Two scripts of madness

Abstract

Objective:

The purpose of this article is to illustrate the concept of transient mental illness (TMI) as defined by Ian Hacking by way of two texts: Sybil by Flora Rhetta Schreiber and The Adventures of Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes.

Conclusions:

Psychiatric symptoms tend to follow, in varying degrees, a pre-determined script resulting from a collaborative effort between patient and therapist. They both work in a historical and cultural environment that supports and supplies the background and general lines of the script. Charcot’s hysterics and the multiple personality disorder epidemic provide good examples of this phenomenon. Most recently, the controversy around DSM5 suggests that there is growing concern that diagnostic manuals might be used as “scripts” that could lead to the creation of a string of new disorders. The concept of TMI helps explain the genesis and protean nature of psychiatric symptoms, while acknowledging the pain and disability of the sufferer.