Fire Burning in My Head: A Psychologist's Self-Study Reveals How Madness May Enrich Your Life in Diverse Cultures

ISBN-13: 9781433199967 / Angielski

David y. F. Ho

Opis

The author, a Professor of Clinical of Psychology, describes how the creative energy of madness can be used to enrich one's life. The book provides psychiatric as well as ethical, political, and sociocultural contexts for understanding mental disorders in general and the author's own case in particular.

Recenzje

This extraordinary book, written by an extraordinary person, transforms the reader into a new and more dignified person. It shows how the forces of madness may be harnessed to serve creative purposes. Ho is a brilliant storyteller who entertains the reader with adventurous tales of his life as a spiritual journey. He is also a dialectical thinker who has succeeded in linking insights derived from his personal self-study with the science of mental illness versus health in diverse cultures. -Evelin G. Lindner, Founding President, Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies

Spis treści

Contents: Part 1. Discoveries from a Self-Study of Madness: Tales from My Two Worlds -Episodes of Madness: All of Exuberance, None of Depression - Madness Has Enriched My Life - From Psychiatry to Spirituality - Glimpses of Enlightenment in the Midst of Madness - In Search of Transcultural Spirituality-in-Communion - Epilogue. I'm Getting There - Part 2. Transcending the Clash of Opposites: Thematic Group 1. Normality Versus Abnormality: Madness as Creative Energy: Self-Observations - Psychiatric Diagnosis and its Pitfalls - Psychopathology of Religious Luminaries - Thematic Group 2. Individual Versus Collective Madness: Societal Mental Health Crises in America and China - Values Underlying Mental Health Practice - The Trump Phenomenon and the Politics of an Unholy Alliance - Thematic Group 3. Eastern Versus Western Culture: Two Ways of Life: Chinese and American - Growing Up in the People's Republic of China: Culture, Ideology, and Policy - Family Pathology in Literature: Reinterpreting the Oedipal Myth - Thematic Group 4. Spirituality Versus Spiritual Emptiness: Transforming Madness for Dignified Existence - Spirituality and Spiritual Emptiness: Toward Transcultural Applicability - References - Appendix A. Multidimensional Evaluation of Spirituality (MES) - Appendix B. Strategies of Coping - Appendix C. Highlights of 22 Episodes of Madness, and a Free Association - Appendix D. Expressive Dance to Music: A Royal Road to Holistic Health - Appendix E. The Undiscovered Illness: The Opposite of Depression

O autorze

David Y. F. Ho has held professorial appointments in psychology and cultural studies in Asia and North America. He has authored numerous contributions in psychology, psychiatry, sociology, and education; and was the first Asian to have served as President of the International Council of Psychologists.