Browse by Diagnosis |
Raised on Ritalin by
Raised on Ritalin explores the personal journey of Tyler Page, who was eight years old when he was diagnosed with ADHD. After taking the medicine for most of his childhood, Page weans himself off of Ritalin in his late teens, thinking he had grown out of his childhood condition. However, in his early twenties, his anxiety levels increase, and a doctor confirms that his ADHD had not faded away. From this point on, with his adult diagnosis, Page uses Raised on Ritalin to explore not only how ADHD has affected his life, but many of the current controversies on the subject, as well.
Big Mushy Happy Lump by
Summary ×
In Big Mush Happy Lump, Sarah Andersen presents a collection of comics and illustrated essays on life in general. Short 1-2 page comics cover themes like body positivity, procrastination, motivation, and dating. Illustrated essays touch on topics including anxiety, learning to like cats, and a compulsion to steal other people’s sweaters.
The Hospital Suite by
The Hospital Suite begins in 1997, when our hero, John, begins to have severe stomach pain. He soon discovers he needs emergency surgery to remove a benign tumor from his small intestine. In the wake of the surgery, John has numerous health complications that lead to a flare-up of his preexisting tendencies toward anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder. These lengthy OCD attacks soon make his creative endeavors, day job, and relationships nearly impossible to maintain.
The book is broken up into several sections, mostly dealing with John’s mysterious physical illnesses. It is not until the section “True Anxiety,” which starts two-thirds of the way into the book and lasts until its ending, that we see in full view John’s ongoing battles with severe anxiety and OCD.
It's All Absolutely Fine by
Ruby combines humor and personal insight in It’s All Absolutely Fine, a deeply humanistic portrayal of her experiences with mental illness. In the introduction, Ruby explains how she approached the project: “What I’ve essentially done for this book is draw about the stuff that goes on in my head, and stuff that goes on outside of my head, and how those things mush together in a bit of a strange and confusing way” (p. 8). The book opens with the topic of depression, which Ruby has experienced since she was 16. As the book progresses, we discover that Ruby has dealt with other psychological challenges, including anxiety disorder, manic episodes, and eating disorders. Individually addressing each of these topics, Ruby covers all the ups and downs, always concluding on a high note with insight as to how she found hope and relief.
Our Mother by
Our Mother tells the story of Howard’s experiences with mental illness through a series of disjointed stories. From tales of robot sci-fi mothers, to shady assassin mothers who give kids mental illnesses in shady back alley deals, this book mainly deals with mental illness through the context of mothers. One of the key stories in the book is that of a young girl whose father is leaving the family because he can no longer handle his wife’s depression. Newly abandoned, the little girl decides that if she takes this new depressed version of her mother home to where she came from, maybe her old mother will come back. Setting off into the wild blue yonder the little girl travels with new mother, who begins to de-age and eventually becomes the same age as her daughter. Eventually, the new mother and the daughter travel back in time to bring new mother back to her childhood home, but there is no resolution. New mother still remains in the present time and the little girl has to accept that this is her life now.
Thin Slices of Anxiety by
Thin Slices of Anxiety begins with the question, “Are you anxious?” In the following pages, Lepage provides an insightful collection of images that creatively display what it’s like to have anxiety. Topics covered include: what anxiety feels like, potential triggers of anxious episodes, the appeal of risk, and quotes to remember.
When Anxiety Attacks by
When Anxiety Attacks is a 32-page comic from Terian Koscik that attempts to give readers a tour of anxiety through her own retrospection, reason, and humor. Koscik relates her experience starting therapy and the compulsive behaviors that led her there. Koscik shows that by practicing mindfulness and having an objective audience, she was able to reduce her guilt and begin successfully managing the disorder.
The Worrier's Guide to Life by
The Worrier’s Guide to Life is a collection of humorous images, several of which are related to anxiety disorder. In eight chapters, Correll provides page after page of humorous illustrations, often via creative interpretations on a classic concept—for example, "Pasta Shapes for the Depressed" includes six illustrations spanning from Downward Spirals to Down in the Dumplings and Empty Shells.
Blue Bottle Mystery by
At the outset, we are introduced to our protagonist Ben, a very literal-minded young man who finds every day at school to be a confusing ordeal. With the exception of his best friend Andy, the other kids just don’t understand him. His teachers often get frustrated with his behavior, and at home, his father has problems dealing with him. Fortunately, Ben has several things going for him, such as his wonderful relationships with his grandmother and his best friend. His grandmother is a constant beacon of support in his life—she has an effective way of explaining things and helping him learn ways to cope with his fear of chaos and loss of control. His best friend Andy does the same at school, helping him decode the mysterious ways of his teachers and the other students.
With the Light by
Hikaru (whose name means “to be bright” in Japanese) is very different from other babies. Shortly after he is born, Sachiko and her husband Masato realize that he is not speaking or responding to speech. When they ask one doctor, he says that Hikaru is deaf, but a second opinion from another doctor provides a much more serious diagnosis of autism.
At first, Sachiko has a hard time with the diagnosis and experiences a bout of denial. She is already stuggling at home, given her husband works all the time and barely interacts with her or her child. Then there is her mother-in-law, who is constantly putting her down and blaming Hikaru’s problems on “bad parenting.” Reaching a breaking point, Sachiko finally seeks out a counseling center that helps her realize autism will not go away, and that she needs to change in order to best help her son. The first volume chronicles Sachiko’s journey with Hikaru as he reaches kindergarten age, and how she struggles to find him a place in a school system and world that doesn’t really seem to want him there.
