A friend of mine took her life last November after a long battle with the mental illness, depression. She was 58. A brave, talented and kindhearted person, Donna Tobias had been a Navy deep sea diver, a special education teacher, and, in her last years, a volunteer working with formerly abused and abandoned horses. In her struggles with mental illness, she had tried everything: therapy, medication, hospitalization, even electric shock treatment. But finally, the burden of living was too much, and she decided to end it.

Gail Hornstein
Depression is one of many mental disorders. Schizophrenia is another. We’ve heard much in recent days about the disordered ramblings of Jared Loughner -- and many have seen in them the signs of paranoid schizophrenia. His thinking signaled serious distress long before his shooting rampage in Tucson earlier this month. Loughner didn’t get any kind of treatment -- but even had he gone for it, cuts to health services in Arizona may have made that exceedingly difficult. And it would most likely have been heavy on medication, which is cheaper than intensive therapy. But can medication tell us anything about the inner world of the mentally ill?

Psychologist Gail Hornstein says we need to pay attention to what mental patients say -- and to find the meaning in their madness. She teaches psychology at Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts. In the course of her work, she became fascinated with accounts written by mental patients themselves--personal memoirs, theoretical treatises on mental illness, and documents advocating for the rights of mental patients. One of the most famous is I NEVER PROMISED YOU A ROSE GARDEN, by Hannah Green, which was made into a bestselling book and Hollywood movie. Hornstein wrote a biography of the real psychologist behind the book's thinly veiled fictionalized version, Frieda vom Reichmann.

Millicent Monks
Millicent Monks was born into one of the most famous families in America; her great-grandfather was Andrew Carnegie’s brother. Monks grew up among great wealth, spending her summers on one private island owned by her family and most of her adulthood on two others off the coast of Maine. But wealth and privilege did not insulate her family from tragedy: suicide, alcoholism, and mental illness were a legacy passed from generation to generation. Her great grandmother and mother suffered from mental illness -- possibly manic depression -- and her own daughter was diagnosed at age eighteen with what is now known as borderline personality disorder. Monks’ memoir, Songs of Three Islands, tells the story of her struggles as both the daughter and the mother of women who were mentally ill  and how she was able to find healing.

What is it like to have a mind you can't control? For three young people diagnosed with bipolar disorder, it's a brave journey into uncharted medical and emotional territory. This radio documentary follows Erin, Eric, and Athena, along with their parents, doctors, teachers, and advocates, as they navigate puberty and adolescence with a serious mood disorder. Seventeen-year-old Erin is a Nirvana fan with a history of substance abuse; Athena is a 10-year-old aspiring cheerleader who lives on disability with her single mom; Eric is a 15-year-old disciple of Conan O'Brien who still holds a record for middle school detentions. Through these young people's blunt, honest, and often humorous voices, we learn about the early signs of the disorder; difficulties getting an accurate diagnosis; the trial and error of treatment; stress on family relationships; working with under-budgeted school systems; and hopes for the future. This piece premiered on WFCR, Amherst, MA on Nov. 6, 2004 and has aired on about a dozen stations. Awards it has received include: National Edward R. Murrow Award from RTNDA; PRNDI (Public Radio News Directors Inc.)Award; New York Festivals Silver World Medal; First Place, Association of Health Care Reporter's 2005 Contest (Radio/TV); The National Mental Health Association's 2005 Media Award, Massachusetts Associated Press Award. The "Wild Child" was adapted for an American RadioWorks documentary -- "A Mind of Their Own" -- available at: http://www.prx.org/piece/4231 There is also a shorter (7:23) companion feature available -- focussing on the controversy over diagnosing bipolar in kids -- at: http://prx.org/piece/1482.

It's been called "one of the 50 most unusual museums in the country," but the word unusual doesn't cut it. The Glore Psychiatric Museum is a testament to man's failed attempts to understand mental illness.

Inside the Glore, we're taken on a bizarre yet vivid ride into the history of psychiatric treatment. We bear witness to unusual treatment protocols, ranging from restraint cages to human-sized gerbil wheels. In the terrible contraptions, we also sense an oddly persistent theme--man's terrible failure to adequately care for the mentally ill.

After venturing into the Glore, we meet Rolf Gainer, a psychologist, who discusses our current system of mental health treatment, and speculates about the future of treating mental disorders.

To date, the only treatment that has worked for Amy is electroconvulsive therapy, but this brings up a whole new set of concerns.

The documentary is a follow-up to "A Danger to Self or Others," which profiles the mental health division at Chicago's Cook County Jail. "Life on the Outside" tells the story of Colbert, beginning with his release from Chicago's Cook County Jail, and Richard, who's been arrested 137 times but who's managed to stay out of jail for more than one year. Winner: Public Radio News Directors' Award; National Federation of Community Broadcasters' Golden Reel Award First broadcast on All Things Considered in 2000.