The Center Cannot Hold: My Journey Through Madness

by Elyn R. Saks

Because the odd thing was, I didn’t think I was particularly crazy, or that what I often thought or felt was unique to me. Instead, I had come to believe that everyone had these thoughts or feelings, this sense of a force or evil energy pushing on them to do evil or be destructive. The difference was, they all knew how to manage it, how to hide it, how to control it, because that was the socially appropriate thing to do. They had stronger wills, and better coping skills, than I did. They knew how to keep their demons in check; I did not. But perhaps I could learn.