According to the Center of Disease Control, also known as the CDC, depression is the most common type of mental illness, affecting more than 26% of the U.S. adult population (CDC, 2011). Many famous figures, such as Emily Dickinson, Edgar Allen Poe, Manley Hopkins, Van Gogh, Beethoven, and Bach, struggled alongside William Styron with severe depression and overwhelming irrationality. William Styron, author of Darkness Visible: A Memoir of Madness, suffered from suicidal depression and madness and was eventually hospitalized for his condition. Styron’s text gives the audience a look into his life of serious mental illness, working through treatment, and recovery. To better understand depression, it is important to compare a patient’s condition
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The DSM’s criteria provide a list of symptoms required for the diagnosis and it is evident that many of the options listed are applicable to Styron, specifically, depressed mood, markedly diminished interest or pleasure, insomnia, psychomotor agitation, fatigue or loss of energy feelings of worthlessness, inappropriate guilt, and recurrent suicidal ideation (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). These similarities show that the DSM-5 covers a wide variety of symptoms and is able to give a professional adequate support for a diagnosis. The DSM-5, however, does not really discuss the symptoms of physical pain that is described as “the ferocious inwardness of the pain produced…that prevented my articulating words beyond a hoarse murmur…” (Styron, 1990, pg. 20). As with many disorders, it is difficult to portray all symptoms, especially because some patients can have more than one disorder impacting their experiences. The DSM also does not consider the impact of receiving an actual diagnosis and being placed into treatment facilities. The memoir displayed intense symptoms and changes in mood while being hospitalized. Obviously prior to treatment a diagnosis is given, but this can also alter the way a patient feels and reacts. “Depression is much too complex in its cause, its symptoms, and its treatments” (Styron, 1990, pg. 36) which is why it cannot be completely explained in the DSM-5
The DSM’s criteria provide a list of symptoms required for the diagnosis and it is evident that many of the options listed are applicable to Styron, specifically, depressed mood, markedly diminished interest or pleasure, insomnia, psychomotor agitation, fatigue or loss of energy feelings of worthlessness, inappropriate guilt, and recurrent suicidal ideation (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). These similarities show that the DSM-5 covers a wide variety of symptoms and is able to give a professional adequate support for a diagnosis. The DSM-5, however, does not really discuss the symptoms of physical pain that is described as “the ferocious inwardness of the pain produced…that prevented my articulating words beyond a hoarse murmur…” (Styron, 1990, pg. 20). As with many disorders, it is difficult to portray all symptoms, especially because some patients can have more than one disorder impacting their experiences. The DSM also does not consider the impact of receiving an actual diagnosis and being placed into treatment facilities. The memoir displayed intense symptoms and changes in mood while being hospitalized. Obviously prior to treatment a diagnosis is given, but this can also alter the way a patient feels and reacts. “Depression is much too complex in its cause, its symptoms, and its treatments” (Styron, 1990, pg. 36) which is why it cannot be completely explained in the DSM-5