In My Darkest Hour by
In My Darkest Hour is the story of a rather repulsive young man named Omar Guerrero. Nearly 28 years old, Omar is presented as a loser with a dead-end job who is currently living with his girlfriend, Lucinda, a student considerably younger than himself. Fearful of aging, while indulging in machoism and other forms of toxic masculinity, Omar spends much of the book treating Lucinda horribly in an effort to mask his ever-growing fear and dissatisfaction with his own life.
Omar has so little control over his own life that this fear manifests in an eating disorder, and he frequently binge eats and drinks. He drifts into moods of severe self-loathing when he sees he is gaining weight. This plays into his terror that he is getting old, as he no longer has the fit body of his youth. As Omar continues this cycle of fear and self-loathing, his abuse towards Lucinda and other women in his life escalates. It’s obvious that the behavior manifests as an attempt to assert control over one weaker than himself.
It's All Absolutely Fine by
Ruby combines humor and personal insight in It’s All Absolutely Fine, a deeply humanistic portrayal of her experiences with mental illness. In the introduction, Ruby explains how she approached the project: “What I’ve essentially done for this book is draw about the stuff that goes on in my head, and stuff that goes on outside of my head, and how those things mush together in a bit of a strange and confusing way” (p. 8). The book opens with the topic of depression, which Ruby has experienced since she was 16. As the book progresses, we discover that Ruby has dealt with other psychological challenges, including anxiety disorder, manic episodes, and eating disorders. Individually addressing each of these topics, Ruby covers all the ups and downs, always concluding on a high note with insight as to how she found hope and relief.
Marbles by
As the title suggests, Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo, & Me is absolutely rooted in the author’s mental illness narrative. Ellen Forney illustrates her lifelong relationship with bipolar disorder, taking the reader from diagnosis, through the ups and downs, and finally reaching the point where she finds balance and peace.
The book opens with Ellen getting a full-back tattoo—the product of an electric vision—followed by her spontaneously kissing her tattooist and then walking out into the cold night, feeling everything was “magical, intense, and bursting with universal truth” (p. 11). Opening with this vivid portrayal of the manic side of bipolar disorder, we get a sense of what’s to come in the remaining pages.
Shortly thereafter, Ellen meets with a psychiatrist and receives the life-changing diagnosis of bipolar disorder. Although she first fights the appropriateness of the diagnosis, she eventually comes to terms with the fact that this is, indeed, what she’s experiencing. Refusing medication, Ellen resumes life as she knows it. We see her throw a big party and spend time with friends, all the while demonstrating classic markers for a manic state.
Although she initially refuses medication, the onset of a depressive episode changes everything. Ellen begins taking lithium, which unleashes some unbearable side-effects. Working with her psychiatrist, Ellen attempts to combat these side-effects by adjusting her medications and doses. Tinkering with her meds becomes a theme that lasts the length of the book, as does Ellen’s regular visits with her therapist.
The reader observes Ellen navigate through several more cycles of depression and mania, each cycle revealing a new tactic employed by Ellen to stay in control. We see her engage in cognitive behavioral therapy, start going to yoga, document her mood in a diary, and read the others’ mental illness narratives, all while trying to balance the responsibilities and engagements associated with her professional work.
After four years, Ellen believes she has finally found balance. She states: “for better or worse, bipolar disorder is an important part of who I am and how I think” (p. 226). The book concludes with her having an imagined conversation with a previous version of herself, assuring her that everything is going to be okay.
Psychiatric Tales by
Darryl Cunningham spent several years working as a healthcare assistant in a psychiatric facility. During that time, he kept a diary of his observations. These are presented in comic form in Psychiatric Tales, a collection of stories about mental illness. Much of the book is focused on busting stereotypes and dispelling fear. In the chapter called “It Could Be You”, a man loses the ability to care for himself due to his schizophrenia and is subsequently detained under the Mental Health Act. In “Darkness”, a woman’s depression becomes more difficult to manage due to a bad relationship. In “People with Mental Illness Enrich Our Lives”, Cunningham discusses celebrities with bipolar disorder, including Winston Churchill, Judy Garland, Brian Wilson, and Spike Milligan. In “Suicide”, a woman suffering from severe depression unexpectedly kills herself at the facility. There are also chapters that discuss mental illnesses more generally, focusing on schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. The book concludes with Darryl’s own history battling mental illness, featured in the chapter “How I Lived Again”.
Dark Early by
Bradshaw’s work Dark Early is a story that is told without words. In it we see an unnamed protagonist as he deals with depression, self-harm and the struggle to move forward with his life.
Depresso by
Depresso is part travel log and part mental health odyssey. Tom Freeman journeys through different countries and health systems as he tries to cope with his severe depression. The story unfolds over the course of several years, as Freeman and his wife travel around the world. During this time, the anti-depressants he takess reduce Freeman to a zombie-like state. The alternative therapies Freeman also tries are varied and often lead to comical situations. It is the same alternative therapies that eventually drive Freeman to move away from traditional western medicine. As the book progresses, he begins to lean more and more towards holistic forms of treatment. His constant companion throughout this story is a giant white lizard, who acts as the “Jimmy Cricket” of Freeman’s conscience, often helping and sometimes hindering his recovery as they brave the mental health wilderness together.
