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Quote by Susanna Kaysen

“What does borderline personality mean, anyhow? It appears to be a way station between neurosis and psychosis: a fractured but not disassembled psyche. Though to quote my post-Melvin psychiatrist: "It's what they call people whose lifestyles bother them.”

Quote by Susanna Kaysen

Book:Girl, Interrupted
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Girl, Interrupted

The story delves into the psychological and emotional journey of a young woman admitted to a psychiatric facility, offering insights into mental health and the complexities of human nature. more

Author

Susanna Kaysen
Susanna Kaysen

Susanna Kaysen is an American author best known for her autobiographical novel 'Girl, Interrupted,' which is based on her own experiences at the McLean Hospital psychiatric ward in the early 1960s. more

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“GoodReads: Do people still ask you about your mental health? Susanna Kaysen: Well, they used to a lot. "Are you still crazy?" was how people put it. And I would say, "Yes, but I'm older, so I'm more used to it." It's familiar. You've been there, you've done that, and it's gone away. I think the fact that you can feel like it's the end of the world and you're going to kill yourself and yet there's some part of you that says "this has happened before." And by the time you get to the point where you can say "this has happened 137 times before," it's better than saying "this has happened four times before." So as you get older, there's a little ironist or cynic or somebody inside you who says, "Yeah, uh-huh. Right, OK, I've heard that, I've heard that.”

Mental IllnessBorderline Personality Disorder
Author:Susanna Kaysen
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“Conviction rates in the military are pathetic, with most offenders going free AND THERE IS NO RECOURSE FOR APPEAL! The military believes the Emperor has his clothes on, even when they are down around his ankles and he is coming in the woman's window with a knife! Military juries give low sentences or clear offender's altogether. Women can be heard to say “it's not just me” over and over. Men may get an Article 15, which is just a slap on the wrist, and doesn't even follow them in their career. This is hardly a deterrent. The perpetrator frequently stays in place to continue to intimidate their female victims, who are then treated like mental cases, who need to be discharged. Women find the tables turned, letters in their files, trumped up Women find the tables turned, letters in their files, trumped up charges; isolation and transfer are common, as are court ordered psychiatric referrals that label the women as lying or incompatible with military service because they are “Borderline Personality Disorders” or mentally unbalanced. I attended many of these women, after they were discharged, or were wives of abusers, from xxx Air Force Base, when I was a psychotherapist working in the private sector. That was always their diagnosis, yet retesting tended to show something different after stabilization, like PTSD.”

MilitaryArmyInjusticeSexismPtsdIntimidationAbuse Of PowerRape CultureBorderline Personality DisorderMilitary HistoryMisdiagnosisHarrassmentAbuse Of AuthorityMilitary RapePsychiatric AbuseMilitary PsychiatryEmotional InstabilityMilitary Sexual Trauma
Book:Conduct Unbecoming: Rape, Torture, and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from Military Commanders
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“By contrast, moderate identity alteration differs from its milder countepart in that the alterations are not always under the person's control. In addition, moderate identity alteration does not always manifest the presence of distinct alter personalities. Someone who experiences moderate identity alteration may present with mood changes and behaviors that they perceive as uncontrollable. Patients with nondissociative psychiatric disorders (e.g., manic depressive illness) may report moderate alterations in behavior/demeanor that they cannot control; for example, one patient diagnosed as manic depressive mentioned being bothered by his inability to "keep his mind from racing" (SCID-D interview, unpublished transcript). However, these alterations do not coalesce around distinct personalities. Similarly, individuals who have borderline personality disorder tend to fluctuate rapidly between radically different behaviors and moods; however, these changes do not involve different names, memories, preferences, distinct ages, or amnesia for past events.”

Dissociative Identity DisorderBipolarBorderline Personality DisorderDissociative PartsDissociative StatesIdentity AlterationSelf States
Book:Handbook for the Assessment of Dissociation: A Clinical Guide
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