Reading Minds: Method or Muddle?

A Novelist's Take on Mental Health

by Siri Hustvedt

A Mental Problem?

I've been puzzling over an old question. What is mental? What is physical? Read More

Response to my post "Bipolar Epidemic?"

I am very grateful for the thoughtful comments I have received about my small essay, “Bipolar Epidemic?” The surge in bipolar diagnoses in children is understandably a sensitive and controversial subject for many, especially those with children who are directly affected. Read More

Bipolar Epidemic?

About two years ago, within weeks of each other, two teenage children of dear friends of mine were diagnosed with bipolar disorder, one in the Midwest, the other on the East Coast. The diagnoses were given by psychiatrists whom their parents had consulted. I am not a physician, but I am deeply interested in diagnostic categories and have read extensively in the history of the subject. Read More

Who’s Afraid of Sigmund Freud?

Sigmund Freud makes people irritable. Whenever someone mentions Freud, say, at a dinner party, I see eyes roll and listen to the nasty remarks that follow. The received knowledge, even among some highly educated and informed people, is that Freud was wrong and can be relegated to history’s garbage can where we discard outmoded ideas. Read More