Drinking at the Movies by
Drinking at the Movies is the comic memoir of Julia Wertz’s life in New York from 2007 to 2009, during which time she was a poor, desperate, whiskey-addicted comic artist just trying to make it. The story gives us a glimpse into Wertz’s life as she gets shingles and lupus, struggles to make the cultural transition from one city to another, and generally struggles with life. Working at a bar while trying to make it in the comic industry, Wertz begins to rely on alcohol as a way to cope from the more serious issues in her life, including her brother's mental illness and her stepfather's cancer diagnosis.
How I Made It to Eighteen by
Stacy has recently graduated high school. She’s living independently but is far from thriving. A deepening depression soon results in a mental break—Stacy punches a glass window, severely injuring herself. Shortly thereafter, she voluntarily admits herself to an inpatient psychiatric facility. At Golden Meadows, Stacy meets other young people who have various mental illnesses. While she does make some friends, she keeps the hospital staff at arm’s length. As the book progresses, Stacy opens up a bit more, first in family therapy with her mother and then with the hospital staff. The book concludes with Stacy admitting that she is still grappling with bulimia. This act of vulnerability shifts Stacy’s perspective on getting help as she firmly commits herself to getting well.
Hyperbole and a Half by
Hyperbole and a Half is a print compilation of the webcomic of the same name, consisting of brief vignettes about Brosh’s young life. The book goes through the many exploits of the protagonist, from dinosaur suits that lead to reckless, damage-inducing frolics, to insights about her two dogs and their humorously illogical inner thoughts. In the chapters titled “Adventures in Depression” and “Depression Part Two,” Brosh vulnerably describes her struggle with the mental illness. In these chapters, Brosh has created incredibly relatable portrayals of depression, resulting in Hyperbole and a Half being hailed as one of the most insightful depictions of the disease to date.
It's All Absolutely Fine by
Ruby combines humor and personal insight in It’s All Absolutely Fine, a deeply humanistic portrayal of her experiences with mental illness. In the introduction, Ruby explains how she approached the project: “What I’ve essentially done for this book is draw about the stuff that goes on in my head, and stuff that goes on outside of my head, and how those things mush together in a bit of a strange and confusing way” (p. 8). The book opens with the topic of depression, which Ruby has experienced since she was 16. As the book progresses, we discover that Ruby has dealt with other psychological challenges, including anxiety disorder, manic episodes, and eating disorders. Individually addressing each of these topics, Ruby covers all the ups and downs, always concluding on a high note with insight as to how she found hope and relief.
Living with a Black Dog by
Author Matthew Johnstone has experienced depression for over 20 years. His approach to writing Living with a Black Dog is not exactly as a personal memoir, though, but rather a general commentary on depression. He calls it “a visual articulation of what it is like to suffer from depression” (p. 44). The power of the book, then, is often through the images, which are paired with relatable insights about depression. As the title suggests, depression is anthropomorphized as a black dog. Using this symbol, Johnstone illustrates what it’s like to have depression and what can be done to overcome it. The book concludes with a reminder that the black dog may never go completely away, but it can be tamed.
Lucille by
The novel is set in rural France and centers on two teenagers from families that are dysfunctional to one degree or another. Lucille Flavinsky is a 16-year-old and suffers from anorexia. Abandoned by her father, Lucille battles her mother's attemps to get her medical help. Our other protagonist Arthur is a teenaged boy whose father, Vladimir, is a fisherman and an alcoholic. After a chance encounter at the hospital where Lucille has been admitted, Lucille and Arthur become a couple, and decide to run away to Italy.
Early on Arthur and Lucille find comfort in the fact that they can be themselves with each other and not pretend to be someone else. And yet with that acceptance of each other, they also dawdle in their own obsessions and find it hard to overcome them. From this they're both given an opportunities to display personality in addition to their pathology. From their first meeting, their infatuation breeds a naive hope that they can find salvation through caring for each other. This unfortunately ends abruptly and tragically when an altercation at a party leads to Arthur being arrested for murder and Lucille sent back home to France. The book ends somewhat ambivalently with the words "End of Part 1" and the readers are left unsure of what fate has in store for our protagonists.
My Depression by
Elizabeth Swados is a true Renaissance Woman. She’s an artist, a theater director, a musician, and an author. She has great friends, a good job, and pets she loves. But all these good things are obscured when she experiences depression. My Depression is Elizabeth’s attempt to put her personal relationship with depression into words and pictures. Topics covered include events that trigger an episode, depression’s onset, ways Elizabeth feels and acts while depressed, coping mechanisms, and thoughts on professional treatment options. The book concludes with heartwarming pages of encouragement for others experiencing depression.
My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness by 
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Persepolis 2 by
In Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood, Marjane Satrapi recounts what it was like to grow up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. The sequel, Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return, focuses on Marjane’s young adulthood. When the book opens, Marjane has just arrived in Vienna, ready to attend high school far away from the fundamentalism and violence plaguing her home country. She attends a boarding school run by nuns but is soon expelled as a result of her outspokenness. Now on her own, she tries to establish herself as an independent young woman. Unfortunately, she is constantly perceived as an outsider. She does eventually make friends, which exposes her to a modern European lifestyle. A short-lived relationship ends in a breakup after she discovers her boyfriend has been cheating on her. Soon thereafter, she is kicked out of her apartment. A homeless Marjane then finds herself in the hospital with severe bronchitis. Feeling as though she has hit rock bottom, she returns to Iran.
