The Great God of Depression The Great God of Depression #1 – The Night Kingdom
Aug 3, 2018
Alice Flaherty, a neurologist and author, shares her harrowing journey through mania and grief after losing her unborn twins. She describes the haunting experience of hallucinations and the compelling urge to write, known as hypergraphia, during her manic episodes. Flaherty’s insights on her diagnosis of mixed manic-depressive syndrome illuminate the complex relationship between creativity and mental illness. A pivotal moment arises as she connects her struggle to William Styron's work, deepening her understanding of depression as a multifaceted phenomenon.
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Secret Grave Begins A Quest
- Alice Flaherty shows Pagan Kennedy a secret grave where she buried the ashes of her unborn twins in Mount Auburn Cemetery.
- The grave marks the start of Alice's quest to understand her own mind after a catastrophic pregnancy loss.
Sudden Descent Into Mania
- Ten days after leaving the hospital, Alice awoke with thoughts racing and a sudden, overwhelming sense that her pregnancy had ended.
- She hunted for pen and paper to confess feelings she knew weren't true and realized her brain had "cracked."
Mixed Manic‑Depressive Thought Fusion
- Alice was diagnosed with an unusual manic-depressive syndrome that produced both extreme mood and rapid thought fusion.
- Her accelerated thoughts stuck together and created pressured, overlapping ideas that she struggled to separate.
