413: Understanding Madness with Susannah Cahalan

Understanding Madnesswith Susannah Cahalan  --------------------------Susannah was an ambitious young adult starting an exciting life in New York City when she began having seizures, experiencing a bout of mania and depression, and even hallucinating. After nearly a month of hospitalization, she was wrongly diagnosed with bipolar disorder before eventually being diagnosed with a rare auto-immune condition that was affecting her brain. We often think of mind and body as two separate systems, acting independently - but this is flawed thinking. Thoughts chains of amino acids, physical movements impact your neurotransmitters, and this distinction between mind and body quickly becomes irrelevant. The two are inextricably linked.On this week’s show, Susannah will share her story, her research into mental health, and how she took charge of her own health.  Listen & Learn:  How mental illness is often treated like a character flaw, not an illness How important it is to take control and responsibility for your own health  Why we lack proper care and treatment for mental illness How the mentally ill are ending up homeless, imprisoned, and lost in society  Links & Resources:  Brain on Fire book The Great Pretender book ABOUT OUR GUESTSusannah Cahalan is a journalist and author of the books, Brain on Fire and The Great Pretender. She has worked for the New York Post. A feature film based on her memoir was released in June 2018 on Netflix. Nutritional Tip of the Week: VitD-Covid Got Questions? Send me a voicemail here: Ask Lucas a Question Or write to us: [email protected]  Like the Show? Leave us a Review on iTunes