Psychiatric Tales by
Darryl Cunningham spent several years working as a healthcare assistant in a psychiatric facility. During that time, he kept a diary of his observations. These are presented in comic form in Psychiatric Tales, a collection of stories about mental illness. Much of the book is focused on busting stereotypes and dispelling fear. In the chapter called “It Could Be You”, a man loses the ability to care for himself due to his schizophrenia and is subsequently detained under the Mental Health Act. In “Darkness”, a woman’s depression becomes more difficult to manage due to a bad relationship. In “People with Mental Illness Enrich Our Lives”, Cunningham discusses celebrities with bipolar disorder, including Winston Churchill, Judy Garland, Brian Wilson, and Spike Milligan. In “Suicide”, a woman suffering from severe depression unexpectedly kills herself at the facility. There are also chapters that discuss mental illnesses more generally, focusing on schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. The book concludes with Darryl’s own history battling mental illness, featured in the chapter “How I Lived Again”.
A Silent Voice by
The first volume of A Silent Voice introduces us to two grade school children, Shoko Nishimiya and Shoya Ishida. The story is told completely through Ishida’s perspective. We quickly learn that Nishimiya is a girl who is deaf and is unable to properly communicate with any of the students around her. She makes up for this shortcoming by trying to be overly selfless and helpful so that she won’t be a burden to her class, but eventually the other students begin to resent her. Ishida actively bullies her as a way to impress his peers, and in an act of childish cruelty, he winds up stealing and destroying her hearing aids. While not alone in this act, when Ishida points out to the teacher that the rest of the class was just as complicit in bullying Nishimiya as he was, the class ostracizes him and begins bullying him, as well. Shortly after this event, Nishimiya transfers out of the class and Ishida resigns to his fate as a social outcast.
The book then skips ahead four years. As a teenager, Ishida has spent his school years in complete social isolation and has comes to hate himself. Suffering from crippling depression, he comes to the decision that he wants to take his own life, but only after he finds Nishimiya and properly apologizes to her. It is only after he finds and reconnects with Nishimiya that Ishida comes to the realization that suicide is not the way out, and he decides to try his best to give life another try. The volume ends with Nishimiya and Ishida beginning a tentative friendship in the hopes of moving forward and healing old wounds.
In a story where one protagonist is the bully and the other is being bullied, Oima only writes from the perspective of the bully. Because of this, our narrator is an unreliable one at times (which Ishida fully admits to), and while we get a window into his depression and struggle with suicide, we are never able to know firsthand how Nishimiya herself feels during the events that play out.
This One Summer by
This One Summer is exactly as the cover suggests: a snapshot of two girls on summer vacation. Friends Rose and Windy have been coming to Awago Beach for the summer for as far back as they can remember. Like previous summers, the girls spend time swimming, watching movies, eating candy, and just being silly. But this summer is particularly eventful for the girls. Rose develops a crush on an older boy who runs a grocery stand—later that same boy is accused of impregnating a young woman, then refusing to take responsibility. As Rose and Windy observe the fighting between the teen couple, a conflict exists at Rose’s home, as well. Her parents are constantly fighting. Her father wants her mother to loosen up and have fun, but for whatever reason, her mother wants to keep to herself. It is later revealed that Rose’s mother is suffering from severe depression as a result of a miscarriage that occurred at Awago Beach. The summer abruptly ends and Rose’s family goes home.
Years of the Elephant by
The years may pass, but elephants never forget. This becomes the central theme of Years of the Elephant, as how could any parent forget the loss of a child due to suicide? There is no escaping the constant reminders and unanswered questions.
Willy Linthout creates the character Charles Germonprez as his alter ego in Years of the Elephant. Willy is a businessman in his 50s living with his wife, Simone. The story begins when the couple’s son, Jack, leaps to his death off the roof of their apartment building. There’s no apparent warning; no sign that this is coming. Linthout appropriately starts the book with a typical day in the Germonprez house until everything is suddenly shattered by the arrival of police bearing the bad news of Jack's death.
In Clothes Called Fat by
In Clothes Called Fat centers around Japanese office lady, Noko Hanazawa. In Japan, OL’s are more or less the equivalent of administrative assistants in the United States. This is also the standard go-to profession for most young Japanese women before they get married. Noko, in this regard, is a typical Japanese woman in her early 20s, save one factor: she is overweight. In a profession where being young and attractive is considered standard, Noko is bullied by her coworkers for her weight issues, and she is often verbally abused by her boss who sees her as an easy scapegoat. Noko’s personal life is not much better, as her long-standing boyfriend cheats on her. Due to her weight and self-esteem issues, Noko does not confront him about it despite the fact she loves him very dearly and his betrayal hurts her more than anything else in her life.
In My Darkest Hour by
In My Darkest Hour is the story of a rather repulsive young man named Omar Guerrero. Nearly 28 years old, Omar is presented as a loser with a dead-end job who is currently living with his girlfriend, Lucinda, a student considerably younger than himself. Fearful of aging, while indulging in machoism and other forms of toxic masculinity, Omar spends much of the book treating Lucinda horribly in an effort to mask his ever-growing fear and dissatisfaction with his own life.
Omar has so little control over his own life that this fear manifests in an eating disorder, and he frequently binge eats and drinks. He drifts into moods of severe self-loathing when he sees he is gaining weight. This plays into his terror that he is getting old, as he no longer has the fit body of his youth. As Omar continues this cycle of fear and self-loathing, his abuse towards Lucinda and other women in his life escalates. It’s obvious that the behavior manifests as an attempt to assert control over one weaker than himself.
