Madness May Enrich Your Life: A Self-Study of Unipolar Mood Elevation

David Y.F. Ho

Psychosis, 2016, vol. 8, issue 2, 180-185

Abstract: I am a professor of clinical psychology with a bicultural background in Hong Kong and North America. Inexplicably, I have had 17 episodes of mood elevation and none of depression. Taking advantage of my specialty, I have conducted a self-study. To this day, I treasure the extraordinary experiences I have had during my episodes of madness, such as depth of feelings, explosions of creativity, and enhanced ability in memory recall. I was able to monitor my behavior and to exercise adequate impulse control. All these support my contention that on balance madness has enriched, rather than damaged, my life. I discuss the atypical nature, cultural context, and clinical implications of my case. My self-study casts doubt on the deficit model according to which mental disorders are viewed solely or primarily in pathological terms. I argue that it is possible to retain a measure of madness in dignified living and of dignity even in a state of madness.

Date: 2016
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DOI: 10.1080/17522439.2015.1135183

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