Someone posted a link to this blog at schizophreniaforums.com yesterday:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-...b_1652151.html
Today I ran across something to post in response, but szforums is down right now. So, I'll post it here at old reliable psychcentral.
Quote:
Please consider the following profile of a troubled young adult, based on an actual case history:
- Talked about suicide for weeks at a time.
- Reportedly wrote dark poetry about thrusting a dagger in his heart and "draw[ing] blood in showers!"
- Was described as "indifferent to transpiring events," and having "little to say" for extended periods.
- Was known to "go crazy," requiring the removal of knives and dangerous items from his room.
- Used opiates and cocaine.
- Wandered around with a gun during periods of suicidal ideation.
- Was fascinated by a woman he was too shy to approach.
- Was described as being in a "morbid" state.
- Collapsed while speaking openly of his hopelessness and thoughts of suicide.
- Was eventually diagnosed with "recurrent major depression."
Who was this risk to society?
The answer is Abraham Lincoln. Source: Joshua Wolf Shenk, Lincoln's Melancholy: How Depression Challenged a President and Fueled His Greatness (2006).
Lincoln's life-long struggle to turn his mental illness into a source of strength underscores the importance of respecting the rights of individuals with mental disabilities. We should do so not out of sentimentality or excessive individualism, but for the benefit of a society dependent upon the creativity, self-insight, and wisdom of its leaders.
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Synthesis : law and policy in higher education, v. 18, no. 3 (winter 2007), p. 1273