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Dec. 18th, 2023 10:09 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cahnThese are three books my sister had me read, in reverse order of how much I liked them.
I am not sick! I don't need help! (Amador) - 5/5 - This is an awesome book, basically the idea of collaborative problem-solving applied to the domain of mental illness, which has the additional issue that the person involved often does not know that they are mentally ill. (The principle is the same with dementia.) The book first goes over anosognosia, the neurological condition in which the person is unaware of their mental illness (or other brain issue) -- which can be super frustrating as it looks a lot like denial, and it seems like if one just provided enough evidence that the person has a mental illness, the person would have to admit it.
Although I'd been familiar with the concept of anosognosia from just looking up stuff about dementia online, my previous online reading had only dealt with it from the perspective of "this is how it presents." The framing of it in this book as the person's self-concept not updating due to mental illness or other brain issues was new to me, and I felt like it made it much easier for me to viscerally understand why the person would continue to be unaware of mental issues even when a ton of evidence was presented.
And the author brings up examples of trying to convince the person that they're sick (his brother had schizophrenia) and how it fails and just makes everyone angry and frustrated. He shows how to instead use a more collaborative problem-solving solution, that crucially goes around the question of whether the person has a mental illness (because the two of you are probably never going to agree on that point) and rather focuses on how to agree on treatment.
It's written in very simple, easy-to-digest language, I expect because Amador wanted it to be accessible to as many people as possible, but it seems to all make sense and I didn't feel that it was too dumbed down or trying to make claims that were too large (see also the third book in this post). I also felt like there was a minimum of fluff, which I feel can happen with this kind of book -- there was a lot of "don't blame yourself," which I didn't need but which many people probably do.
This book strongly recommends that (say) mentally ill patients be treated, but provides conversational blueprints for getting them to agree to treatment even if they don't agree they're mentally ill. The idea is to think about how it would feel if everyone around you was saying you had a mental illness but you were convinced you didn't, and to use that as a starting point to find things you agree on, and build the relationship of trust so that you can tackle the problem of treatment. The acronym he uses is LEAP: Listen, Empathize, Accept, and Partner. (Yes, that's going to sound pretty familiar if you've read other collaborative problem-solving books. And Amador doesn't say he's reinventing the wheel, he totally says right up front that he's basically just presenting other people's work, he's just trying to give it a larger audience.)
I'd love for there to be a companion volume to this dealing with dementia specifically, because of course some of the issues are not quite the same, and it would be really nice to have specific blueprint conversations to work from. And I wrote that and I guess my sister did the next step of contacting the author, whose secretary told her that he has written a more general book about the LEAP method which includes one conversation modeling what to do with someone with dementia. So, uh, I guess stay tuned for that one, because I'm definitely gonna read that.
Highly, highly recommended if you're dealing with someone with mental illness or dementia or other brain issues.
My Father's Brain (Jauhar) - 3/5 - This is a memoir by Sandeep Jauhar, a doctor and writer, about his father's dementia decline (and eventual death). His father was a scientist, and so that decline was very harsh. My sister and I agreed that the author/narrator should really have read the LEAP book because wow does he fall into every. single. trap possible. I guess he's honest about it? It was well written and brutally honest, but I also found it rather frustrating to read because I kept wanting to yell at him to do things differently. I also felt horrible for Harwinder, his father's caregiver who really just did it all herself, and it really kind of felt like they were taking advantage of her.
The End of Alzheimers (Bredersen) - DNF. Okay... there is a fair amount to like about this book, especially the points that inflammation probably causes a lot of crap to happen in people's bodies and that having good nutrition and exercise and so on can really make a big difference in all kinds of bodily functions, including the brain. And it can't hurt to get a full battery of tests to make sure that there's no underlying condition like hypothyroidism, etc. However, by the end of chapter two I was getting a really intense vibe of "I'm here to sell you my patented solution that is super expensive but fixes alllll the problems in the world!" and poking around on the interwebs leads me to believe that, in fact, his solution -- especially the parts that depend on Super Special Supplements that only practitioners Specially Trained in Bredersen's method can provide -- is not properly studied and there's no particular reason to believe it will work any better than good nutrition and exercise alone, plus, sure, testing to make sure there's no underlying condition or any vitamin deficiencies, and those kinds of supplements when needed.
I am not sick! I don't need help! (Amador) - 5/5 - This is an awesome book, basically the idea of collaborative problem-solving applied to the domain of mental illness, which has the additional issue that the person involved often does not know that they are mentally ill. (The principle is the same with dementia.) The book first goes over anosognosia, the neurological condition in which the person is unaware of their mental illness (or other brain issue) -- which can be super frustrating as it looks a lot like denial, and it seems like if one just provided enough evidence that the person has a mental illness, the person would have to admit it.
Although I'd been familiar with the concept of anosognosia from just looking up stuff about dementia online, my previous online reading had only dealt with it from the perspective of "this is how it presents." The framing of it in this book as the person's self-concept not updating due to mental illness or other brain issues was new to me, and I felt like it made it much easier for me to viscerally understand why the person would continue to be unaware of mental issues even when a ton of evidence was presented.
And the author brings up examples of trying to convince the person that they're sick (his brother had schizophrenia) and how it fails and just makes everyone angry and frustrated. He shows how to instead use a more collaborative problem-solving solution, that crucially goes around the question of whether the person has a mental illness (because the two of you are probably never going to agree on that point) and rather focuses on how to agree on treatment.