Inside Out by
Inside Out is a graphic memoir that depicts how Shivack met Ed, her eating disorder. The story begins by introducing us to Shivack’s mother, who was a Holocaust survivor, and as such, insisted her family finish everything on their dinner plates regardless of whether or not they were hungry. At a young age Shivack realizes that food can be used as a means of control. As her eating habits become more strained and complex, Shivack conceives of a monster named Ed, a visual representation of her growing issues with food. Ed changes shape throughout the story, sometimes being sinister and inhuman, other times being handsome and taking the form of her ideal man. This occurs as a main plot point to show that during different times in her life, Ed becomes different things to Shivack. Although the form changes, he remains exciting, but ultimately dangerous, as all eating disorders are.
It's All Absolutely Fine by
Ruby combines humor and personal insight in It’s All Absolutely Fine, a deeply humanistic portrayal of her experiences with mental illness. In the introduction, Ruby explains how she approached the project: “What I’ve essentially done for this book is draw about the stuff that goes on in my head, and stuff that goes on outside of my head, and how those things mush together in a bit of a strange and confusing way” (p. 8). The book opens with the topic of depression, which Ruby has experienced since she was 16. As the book progresses, we discover that Ruby has dealt with other psychological challenges, including anxiety disorder, manic episodes, and eating disorders. Individually addressing each of these topics, Ruby covers all the ups and downs, always concluding on a high note with insight as to how she found hope and relief.
Lighter Than My Shadow by
Lighter than my Shadow opens with an adult Katie Green putting pen to paper, indicating her intention to translate her traumatic childhood to the comic’s page. The reader then meets a very young version of Katie who is sitting at the dinner table poking and prodding at her food. This is where Katie’s strained relationship with food begins.
Although many children can be considered “picky eaters,” Katie’s relationship to food is different. An intense desire for control compels her to develop food-related rituals, such as counting the number of times she chews. These rituals are manageable until adolescence results in bodily changes. Upset with her self-image and distraught over being bullied at school, Katie once again tries to take matters into her own hands. Now, Katie is not only intentional about how she eats, but what she eats, and when, and how much. These behaviors are only reinforced by Katie’s pleasure over the resultant weight-loss. Before long, her desire for control produces a severe eating disorder—one over which she has lost control.
Lucille by
The novel is set in rural France and centers on two teenagers from families that are dysfunctional to one degree or another. Lucille Flavinsky is a 16-year-old and suffers from anorexia. Abandoned by her father, Lucille battles her mother's attemps to get her medical help. Our other protagonist Arthur is a teenaged boy whose father, Vladimir, is a fisherman and an alcoholic. After a chance encounter at the hospital where Lucille has been admitted, Lucille and Arthur become a couple, and decide to run away to Italy.
Early on Arthur and Lucille find comfort in the fact that they can be themselves with each other and not pretend to be someone else. And yet with that acceptance of each other, they also dawdle in their own obsessions and find it hard to overcome them. From this they're both given an opportunities to display personality in addition to their pathology. From their first meeting, their infatuation breeds a naive hope that they can find salvation through caring for each other. This unfortunately ends abruptly and tragically when an altercation at a party leads to Arthur being arrested for murder and Lucille sent back home to France. The book ends somewhat ambivalently with the words "End of Part 1" and the readers are left unsure of what fate has in store for our protagonists.
Tyranny by
Drawing from personal experience, Lesley Fairfield writes and illustrates a story about a girl named Anna. The book opens with an emaciated-looking Anna, asking “how did I get to this place?” (p. 4). Traveling back in time, we see that Anna was once a healthy girl. She had hobbies and passions and was excited to grow up. But puberty causes her body to change, and Anna is displeased with her new bodily image. She decides to take matters into her own hands, beginning with intensive dieting. Positive results encourage more severe behavior, and before long, Anna is anorexic and bulimic. She drops out of school but manages to keep a job. Continuing to waste away, Anna imagines an ongoing relationship with Tyranny, a visual representation of her eating disorders. When Anna strives to recover, Tyranny’s voice holds her back. Anna’s severe weight loss eventually results in her hospitalization. She realizes she wants to live, knowing her life depends on the successful confrontation of Tyranny.
My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness by This link opens in a new window
The Bad Doctor by
Summary
Iwan James is many things: husband, father, friend, and physician. He also has obsessive-compulsive disorder, which was more pronounced in his childhood, but is nonetheless, still present in adulthood. The Bad Doctor follows Iwan as he takes on life’s responsibilities while grappling with the residual impact of OCD.
Throughout the book, Iwan sees many patients. His practice is busy and often chaotic, so it certainly doesn’t help that Iwan second guesses many of his medical decisions. He tries to make time for himself, often taking long bike rides with a close friend. Interlaced throughout the book are flashbacks of Iwan’s struggles with OCD as a child, adolescent, and young man. One of his patients likewise experiences OCD, and Iwan does his best to help him. This brings to light the fact that Iwan does very little to help himself.
