Mental Illness

The Voices Wonders If Your Pet Could Talk, Would It Tell You To Kill?

One of the oddest films about mental illness to come along in awhile, this pitch black comedy from Marjane Satrapi (Persepolis) follows the downward spiral of Jerry (Ryan Reynolds), a fellow driven to violence by the voices in his head… which seem to be emanating from his pets. Some spoilers follow. We open in the…

io9 Cheryl Eddy Feb 5

How Do You Treat Mental Illness in a Bonobo?

Brian is a male bonobo who was born at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center, but spent most of his life at the Milwaukee County Zoo. His childhood was rough, thanks to an abusive father, and as he transitioned into early adulthood, his prospects seemed grim. When humans suffer mental illnesses, we can talk to…

Biology Jason G. Goldman Jun 12

10 Comics That Can Help You Understand Mental Illness

Comics don’t always have the best track record when it comes to portraying mental illness. In superhero stories, mental illness is often associated with violence and villainy. There are, however, other, often personal, comics that can open your eyes to real human experiences with mental disorders. Just a heads up: many of these comics deal…

io9 Lauren Davis May 15

This webcomic captures the day-to-day horrors of living with depression

Depression can be a difficult illness to understand if you’ve never experienced it, and depressive episodes can be incredibly isolating experiences. But the webcomic Depression Comix offers a peek into the depressed mind while helping a lot of depressed folks feel less alone. Trigger warning: Folks who are triggered by depictions of self-injury and suicidal…

Books & Comics Lauren Davis Jan 8

A young woman tries to aid a mentally ill man, but can’t see his demons

After Bernard, a mentally ill vagrant, comes to the aid of compassionate university student Lourdes, she tries to repay him with a meal and a sympathetic ear. But Bernard’s vision is increasingly crowded with vicious demons. Peter Szewczyk‘s Our Lady of Lourdes uses visual effects to portray the horrors in Bernard’s head—and leaves a bit…

io9 Lauren Davis Dec 15

Which countries have the highest rate of diagnosed depression?

This map visualizes the results of a new study of depression rates. Depression is the second leading cause of disability worldwide, diagnosed in 4% of the human population, and map allows you to compare rates of depression diagnosis across countries. The map, by the Washington Post, shows the results from a study published in PLOS…

io9 Katharine Trendacosta Nov 10

Are we in the midst of an anxiety epidemic?

Some people have called anxiety the Disease of the 21st Century; and on an anecdotal level, it’s easy to understand how someone might think anxiety worthy of the title. We’ve all experienced it at one time or another – that horrible feeling when the whole world seems to be crashing down on us. But is…

io9 George Dvorsky Nov 6

DARPA’s Spending $70 Million on a Brain Chip for Mentally Ill Soldiers

Picture this: In the near future, ten percent of our veterans could be walking around with chips implanted in their brains. These aren’t intended for some I, Robot-style takeover, but rather to treat conditions like PTSD and substance abuse. Sound crazy? DARPA only deals in crazy. https://gizmodo.com/darpa-is-building-a-submarine-mothership-to-launch-dron-886014691 The Pentagon’s prodigal R&D lab just announced a…

Tech News Adam Clark Estes Oct 25

A teenager’s journey through the horrors of bipolar disorder

While we celebrate the ghouls and goblins of October, Elaine M. Will’s webcomic Look Straight Ahead depicts a different sort of horror. High school senior Jeremy loses his connection with reality as he falls into the grips of bipolar disorder. The only good thing going on in Jeremy Knowles’ life is that he’s ten months…

io9 Lauren Davis Oct 12

The demons of mental illness illustrated as real monsters

What if mental ailments were caused by supernatural beings that buzz around their victims and feed off their terrible feelings? Toby Allen’s illustration series Real Monsters creates a bestiary of creatures that inspire anxiety and gloom. Allen explains that his intention with this series was not to make light of these sometimes debilitating conditions, but…

io9 Lauren Davis Sep 21

What It’s Like to Have Synesthesia And See All Your Numbers in Color

In the big wide world of mental disorders, synesthesia is probably one of the most interesting and least harmful. It’s like a sensory remix. But what’s it really like? Alex from Bite Sci-Zed, who “suffers” from a flavor of the disorder where her numberals have very distinct colors, explains it. By the numbers. [Numberphile]

