How Do You Deal With People With Mental Health Concerns in Their Own Life?

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As a reporter how do you navigate the fact that you may be adding additional complications into someone who already has a complicated life? I think all the people I wrote about it was important to me that they wanted to tell their story like they felt pretty active in the process. It doesn't feel right to write about someone unless they actively want to be written about.

Rachel Aviv is a staff writer for The New Yorker. Her new book is Strangers to Ourselves: Unsettled Minds and the Stories That Make Us.

“I used to feel that if I knew everything, that was a good sign. And I've become more aware that if you know everything you want to argue, that's not such a good sign…. Do I have a genuine question? Is there something I’m trying to figure out? Then the story is worth telling. But if I don’t really have a question or if my question is already answered, then maybe that should give you pause.”

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