Elyn Saks

"Noore naisena olin ma kolm korda pikalt vaimuhaiglas. Vaatamata mu skisofreeniadiagnoosile ja ennustustele, et hakkan elama ainult hooldekodus ja tegema paremal juhul lihttööd, olen ma nüüd ülikooli professor."

Elyn Saks on oma elukäiguga eeskujuks kõigile neile, kes kannatavad skisofreenia all ja tahavad haigusest hoolimata elada võimalikult täisväärtuslikku elu. Seepärast soovitan inglise keele oskajatel tema kohta internetist võimalikult palju lugeda lisaks allpool olevatele viidetele.

Elyn R. Saks (sünd 1955) on USA tuntud jurist, õigusteaduse, psühholoogia, psühhiaatria ja käitumisteaduse professor Lõuna-California ülikoolis. Juristina on ta aidanud psühhoosihaigeid, kelle elu-oluga on ta hästi kursis, sest on põdenud skisofreeniat alates 16. eluaastast. Haigusest hoolimata on ta saanud MacArthuri Fondi nn geeniuse stipendiumi ja seda omakorda kasutanud psüühikahäiretega inimeste toetuseks.

Oma kogemusest skisofreeniahaigena on ta kirjutanud autobiograafia "The Center Cannot Hold", (Hyperion Books, 2007), mis muutus kiiresti bestselleriks. Ühtekokku on tal lisaks teadustöödele neli raamatut. Saks on pidanud võitlust ka vähiga.

Elyn Saks Wikipedias (ingl k)

Selle loo alguses olev tsitaat originaalis:
In her words, “As a young woman, I was in psychiatric hospitals for three lengthy stays. Despite my diagnosis with schizophrenia and my ‘grave prognosis’ - that I would live in a board-and-care facility and work at a menial job at best - I am a chaired professor of law at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles…” 
http://famous101.com/famous-schizophrenics

2012. a ütles Elyn Saks intervjuus CNN-le:

"I am a woman with chronic schizophrenia. I have spent hundreds of days in psychiatric hospitals. I could have ended up living most of my life on a back ward, but things turned out quite differently.
In fact, I've managed to stay free of hospitals for almost 30 years. This is perhaps my proudest accomplishment. That doesn't mean that I have been free of all psychiatric struggles."
http://edition.cnn.com/2012/08/12/opinion/saks-mental-illness/

Elyn Saks: A tale of mental illness -- from the inside (TED, esinemine on filmitud 2012. a):


"Is it okay if I totally trash your office?" It's a question Elyn Saks once asked her doctor, and it wasn't a joke. A legal scholar, in 2007 Saks came forward with her own story of schizophrenia, controlled by drugs and therapy but ever-present. In this powerful talk, she asks us to see people with mental illness clearly, honestly and compassionately."
http://www.ted.com/talks/elyn_saks_seeing_mental_illness/

As a law scholar and writer,  Elyn Saks speaks for the rights of mentally ill people. It's a gray area: Too often, society's first impulse is to make decisions on their behalf. But it's a slippery slope from in loco parentis to a denial of basic human rights. Saks has brilliantly argued for more autonomy -- and in many cases for a restoration of basic human dignity.
In 2007, deep into her career, she dropped a bombshell -- her autobiography, The Center Cannot Hold. In it, she reveals the depth of her own schizophrenia, now controlled by drugs and therapy. Clear-eyed and honest about her own condition, the book lent her new ammunition in the quest to protect the rights and dignity of the mentally ill.
http://www.ted.com/speakers/elyn_saks
 
Foto: Elyn Saks, 2009. Courtesy of the John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.