Many times in movies, we encounter characters who are institutionalized after enduring a severe trauma. Something devastating happens, and the person who once seemed psychologically stable undergoes a striking transformation, almost as if a switch has been flipped in the mind. The camera moves through the window of a psychiatric ward and into the character’s room. Some appear detached from the world around them. Some withdraw completely, becoming unresponsive to external reality. Some speak only to themselves. Some see or hear things that no one else can perceive. Scenes like these can leave us with a question: can this really happen to someone who had shown no prior signs of mental illness? Can overwhelming life events lead someone to what we call “madness”? Let us approach this question through a book that attempts to explain the causes of such experiences. Definition of Madness for This Text First things first: ...
Reconsidering the psychology of work, learning, and everyday life