Beverly by
Beverly is composed of several interwoven stories of family life in suburban America. A young man tries to fit in by distancing himself from a socially-awkward co-worker. A mother and daughter attempt to connect by participating in a focus group. A family goes on holiday, but the vacation unravels when their son is caught playing with a girl’s underwear. A girl attends an old friend’s party, but the two realize they’ve drifted apart. A girl fakes a kidnapping to avoid admitting she’s pregnant. A man helps a woman escape from a stranger who is following her. Two stories within Beverly feature the same character, Tyler, who suffers from Unwanted Thought Syndrome, a form of OCD.
Binky Brown Meets the Holy Virgin Mary by
The story of Binky Brown follows Binky from grade-school to adulthood, with emphasis upon one aspect of his life: the conflict between his Catholic faith and his sexuality. As a young child, Binky is infatuated with the image of the Virgin Mary, an infatuation that only progresses as he gets older. As his sexual urges for the Virgin Mother get stronger so does his fear and self-loathing for his sinful thoughts. Binky soon begins to imagine that his penis is emitting a ray, and if left unchecked it could desecrate any holy object he happens to be facing. Eventually, these rays even begin to emanate from his fingers and feet causing Binky to have a mental breakdown.
At the time of publication, OCD was not an established mental health disorder, so despite Green’s profound ability to capture someone with OCD symptoms, he spins his narrative much more towards criticizing the institution of religion. It is very apparent in the book that the Catholic church and faith are the main antagonists for his suffering, and that bias is relevant throughout the text. This was, however, the 1970s, and Green and many underground comic artists of the time held the views common to the age that religion and government were the enemies of free thought.
Fun Home by
Fun Home is the graphic memoir of Alison Bechdel, a successful author and comics artist with a fascinating story to tell about her childhood. Alison grew up in a small town in Pennsylvania. Her father, a principal character in this book, taught high school English and directed a funeral home. Alison and her siblings spent a lot of time at the funeral home when they were children, even observing their father prepare corpses for burial. Alison reflects on how the unusual nature of her childhood framed her adulthood, especially in regards to her father’s role.
The Hospital Suite by
The Hospital Suite begins in 1997, when our hero, John, begins to have severe stomach pain. He soon discovers he needs emergency surgery to remove a benign tumor from his small intestine. In the wake of the surgery, John has numerous health complications that lead to a flare-up of his preexisting tendencies toward anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder. These lengthy OCD attacks soon make his creative endeavors, day job, and relationships nearly impossible to maintain.
The book is broken up into several sections, mostly dealing with John’s mysterious physical illnesses. It is not until the section “True Anxiety,” which starts two-thirds of the way into the book and lasts until its ending, that we see in full view John’s ongoing battles with severe anxiety and OCD.
Lucille by
The novel is set in rural France and centers on two teenagers from families that are dysfunctional to one degree or another. Lucille Flavinsky is a 16-year-old and suffers from anorexia. Abandoned by her father, Lucille battles her mother's attemps to get her medical help. Our other protagonist Arthur is a teenaged boy whose father, Vladimir, is a fisherman and an alcoholic. After a chance encounter at the hospital where Lucille has been admitted, Lucille and Arthur become a couple, and decide to run away to Italy.
Early on Arthur and Lucille find comfort in the fact that they can be themselves with each other and not pretend to be someone else. And yet with that acceptance of each other, they also dawdle in their own obsessions and find it hard to overcome them. From this they're both given an opportunities to display personality in addition to their pathology. From their first meeting, their infatuation breeds a naive hope that they can find salvation through caring for each other. This unfortunately ends abruptly and tragically when an altercation at a party leads to Arthur being arrested for murder and Lucille sent back home to France. The book ends somewhat ambivalently with the words "End of Part 1" and the readers are left unsure of what fate has in store for our protagonists.
The Nao of Brown by
The Nao of Brown is a fictional work depicting the psychological struggles of Nao Brown, a young woman of English and Japanese ancestry. Nao has Purely Obsessional OCD, a type of OCD that causes a person to experience intrusive thoughts, which are often violent, sexual, or otherwise uncomfortable. Although Nao has dealt with intrusive thoughts since she was a teenager, the story takes place when Nao appears to be in her mid- to late-20s.
Recently single, Nao returns home to give her life a “reboot.” She starts working at her friend Steve’s store selling Japanese toys. While at work, Nao sees a man who reminds her of a character from a beloved Japanese show. Overcome by interest and attraction, Nao hatches a plan to meet him. Knowing he is a washing machine repairman, she intentionally damages her own washing machine and calls in a repair request. The plan works, and she meets the man named Gregory. Before long, the two are dating.
Swallow Me Whole by
Ruth and her stepbrother Perry seem like ordinary kids—they go to school, have hobbies, crush on their classmates…but unbeknownst to most of the people in their lives, Ruth and Perry experience profound mental illness. Both children present with symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder and schizophrenia. At the beginning of the book, Ruth is observed perfectly organizing jars of bugs. Perry obsessively draws pictures in response to orders he receives from a small but powerful wizard who sits on the tip of his pencil. Ruth envisions swarms of insects coming through the air vents. Perry’s wizard follows him to school. Despite the discomfort caused by these psychological disruptions, both kids try to fit in and not draw too much attention to themselves.
While they have much in common, the kids differ in one critical way: Perry strives to say no to his hallucinations, and Ruth embraces hers. As Perry’s efforts are met with recovery, Ruth’s diagnosis becomes more severe. She is accused of being on drugs at school, as no one suspects that mental illness would be behind why she is acting so strangely. When offered a volunteer opportunity at a nearby museum, she is compelled to steal one of their stuffed specimens: a bullfrog. When her parents find out about the theft, they search for the bullfrog, finding it hidden behind Ruth’s collection of preserved insects. They react by packing up Ruth’s bedroom. Ruth comes home to find her meticulously organized collection haphazardly boxed up and scattered. The chaos is too much for her, and she succumbs to her mental illness, effectively being swallowed whole.
