The Myth of Sanity: Divided Consciousness and the Promise of Awareness Paperback – February 22, 2002

It took me a long time to find a book like this. Dr. Martha Stout provides deeply-moving insights into the vulnerabilities of people affected by trauma. She describes the relativity of trauma and its effects through three common situations. Child abuse has been a common reason given for dissociation - but Stout shows there are many other reasons. (for example, a small boy "disconnects" from his fear when he isn't picked up at the bus stop. For a five-year-old in an unfamiliar place that is a traumatic situation) Using interesting and realistic case stories, she develops a compassionate picture of the gradations of symptoms on the dissociative continuum -- everything from temporarily zoning out while driving and disconnecting from yourself while watching a movie to the extreme dissociation of a man with multiple personalities. I read it all in one sitting (up until 6a.m.) and felt enthusiastic -- wanting to purchase one for all my family members and friends. A major point Stout makes is we all experience dissociation in varying degrees. Dissociation doesn't necessarily involve having "multiple personalities" Well-written, intelligent, accessible. Reveals the large and small traumas that cause us to separate ourselves from our experience of living.

Stout (PhD., worked at Massachusetts' renowned McLean psychiatric hospital, associated to Harvard Medical School) wrote a deep book for the non specialist. It is true what Amazon reviewer says "it tends more to literary descriptions than proving facts scientifically". Like on page 118 on, with its leisurely prose about the John Gielgud's suite at Haiti, the same style for "atmosphere" at the famous mental hospital (p. 135-6), etc.If you like classic accounts of psychiatry like, say, Olivier Sacks, you'll read this book in a breeze, maybe on a Sunday afternoon, and probably will look for more.Do you wanted this book summed up in one sentence? Here's one by Daniel Jolley "darkgenius": "One cannot protect oneself (which is basically what dissociation consists of) and live life to the fullest at the same time". As the 3 "spotlight reviewers" attest, this book is useful for "everyday life", not only to understand "psychos as seen on TV" (which she at many occasions deals with, condescendingly, as portraying a misleading image of this disorder, making it more "wacky", consequently not letting us know about the intermediate stages).She takes a "subjectivist" epistemological view, made explicit at page 122: "we all live inside our own heads". Some may like it, I don't, but she doesn't dwell on this. Her theme on how fear hijacks our brains is more fully explained at her latest book: "The paranoia switch, how terror rewires our brains".

Dissociation is no myth but isn't it about degree? As the primary structural component of anyone's identity is based on self-awareness, sanity is indeed no myth. When feeling pain and doing something about it seems inimical to one's best interests, the self is put aside and hidden."For the traumatized child, a dissociative state, far from being dysfunctional or crazy, may in fact be life saving" (p.31). The key factor for clinicians is healing the dissociative state which, after intensive use, has developed a hair trigger. The adult whom the child has become now experiences dissociative reactions to levels of stress that probably would not cause another person to dissociate" (p.31). We move towards sanity to the degree we establish a sense of moral clarity. With a clearer understanding, better decisions are possible. Yes, it takes courage to work through the pain of betrayal, but sometimes the pain emerges when all else fails. For anyone wanting to understand the process of dissociation, denial, repression, and its toll on the personality, I suggest 'The Myth of Sanity' to be a very well written book with insights that are valuable for professional and non-professional, alike. The tone of the book is consistently non judgmental and shows a level of compassion which suggests clinical success would be more likely. The clinical examples and the explanations for the strategies of defense seem accurate to me. I am reminded of Freud's first monograph on his patient, Anna O. According to Freud's hypothesis, Anna O suffered from the effects of "strangulated affect". Nice way of talking about dissociation and the effects of trauma bonding. Don't you agree?

Dr. Stout has so much insight about life and psychology, even if you do not suffer from DID yourself, you will absorb something from this book. She really has a way with words, she writes in the first chapter that people who are commonly considered to be "sane" are a little nuts themselves. They are mostly unaware of their behaviors and walk around in a cognitive haze. couldn't agree more. I have read all three of her books and what I prefer about her over other authors, is that she goes beyond the obvious to find the truth. Everyone knows a rape victim or a war veteran has been traumatized, I am trying to devalue their experiences, but Dr. Stout also discusses people in domestic situations where the trauma is more latent and more deceptive. This book is really an eye-opener, I was surprised at how many people I would have written off as just being eccentric before I read this book, but would now consider more dangerous. This is really useful when choosing which parents you want to trust your kids around. She talks about how people in third world countries deal with the trauma of poverty and political chaos. She also discusses the possible dangers of someone who switches from different cognitive states who leads a nation. I immediately thought of Robert Mugabe, the president of Zimbabwe who began as a freedom fighter and later eroded into a brutal tyrant. Such an important timeless book, better than CSI and better than Dr. Laura and Dr. Phil.

As a psychology student this book provides a better view and understanding of the disorder. The origins, signs & symptoms, the perspective of those who have it and those around it and treatment.

Thank you - am glad to own it.

I'd read Martha Stout's "The Sociopath Next Door" a while back and enjoyed it a lot. Stout writes in a clear, non-pretentious way yet still describes things in beautiful detail, even when they're harrowing.I found this book to be more enjoyable than the other, as, having read it, I feel I know myself far better. The subject matter is misunderstood and unknown to most of us, yet still extremely important. A clear expert in her field, Stout knows this, so describes psychological conditions in a compassionate and complete way. Her case studies, while extremely moving and shocking, contain rationals for her patients' behaviours and concise descriptions of how these conditions can manifest in seemingly "sane" people. The ending of the book was so beautiful and life-affirming that it made me cry with joy. I recommend this book to absolutely everyone, first because it's so wonderful to read, and second because it provides an essential perspective into the lives of society's most unlucky individuals; the trauma survivors.

Excellent!

This book is a fantastic read. Compassionately and insightful, the author draws from years of experience working with traumatized clients, ranging from truly disturbing cases to people with "ordinary" little traumas that most of us experience in modern society.What it comes down to is the fact that most of us have been traumatized in one way or the other, which leads to mild or severe dissociated states that affect our lifes negatively in ways we usually don't realize. Accepting this reality and working on our traumas, we can become more free, more in control of our lives, and ultimately happier. This book will open up your horizons and help you achieving just that. Five stars, for sure.