I was particularly struck by the author's desire to keep his diagnosis a secret due to the "stigma of mental illness." As a human being who exists in our national culture, I understand that stigma. As a neuroscientist, I am often baffled by this. My cousin's son was diagnosed with ADHD a few years ago, and it was impairing his ability to focus in school, and as a consequence some of his speech and language skills. So, after consulting with her pediatrician, she and her husband decided to try giving him medication for ADHD, which improved his performance in school dramatically. However, she felt ashamed and judged for that decision. I told her that if he were diagnosed with a liver disease, and a doctor prescribed medication for that disease, she would not feel judged at all for giving him that medicine. The same holds true for diseases of the brain. I wonder if the complexity and mystery of how the brain subserves cognition often obscures the fact that it is a biological organ, and is just as vulnerable to pathology and disease as other organs, including the liver.
I wonder if it is even more vulnerable to pathology because of the inherent complexity.I wonder if the complexity and mystery of how the brain subserves cognition often obscures the fact that it is a biological organ, and is just as vulnerable to pathology and disease as other organs, including the liver.