Look Straight Ahead by
Jeremy is 17. It’s his last year of high school, and he can’t wait to be done with it. He has a crush on a girl but can’t seem to muster up the confidence to talk to her. And, like other kids his age, he struggles to pay attention in class. An introspective character, Jeremy finds solace in artwork and music. These escapes prove strategic distractions from an unfortunate reality—Jeremy is bullied at school on a regular basis. If he can just make it through one more year, he could put this all behind him. Sadly, this proves to be remarkably difficult for Jeremy, as he suffers a mental break mid-year.
At War with Yourself by
This short book features a conversation between the author and his friend Matt, who is on leave from the army for PTSD treatment. Matt describes his symptoms and shares coping mechanisms that have helped him heal. At the beginning of the book, Williams discusses PTSD generally, stating “there is still more to be learnt and more to be done to raise awareness of the condition” (p. 1). As such, some of the text is also devoted to commentary on PTSD as a misunderstood mental illness.
Becoming Unbecoming by
Becoming Unbecoming is a multilayered, expertly-constructed graphic novel that is, at the same time, story and essay. Una shares her personal experiences growing up in the 70s in northern England—occupying the same time and place as the Yorkshire Ripper, a serial killer who specifically targeted women. As such, much of the book is devoted to documenting the Ripper’s evasion of and eventual capture by police. Una recounts how she, herself, was affected by the pervasive feelings of terror and uncertainty shared by women across the country. Meanwhile, Una has her own reasons for experiencing fear: she was the victim of sexual assault, first as a child, and again as a teen. Although Una never illustrates the rape and molestation she experienced, she slowly reveals details that allow her readers to piece together what happened.
The Best We Could Do by
The Best We Could Do asks the reader how well a person can really know their parents. That’s the question Thi Bui grapples with as she navigates being a first-generation American citizen with her Vietnamese parents who were refugees who came to America after the fall of Saigon. From the beginning, Bui knows that her parents were deeply traumatized by their past, but she never felt comfortable asking them about their experiences. This changes, however, when Bui gives birth to her son. As Bui holds her new baby, she begins to appreciate the immense responsibility that comes with being a parent and decides to learn more about her parents’ past.
A Child's Life and Other Stories by
Phoebe Gloeckner is an artist, illustrator, and sexual abuse survivor. In A Child’s Life and Other Stories, Gloeckner alternates between autobiographical stories and fictional narratives. When referring to her PTSD, she uses an alter-ego, Minnie, to speak to the audience. Throughout the book, we see Minnie interact with key players in her life, including her stepfather, mother, sister, and friends.
The book is composed of five different parts, themselves divided into several non-linear vignettes. In "Other Childish Stories" Gloeckner moves into the realm of the surreal. One story, "Magda Meets Little Men in the Woods," follows a little girl on a walk through the forest, where she comes across different men who are a husband or boyfriend in her adult future. They frankly inform her of the grim reality of the soon-to-be relationships in which she and her children will be mistreated and abused. "Teen Stories" contains the nightmarish "Minnie's 3rd Love", in which teenage Minnie has become enveloped in the seedy drug world of 1976 San Francisco.
The Courage to Be Me by
The Courage to Be Me is a self-help tool for people living with the psychological consequences of sexual violence. It chronicles several members in group therapy at the Portsmouth Abuse and Rape Counseling Service (PARCS) and how the support of the group helped them find the courage to reclaim their lives. While their sexual abuse is never shown, the book explains each of the women’s stories. The vignettes illustrated by different artists showcase that while the women's journeys and group therapy have brought them together, they are also vastly different people who deal with trauma in different fashions.
Deogratias by
Deogratias documents the story of a young man tragically affected by the Rwandan genocide, which resulted in the brutal murder of 800,000 people in a few short months. For those unfamiliar with what unfolded in the small, African nation in the mid-90s, the book opens with a prose introduction of what happened. Then, Deogratias’s story begins.
Deogratias is a young man of Hutu ethnicity. What exactly happened to him before and after the genocide is slowly revealed through an oscillating series of flash-backs and present-day revelations. By the end of the tale, we learn that Deogratias was once a typical, hormone-driven kid. He had a crush on a Tutsi girl named Apollinaria. When she rejects his advances, he pursues her sister, Benina. It is evident he cares very much about both of them. When political events prompt the beginning of the genocide, Deogratias tries to save Benina from slaughter. Despite his best efforts, he is inevitably forced to participate in the genocide or be killed himself.
In the present-day narrative, Deogratias is suffering from crippling PTSD. It is revealed that he was intimately involved in the deaths of his friends. He is constantly on the prowl for banana beer, which temporarily eases his guilty conscience. At times, he imagines he has transformed into a dog. As he grapples with the trauma of the experience, he is urged to reunite with the same people who forced him to carry a machete. In the end, he is hauled off by police, accused of poisoning complicit outsiders.
Lighter Than My Shadow by
Lighter than my Shadow opens with an adult Katie Green putting pen to paper, indicating her intention to translate her traumatic childhood to the comic’s page. The reader then meets a very young version of Katie who is sitting at the dinner table poking and prodding at her food. This is where Katie’s strained relationship with food begins.
