Styron's Journey into the Mind
Bestsellling Author Explores the Inner Reaches of Depression
William Styron, a highly successful professional shares his personal battle with severe depression.
In Darkness Visible: A Memoir of Madness, William Styron chronicles his struggle with severe suicidal depression. He eloquently depicts his progression; a fall into an abysmal state of being, hospitalization, and eventual recovery. The in-depth account of his harrowing experience allows readers to enter into his depressive states as he lives through them.
An Invisible Enemy
Styron includes several artists, writers, and painters who suffered from severe depression. Some, he notes, survived while others were victims of their own demise. Their pain went unrecognized by Styron until he was afflicted by the mood disorder in his early sixties. He chose pharmacology as his main course of treatment. Unfortunately, the risk of addiction, over dosage, and ineffectiveness all played a role in his worsening depression.
He portrays madness as simply “an aberrant biomedical process.” The therapy sessions almost resemble mental chess games where no one wins and time is wasted. He describes key elements of depression as feelings of unworthiness, self-loathing, abandonment, and loneliness.
Sometimes Support is not Enough
Although his supportive wife, Rose, serves as his confidante, he fails to mention the strength she gives to him during the time that his depression is accelerating. Eventually, depression overwhelms his entire self. Every emotion he is allowed is arrested by mental illness.
Haphazardly, his body is completely overtaken and limited to minute moments of possible joy. Styron gracefully explains the awakening and realizes crossroads; he must either enter the hospital or run the risk of committing suicide.
He begins to recover in the hospital. Away from the seclusion of his prestigious home, Styron learns that he ingested overdoses unnecessarily. After a medication adjustment, suicidal thoughts vanish and moods fall under control.
Removing Social Stigma
The author shares an experience which many can relate to. He removes the shame, fear, and stigmatization that society imposes on those afflicted with mental illness. Styron achieves this with precision and honesty.
Darkness Visible explicitly reveals a change in moods; dark to light. The author undergoes a drastic change from functioning in a world normally to living as a man completely out of control. Suddenly, his world becomes hazy; he disconnects, and memory lapses loom large.
Obstacles
A closer attachment to events may have strengthened his tale. However, his painful memories may have left him somewhat detached from his experience. If he moved closer, he may have even been able to strengthen his book.
Styron’s Hope for Change
The title implies an uplifting hope for people with depression. A Memoir of Madness refers to an ephemeral time when Styron experienced living in an uncontrollable state. He begins and ends his memoir with poems: a stanza by Job and Dante. Both echo voices of imminent trouble and courage to maneuver forward through struggle.
This inspirational book is important for many afflicted with depression and other illnesses. It offers hope for survival and understanding for the present and future. Conciseness brings the notion that illness can strike anyone at anytime. More importantly, survival and triumph is more than possible.
