Non-Manga Book Shoutout: Mental Illness Is an Asshole
I wanted to take a moment to recommend this book because it’s one of the few mental health books written by someone who’s not a professional, but an advocate living with mental illness.
“Mental Illness Is an Asshole” is a collection of old blog posts and internet articles (circa 2014-2018) written by Gabe Howard, a mental health advocate whose podcasts on Psych Central I’ve followed for a few years now. All the essays contain topics on living with bipolar disorder (which Gabe has), depression and anxiety, peer support, the stigma of mental illness, suicide and practical advice for anyone who struggles with mental illness.
I’ve read this book twice and while some of the essays are a bit dated, Gabe provides a perspective that doesn’t get appreciative enough - the view of a regular person who lives and struggles with serious mental illness. While it’s nice to hear that some famous people have mental illness, not everyone of us has access to the resources they have. Gabe loves to talk to people and share his wisdom. He’s also very understanding on how society complicates matters regarding mental illness.
Gabe is also a person who helped me realized what it means to take responsibility for my wellness. In one of his essays, he preaches that it may not be your fault that you have mental illness, but it’s your responsibility to manage your well-being. Gabe has gone on to say “It’s not your fault, but it’s your responsibility” outside of the book several times. He actually addresses the problem of using mental illness to define your entire identity in another one of his essays.
I’ve known people who’ve been hurt and victim-blamed for many things. They deserve better. I just think that if they start doing a “woe is me” routine every time to not take responsibility in managing their own health, they never get anywhere and will ruin every meaningful relationship in their lives. I played the victim way too much in the past because I was comfortable with being spoiled. But when you lose something precious, you start to question whether you really want something that’s bad to define the whole you.
There’s something for everyone who has mental illness in this book. If I found something, you probably will too. Mental Illness Is an Asshole is also worth sharing with other people who want to learn more about mental illness when mainstream media sucks at talking about the topic.
If you want another good reason to check out Mental Illness Is an Asshole, here’s what Gabe wrote in the last part of his introduction essay and despite my compassion for humans, it’s something I want to aspire to (hell, I think it might add to my compassion as compassion does not equate with being nice).
“My strategy is not to ignore what I cannot control, but to prepare for it. Assholes don’t like to be confronted and a lot of their power comes from surprise attacks. As annoying as it is, every day when I wake up, I think to myself, ‘Mental illness is an asshole.’
Because I’m always on guard for assholes and love putting them in their place.”
You can buy the book at: https://www.gabehoward.com/merchandise/mental-illness-asshole/
