Book Review: BEYOND BEDLAM'S DOOR by Mark Rubinstein

Beyond Bedlam's Door: True Tales from the Couch and Courtroom by Mark Rubinstein

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Mark Rubinstein, MD, brings us another great book that looks into the lives and stories of twenty-one mentally ill people and the influences around them. In addition to telling interesting stories about psychiatric patients, BEYOND BEDLAM'S DOOR also delves into fascinating court cases involving them and the legal ramifications of our system here in the United States.

"Put succinctly, mixing law, medicine, and money can sometimes generate odd situations" (page 48).

"Where money and the law intersect, truth can sometimes be the victim" (page 90).

I'm intrigued by the reality of how much influence one person has over another. This book explores and shows how loved ones can knowingly, and unknowingly, hinder another person's ability to master his or her own mental condition.

The stories in this book are well told, and with each one, the author includes an "afterword" discussing and explaining the legal and medical issues involved in that particular story. While interesting, these afterwords became repetitive, causing me to give the book four stars instead of five. If each medical condition had been explained once, the first time a story was told about it, and then merely footnoted or referred to a glossary each subsequent time, the book would have been more engaging. However, even as is, this book was a terrific read.

I highly recommend this book to anyone in the mental health profession or anyone curious to understand the workings of the human mind.






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Do Demons Really Exist?

We've all heard people use phrases like: 

"What possessed you to do that?"
and / or
"The devil made me do it."

These phrases bring us to a basic yes or no question:
Do demons really exist?

The answer is not simple, and before we can even begin to answer it, we must understand the definition of the word demon.

Dictionary definitions of demon:
1. A demon is a supposed evil spirit
2. A demon is a personal fear or anxiety that torments someone

So … which is it? Do you believe that a demon is a supposed evil spirit? Do you think a demon is a personal anxiety that torments someone? Or do you think it’s both?

By choosing the definition you agree with, you acknowledge that demons do in fact exist.

Yes, demons do exist. 
Now, we might disagree on the precise definition, but we agree on the existence.

Stereotypically, there are two schools of thought regarding demons. Religious and secular.

RELIGIOUS

If you’re religious or spiritual to some extent, you probably believe demons are evil spirits that whisper in your ear, toy with your emotions, or to an extreme, possess your mind.

According to psychiatrist and born-again Christian, M. Scott Peck, “the distinction between ‘human evil’ and ‘demonic evil’ is crucial” (1) 

And according to an article in Psychology Today, “The Roman Catholic Church’s official diagnostic criteria for discerning genuine demonic possession … includes speaking in tongues … supernatural physical strength, and visibly negative reactions of the victim to prayers.” (1)

However, secular psychiatrists will argue that many of these symptoms can be “seen in the most severely [mentally] disturbed patients.” (1)

For example, some of you might remember the Andrea Yates case from 2001. She claimed that she was possessed by Satan himself and he compelled her to drown her five children. “In her second trial, Yates was found not guilty by reason of insanity…” (2) Was her demon a personal anxiety that tormented her? Did she suffer from a mental illness such as postpartum depression? Schizophrenia? Or was she possessed by an evil spirit?

SECULAR

If you lean more to the secular side, one that’s not as concerned with religious aspects, then you probably agree more with the psychiatrists who explain that these so called demons are actually your own inner fears and anxieties that have not been dealt with properly.

Dr. Leon Seltzer wrote, “If you’re tightly ‘in the grip’ of something, it’s really a recessive part of your own being that’s ensnared you and it’s probably a part so foreign to how you’d prefer to see yourself that you can hardly withstand the temptation to see it as not really you at all.” (3)  Dr. Seltzer continued, “The consensus of mental health professionals today is that the source of most—though certainly not all—so-called ‘evil’ thoughts and behaviors is linked to growing up in a seriously dysfunctional family.” (4)

http://www.uv.es/cultura/c/docs/exppinacotecapsiquiatrica09cast.htm

Either way – religious or secular – an evil spirit or an unresolved personal anxiety – a demon can torment and endanger your sanity.

And the bottom line is: Yes, demons do exist.

...

[This post is part of a series leading up to the release of my novel, UNLOCKED, which will be published later this year by Merit Press. I extensively researched mental illness and demons for the plot. Feel free to join the conversation in the comments, because I find this topic highly fascinating!]


Sources:
1) https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/evil-deeds/201201/the-devil-inside-psychotherapy-exorcism-and-demonic-possession (page 7)
2) https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/evil-deeds/201201/the-devil-inside-psychotherapy-exorcism-and-demonic-possession (page 8)
3) https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/evolution-the-self/201506/enough-about-inner-demons-already (page 2)
4) https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/evolution-the-self/201506/enough-about-inner-demons-already (page 3)
5) Credit for bottom photo: http://www.uv.es/cultura/c/docs/exppinacotecapsiquiatrica09cast.htm