds in the third section of the book to talk about the societal issues related to mental illness. He confronts the readers that the next suffer could be them. He means that the problem of mental illness is a societal concern and that every person can be affected in a way or another. The various forms that people can be affected by mental illness include suffering from these conditions personally; a family of friend could be a victim. Therefore, he appeals to the audience that putting up stigmas and enforcing isolation upon mental health patients is unethical according to societal values.
The specific disorders that Cunningham addresses in the subsequent sections include Anti-Social Personality disorder, depression, Schizophrenia, and bipolar. In these sections, he discusses the symptoms of these disorders as well as the use and effect of medications for the disorders. In a move to place the patients in a wider context, he includes controversy over diagnostic criteria, media sensationalism and examples of delusion in the book. He also gives information about the mentally ill in the society; first, he says people with mental illness enrich the lives of the society members. He refers to how genius and creativity can exist despite a person experiencing mental illness disorders. He gives examples of famous patients such as Judy Garland and Winston Churchill (Cunningham 2011). Secondly, he talks about suicide – death, where he acknowledges that every member of the society is affected by suicide or death of its member, whether they are mentally ill or upright.
The final section of this book preceding his conclusion talks about how self-harm is by turns an addiction and coping mechanism rather than a behavior aimed at seeking attention. In this section, he also gives an account of what successful recovery would look like. The most attention-catching part of the graphic novel is the conclusion, which is the author’s own story, ‘How I Lived Again’ (Cunningham 2011). This section presents his struggle with depression and anxiety. He fought with a combination of internet community and Prozac, which he considered to have encouraged him in continuing with his artwork and eventually writing this book.
In achieving his goal of stigma reduction, the author advices the audience in several occasions in the book to view the mentally ill patients with dignity and incorporate them into the community, where he believes they have an impact and integral part to play. The success of this book is the way it simplifies complex messages though the use of graphics and simple language. He also intends to encourage the mentally ill to have confidence in themselves while they are seeking support from family and friends as well as taking their medication. For instances he says, “It is the illness that makes you feel guilty (Shapiro 2008). You should never blame yourself for being ill (Cunningham 2011). Even though the book is an easy-to-read book, the imagery used in the book might only appeal to a younger generation at a first sight, thereby leaving out the elderly, who should also access this message (Shapiro 2008).
Reference:
Cunningham D., (2011), Psychiatric Tales: Eleven Graphic Stories about Mental Illness, London: Bloomsbury USA.
Wright N. H., & Ellis L., (2010), Coping with Chronic Illness: *Neck and Back Pain *Migraines *Arthritis *Fibromyalgia*Chronic Fatigue *and Other Invisible Illnesses, Eugene, Oregon: Harvest House Publishers.
Shapiro D., (2008), Your Body Speaks Your Mind: Decoding the Emotional, Psychological, and Spiritual Messages That Underlie Illness: Easy read Large Edition, Sydney: ReadHowYouWant.com.
