Psychiatric Comics. Stories About People

Psychiatry… This branch of medicine is still surrounded by an aura of mysteries and enigmas, both for people distant from science and, at times, even for psychiatrists themselves. From ancient times, mental disorders have been surrounded by myths and superstitions, and those who suffered from them were sometimes persecuted and sometimes revered as saints. Fortunately, those days when mentally ill individuals were kept on chains in conditions no different from prisons are long gone. Modern psychiatry increasingly relies on neurosciences. Since the mid-20th century, we have had a powerful weapon in the fight against mental illnesses — medications that can affect delusions, hallucinations, depression, and many other states. The book uses the language of comics to present the stories of people — our contemporaries confronting mental disorders. The reader can peek into the world of the painful experiences of the characters and understand what is happening to them. The narrative includes modern scientific descriptions of the characters’ mental illnesses, presented in a light and understandable form. At the end of the book, the reader and the characters find answers to the most important questions: what should a person do when confronted with a mental disorder? how should their loved ones react? and are there ways to make the lives of such people fulfilling again.

***Zadorozhnaya Olga Valeryevna — psychiatrist, psychotherapist, candidate of medical sciences, associate professor at the Department of Psychiatry and Narcology of the North-Western State Medical University named after I. I. Mechnikov. Art therapist, artist, and comic book author. Volunteer for the "Outsiderville" project (support for people with mental traits).