Tech News Eric Limer Feb 23

Exercise Will Not Make You Happy

Even though your morning jog may give you a brief high, don’t assume that working out can make you happy in the long-term. A new study suggests that however much exercise you do, it won’t help reduce the symptoms of depression. The research, which is published in the British Medical Journal, runs counter to many…

Health Jamie Condliffe Jun 5

Everyone Around You Is An Impostor: Inside the Mind’s Most Bizarre Delusions

Imagine that your best friend has been replaced by an exact double, or that everyone you meet is really the same person wearing lots of disguises. These aren’t just plots of The Prisoner episodes — they’re all real mental delusions. The various delusions I just described are examples of monothematic delusions, which are simply any…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins Apr 11

Mental disorders visualized in six minimalist posters

Mental and neurological disorders are hard enough to explain in words, but how about with just a few blocks of color? Graphic designer Patrick Smith tries to capture an impressionistic sense of some serious illnesses with his minimalist designs. Smith created these posters in the hope that they might be used for a mental health…

io9 Lauren Davis Mar 4

Kim Jong-il Was Schizoid; Is His Son Too?

Kim Jong-il, the former supreme leader of North Korea who died on Saturday of cardiac arrest at 69, was known for his quirks, including an obsession with Elizabeth Taylor. But scientists say his idiosyncrasies added up to some serious diagnoses. Specifically, a team of scientists in 2009 diagnosed Mr. Jong-il as sadistic, paranoid, antisocial, narcissistic,…

Tech News Kristen Philipkoski Dec 19

Zoos are giving chimps mental illnesses

We may not be on the verge of full-on chimp rebellion, but we still might want to rethink the ethics of keeping chimps in zoos. The captive apes are showing signs of mental illnesses never seen in their wild counterparts. These are some fairly serious manifestations of mental health problems: self-mutilation, constant rocking back and…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins Jul 5

TV People Say Not Deleting Your Email Means You’re an “E-Hoarder”

Sometimes life is dull, so to jazz things up, you use your imagination and fabricate. Such is the case in this news segment, wherein reporters and a psychologist label some dude with a bunch of computers an e-hoarder. The horror. Floridian Larry Fischer has six computers A laptop, a desktop, and a server. A couple…

Tech News Sam Biddle May 9

Depressed people make better decisions than happy ones

Clinical depression is one of the most common mental illnesses, a disabling condition that keeps people trapped in feelings of hopelessness and despair. So why do depressed people actually make better decisions than their healthy counterparts? This is the first study that’s ever shown a positive benefit of major depressive disorder. Previous research into how…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins May 5

1972 book claimed that being a hippie is a mental illness, can be inherited genetically

In 1972, a Colombian psychiatrist asserted that being a hippie is a form of mental illness that can be passed on to one’s children. Apparently a fondness for patchouli and Iron Butterfly can be traced to your chromosomes. Vaughan Bell of Mind Hacks found the book Psicopatologia y Existencia del Hippie (“Psychopathology and Existence of…

io9 Cyriaque Lamar Dec 26

Mental Illness on the Rise Throughout the Globe

It’s become common sense to admit that war can make soldiers crazy — the condition has been called everything from “shell shock” to “post traumatic stress disorder.” But now a study published yesterday offers concrete evidence that war drives civilians crazy too. In the first nationwide study of civilian mental health in war zones, a…

io9 Annalee Newitz Apr 1

The Voices Wonders If Your Pet Could Talk, Would It Tell You To Kill?

How Do You Treat Mental Illness in a Bonobo?

10 Comics That Can Help You Understand Mental Illness

This webcomic captures the day-to-day horrors of living with depression

A young woman tries to aid a mentally ill man, but can’t see his demons

Which countries have the highest rate of diagnosed depression?

Are we in the midst of an anxiety epidemic?

DARPA’s Spending $70 Million on a Brain Chip for Mentally Ill Soldiers

A teenager’s journey through the horrors of bipolar disorder

The demons of mental illness illustrated as real monsters

What It’s Like to Have Synesthesia And See All Your Numbers in Color

Exercise Will Not Make You Happy

Everyone Around You Is An Impostor: Inside the Mind’s Most Bizarre Delusions

Mental disorders visualized in six minimalist posters

Kim Jong-il Was Schizoid; Is His Son Too?

Zoos are giving chimps mental illnesses

TV People Say Not Deleting Your Email Means You’re an “E-Hoarder”

Depressed people make better decisions than happy ones

1972 book claimed that being a hippie is a mental illness, can be inherited genetically

Mental Illness on the Rise Throughout the Globe

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