It's written in very simple, easy-to-digest language, I expect because Amador wanted it to be accessible to as many people as possible, but it seems to all make sense and I didn't feel that it was too dumbed down or trying to make claims that were too large (see also the third book in this post). I also felt like there was a minimum of fluff, which I feel can happen with this kind of book -- there was a lot of "don't blame yourself," which I didn't need but which many people probably do.
This book strongly recommends that (say) mentally ill patients be treated, but provides conversational blueprints for getting them to agree to treatment even if they don't agree they're mentally ill. The idea is to think about how it would feel if everyone around you was saying you had a mental illness but you were convinced you didn't, and to use that as a starting point to find things you agree on, and build the relationship of trust so that you can tackle the problem of treatment. The acronym he uses is LEAP: Listen, Empathize, Accept, and Partner. (Yes, that's going to sound pretty familiar if you've read other collaborative problem-solving books. And Amador doesn't say he's reinventing the wheel, he totally says right up front that he's basically just presenting other people's work, he's just trying to give it a larger audience.)
I'd love for there to be a companion volume to this dealing with dementia specifically, because of course some of the issues are not quite the same, and it would be really nice to have specific blueprint conversations to work from. And I wrote that and I guess my sister did the next step of contacting the author, whose secretary told her that he has written a more general book about the LEAP method which includes one conversation modeling what to do with someone with dementia. So, uh, I guess stay tuned for that one, because I'm definitely gonna read that.
Highly, highly recommended if you're dealing with someone with mental illness or dementia or other brain issues.
My Father's Brain (Jauhar) - 3/5 - This is a memoir by Sandeep Jauhar, a doctor and writer, about his father's dementia decline (and eventual death). His father was a scientist, and so that decline was very harsh. My sister and I agreed that the author/narrator should really have read the LEAP book because wow does he fall into every. single. trap possible. I guess he's honest about it? It was well written and brutally honest, but I also found it rather frustrating to read because I kept wanting to yell at him to do things differently. I also felt horrible for Harwinder, his father's caregiver who really just did it all herself, and it really kind of felt like they were taking advantage of her.
The End of Alzheimers (Bredersen) - DNF. Okay... there is a fair amount to like about this book, especially the points that inflammation probably causes a lot of crap to happen in people's bodies and that having good nutrition and exercise and so on can really make a big difference in all kinds of bodily functions, including the brain. And it can't hurt to get a full battery of tests to make sure that there's no underlying condition like hypothyroidism, etc. However, by the end of chapter two I was getting a really intense vibe of "I'm here to sell you my patented solution that is super expensive but fixes alllll the problems in the world!" and poking around on the interwebs leads me to believe that, in fact, his solution -- especially the parts that depend on Super Special Supplements that only practitioners Specially Trained in Bredersen's method can provide -- is not properly studied and there's no particular reason to believe it will work any better than good nutrition and exercise alone, plus, sure, testing to make sure there's no underlying condition or any vitamin deficiencies, and those kinds of supplements when needed.
no subject
Date: 2023-12-19 05:12 am (UTC)Right, I think the overall framework is probably a good one when dealing with anyone where you're not on the same page. You might want to check out his other book, I'm Right, You're Wrong, Now What? which I am told is more general (and certainly seems so from its title). I haven't read this one yet but I probably will over the next couple of weeks.
no subject
Date: 2023-12-19 05:46 am (UTC)So weird! One of my teachers taught us about it in high school, and as you know, I went to a crap high school. I started the book this evening, and so far I'm in the section where the author is trying to talk you out of your preconceived notions and build up slowly to the idea of anosognosia as a concept that exists, at which point he will try to convince you that it's applicable. Which I realize my experience isn't universal, but feels a bit to me like, "I know you think the world is flat, but wait! Bear with me, and I will explain to you alternate possibilities that might fit the evidence better!"
Me: ...But I was SEVENTEEN when I learned about anosognosia, circa 2000! I have a whole subplot in one of my fandoms in which an unpopular head of state has a stroke, and his subordinates, who perfectly well know or suspect he is totally compos mentis, are trying to cast a vote of no confidence in order to overthrow him and put someone they like better in charge, and they're trying to imply that he isn't aware that he has a problem, because strokes can do that to you! and he snaps, "I know what anosognosia is."
Well, I'm glad this book exists for other people, but I'm looking forward to getting to the part where there's new stuff. :P
You might want to check out his other book, I'm Right, You're Wrong, Now What? which I am told is more general (and certainly seems so from its title). I haven't read this one yet but I probably will over the next couple of weeks.
Ooh, sounds relevant! I will have to check it out. (I'm thinking largely of upper managers; apparently "I'm right, you're wrong, now what?" is a skill I need to develop better if I want to be promoted any further.)
no subject
Date: 2023-12-19 06:10 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-12-19 07:02 am (UTC)(Mostly because it's such a fast read that I've gotten this far in just a few minutes. If it keeps going on, I will open the table of contents and figure out where I need to be. ;))
Also, Being Wrong: Adventures in the Margins of Error, another book I may have mentioned, covers anosognosia in some depth--I run into it all over the place!
no subject
Date: 2023-12-19 05:58 am (UTC)If you have never talked to someone who has suffered a stroke, brain tumor, or head injury, what I have just said might seem difficult to believe. If so, I recommend that you read The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, written by the late neurologist Oliver Sacks.
I did read that! In college, ca 2003! And I get that you didn't,
no subject
Date: 2023-12-19 06:14 am (UTC)She did go to medical school -- I don't know if she read Sacks; we never talked about it. Which makes me think maybe she didn't, as I have Atul Gawande on my shelf because she made me read his stuff (which I also really like). I'll ask her tomorrow when she's awake :)