Shockheaded Peter

Struwwelpeter or “Shockheaded Peter,” a character from German children’s literature and a term of endearment we gave to the unshowered and unwell on our dead end.

Q: ALL IN THE ASYLUM almost functions like a picture book yet you make the point elsewhere that mental illness is invisible. Why include so many pictures?

A: My experience of mental illness is that it’s not only largely invisible but it also makes a lot of perfectly visible things disappear. I used to pore over my family photos, wondering where everyone had gone. I didn’t really have the words for what I was looking for. Now, I know. Like Dr. Dog, I was wondering, “Where did all the shadow people go?”

Q: This book took a long time. What were some obstacles you faced along the way and where did the breakthroughs come from?

A: One of the most difficult aspects to mental illness is that it’s very difficult to “use your words.” While my experience of mental illness is that it comes and goes, when it happens often enough it will really slow you down (or do the opposite, with roughly the same result).

Q: What happens to you when you experience mental illness?

A: Among other sensations, my words flood or freeze. Nothing flows

Q: What words did your family use for mental illness?

A: In my family, we could talk about someone being “up” or “down” or “mildly schizophrenic” or “bipolar” but we could not say “mentally ill.” This is still a difficult term for a lot of people. In fact, there’s often a lot of effort to re-name things. Thus, the most prominent term that came to be associated with Adam Lanza, the Newtown, CT, shooter was “autism,” which is an increasingly common diagnosis. But this diagnosis can mask other, perhaps riskier states like depression, as Andrew Solomon has written in The New Yorker (http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/03/17/the-reckoning).

Q: How did you find the words at last?

A: I had to learn to see mental illness as no more or less than a sort of cognitive flu that can be quite minor if caught early.

Q: Thoughts about recent events like Robin Williams’ death?

A: I’m just amazed at how long he suffered in silence. Again, he may have had the words for his characters but not for himself.

Q: What would a proactive approach to mental health look like in the case of Robin Williams, for example?

A: It would mainly look like what happens when a loved one dies of prostate or ovarian cancer. The survivors (even those without blood ties) get screened more regularly because they know they’re at risk. In fact, they’ve probably been caring for untreated mental illness for awhile without getting enough support themselves. The toughest thing about mental illness is that you usually can’t see it until you’re well. So, by finding good therapists, social workers, doctors, and/or psychiatrists and seeing them regularly (like you would a dentist), you reduce your chances of disappearing before you realize you’re mostly gone. It may cost a little more co-pays or out-of-pocket expenses but it saves a lot in the long run.

Q: ALL IN THE ASYLUM–it’s a catchy title but what’s it referring to?

A: It’s about where we put mental illness and the mentally ill in our society. We put it “away.” But this has a way of “bringing it all back home,” as Dylan would say.

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