Although many children can be considered “picky eaters,” Katie’s relationship to food is different. An intense desire for control compels her to develop food-related rituals, such as counting the number of times she chews. These rituals are manageable until adolescence results in bodily changes. Upset with her self-image and distraught over being bullied at school, Katie once again tries to take matters into her own hands. Now, Katie is not only intentional about how she eats, but what she eats, and when, and how much. These behaviors are only reinforced by Katie’s pleasure over the resultant weight-loss. Before long, her desire for control produces a severe eating disorder—one over which she has lost control.
Not My Shame by
Not My Shame is a non-linear narrative that gives an inside view of the trauma caused by childhood sexual exploitation. The reader gets a rare glimpse into the journey that follows as the book tries to tackle issues including victim blaming, traumatic memory, and dissociation. It also brings into the fray the sad reality that, in the author’s case, doctors, agencies, and law enforcement only victimized her further by their ignorance. Their lack of knowledge of the dynamics that exist between perpetrators and their victims ultimately led to further trauma, and as the blame was put on her by authority figures, it perpetuated her despair, shame, self-harm, and confusion.
Despite all this, the author tries to remain hopeful, showing that one can still be a good parent and come to terms with their past through therapy, art, and healthy relationships. Walker also sends a strong message to those whose job it is to protect children, especially the importance of what it means to educate themselves about trauma and avoid victim-blaming. She ends the book with a message for her fellow survivors: to never give up, to find their voice, and to speak their truth.
Soldier's Heart by
From the outset, Tyler refers to this book as an “epic tome,” which it truly is. Part personal memoir, part war story, this book touches on many themes, spanning decades along the way. Tyler documents her father’s experiences in World War II and after he returned home. We see him court his wife, marry, and have a family. While many happy stories are shared, traumatic experiences are also revealed, such as the death of a toddler from hot water burns. As her parents age, they overcome numerous health challenges, including the mother’s stroke, and the father’s chemotherapy. Meanwhile, Tyler reveals her own formative childhood experiences. Relationship challenges are interwoven, including Tyler’s temporary separation from her husband, and an at-times strained relationship with her daughter.
Trauma Is Really Strange by
In the book, Trauma is Really Strange, chiropractor Steve Haines and illustrator Sophie Standing try to show the reader an in-depth examination of what happens to our brains when we experience traumatic events. They explain: "The goal of this book is to be a non-scary introduction to trauma. For many people, understanding what the brain is trying to do to protect them helps healing" (p. 5). The main focus of this text is as a science guide to show how humans respond neurologically and physiologically to painful situations. Steve, who takes on the form of a talking head (this character is observed in other books in the Really Strange series), walks us through the different forms that trauma can take and what responses we can expect. Trauma is Really Strange looks at how traumatic experiences can overwhelm us and disable our bodies’ normal processes, leading to a state of dissociation. Through a mix of scientific research and visual metaphor, the authors suggest that changes to the body’s physiology can resolve the deep muscular patterns of stress and trauma.
Psychiatric Tales by
Darryl Cunningham spent several years working as a healthcare assistant in a psychiatric facility. During that time, he kept a diary of his observations. These are presented in comic form in Psychiatric Tales, a collection of stories about mental illness. Much of the book is focused on busting stereotypes and dispelling fear. In the chapter called “It Could Be You”, a man loses the ability to care for himself due to his schizophrenia and is subsequently detained under the Mental Health Act. In “Darkness”, a woman’s depression becomes more difficult to manage due to a bad relationship. In “People with Mental Illness Enrich Our Lives”, Cunningham discusses celebrities with bipolar disorder, including Winston Churchill, Judy Garland, Brian Wilson, and Spike Milligan. In “Suicide”, a woman suffering from severe depression unexpectedly kills herself at the facility. There are also chapters that discuss mental illnesses more generally, focusing on schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. The book concludes with Darryl’s own history battling mental illness, featured in the chapter “How I Lived Again”.
Swallow Me Whole by
Ruth and her stepbrother Perry seem like ordinary kids—they go to school, have hobbies, crush on their classmates…but unbeknownst to most of the people in their lives, Ruth and Perry experience profound mental illness. Both children present with symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder and schizophrenia. At the beginning of the book, Ruth is observed perfectly organizing jars of bugs. Perry obsessively draws pictures in response to orders he receives from a small but powerful wizard who sits on the tip of his pencil. Ruth envisions swarms of insects coming through the air vents. Perry’s wizard follows him to school. Despite the discomfort caused by these psychological disruptions, both kids try to fit in and not draw too much attention to themselves.
While they have much in common, the kids differ in one critical way: Perry strives to say no to his hallucinations, and Ruth embraces hers. As Perry’s efforts are met with recovery, Ruth’s diagnosis becomes more severe. She is accused of being on drugs at school, as no one suspects that mental illness would be behind why she is acting so strangely. When offered a volunteer opportunity at a nearby museum, she is compelled to steal one of their stuffed specimens: a bullfrog. When her parents find out about the theft, they search for the bullfrog, finding it hidden behind Ruth’s collection of preserved insects. They react by packing up Ruth’s bedroom. Ruth comes home to find her meticulously organized collection haphazardly boxed up and scattered. The chaos is too much for her, and she succumbs to her mental illness, effectively being swallowed whole.
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