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A psychiatrist reflects on Philip K. Dick’s substance abuse and mental health

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Re: A psychiatrist reflects on Philip K. Dick’s substance abuse and mental health

#31

Post by serf »

ithkuil wrote: post #23
foobarbecue wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

a euphemism for sure

Is it though? The word "abuse" is pretty strong. If I'm abusing substances it's not like I'm just having a puff now and then do I? The term "substance" is a bit generic, I grant you that. But does that make it an euphemism just because the exact substance is not specified?

>If I'm abusing substances it's not like I'm just having a puff now and then do I?

we can agree on that, but the phrase has been bandied around in the legal/law-enforcement community enough that it's clear that the definition is generally : if it's illegal, it's always abuse. If it's legal it's only abuse if Uncle Bob is nodding off at x-mas dinner and stumbling into the tree.

There seems to be a strong inclination to 'help' the people that are generally a nuisance to other people -- which is to say that the 'help' provided is a way to keep the social status quo for others, not to provide the 'substance abuse victim' with support.

Re: A psychiatrist reflects on Philip K. Dick’s substance abuse and mental health

#32

Post by schwartzworld »

aYsY4dDQ2NrcNzA wrote: post #17
placesalt wrote: post #9

It's bizarre that the article has a WARNING at the top which is a spoiler warning for a movie from the 1990s, but not a sensitive-content warning re: suicide.

Off topic, but it bothers me when people decry spoilers for an older movie. As if everybody is supposed to have watched every major film in the history of Hollywood up to the last N years. "Spoiler alert for anybody who hasn't seen this movie from 1980: the dog did it!" Ugh.

We need to agree on a statute of limitations for these things.

Re: A psychiatrist reflects on Philip K. Dick’s substance abuse and mental health

#34

Post by chpatrick »

jtotheh wrote: post #13

Robert Crumb depicted PKD's religious experience in comic book form, here is a link: https://www.themarginalian.org/2014/02/07/r-crumb-weirdo-phi...

Well that was a blast, especially when calls the word of god in his head "artificial intelligence".

Re: A psychiatrist reflects on Philip K. Dick’s substance abuse and mental health

#35

Post by DiggyJohnson »

throwaway290 wrote: post #30
roody15 wrote: post #3

Interesting read. Have always enjoyed Philip K Dicks novels… sadly not surprised he struggled with mental and substance abuse. His books read in a way that often feature a character somewhat removed from reality or in some form of psychosis. The idea of what is real or not real is explored over and over again. I cannot help but think he was writing from his own soul or at least his own experience. He was always the l…

> sadly not surprised he struggled with mental and substance abuse. His books read in a way that often feature a character somewhat removed from reality or in some form of psychosis. The idea of what is real or not real is explored over and over again Don't take that is an indicator, Haruki Murakami often reads similarly and he seems to be a well adjusted person.

I think it’s can still be relevant analysis without you having to point out that it’s not a binary indicator.

Re: A psychiatrist reflects on Philip K. Dick’s substance abuse and mental health

#36

Post by 2OEH8eoCRo0 »

aYsY4dDQ2NrcNzA wrote: post #17
placesalt wrote: post #9

It's bizarre that the article has a WARNING at the top which is a spoiler warning for a movie from the 1990s, but not a sensitive-content warning re: suicide.

Off topic, but it bothers me when people decry spoilers for an older movie. As if everybody is supposed to have watched every major film in the history of Hollywood up to the last N years. "Spoiler alert for anybody who hasn't seen this movie from 1980: the dog did it!" Ugh.

Spoilers are a myth and don't affect enjoyment.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/08/opinion/spoilers-successi...

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/acp.4070'

> they were just as immersed even though they knew the outcome. In follow-up questionnaires, they also reported the same levels of engagement and enjoyment as those who didn’t know the ending.

Re: A psychiatrist reflects on Philip K. Dick’s substance abuse and mental health

#38

Post by User23 »

Trasmatta wrote: post #15
ndsipa_pomu wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Absolutely. If you want to get a handle on PKD and his problems, it's so much better to read his work and get his own perspective. Radio Free Albemuth is interesting as a kind of precursor to Valis, but I must admit to not wanting to read Exegesis as it looks too in depth.

I like just flipping through the Exegesis and reading random entries. It's always a fascinating trip. I would never be able to read it end to end (and it certainly was never intended to be). It really is amazing to read after you've gone through VALIS.

To add to that, VALIS is a trip. If you enjoyed the Illuminatus! Trilogy then it’s likely to be your jam.

Re: A psychiatrist reflects on Philip K. Dick’s substance abuse and mental health

#39

Post by svachalek »

2OEH8eoCRo0 wrote: post #36
aYsY4dDQ2NrcNzA wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Off topic, but it bothers me when people decry spoilers for an older movie. As if everybody is supposed to have watched every major film in the history of Hollywood up to the last N years. "Spoiler alert for anybody who hasn't seen this movie from 1980: the dog did it!" Ugh.

Spoilers are a myth and don't affect enjoyment. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/08/opinion/spoilers-successi... https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/acp.4070 ' > they were just as immersed even though they knew the outcome. In follow-up questionnaires, they also reported the same levels of engagement and enjoyment as those who didn’t know the ending.

I'll spoil the links: 28 male college students aged 18-24 who were paid to do a job while watching a 30 minute episode didn't report enjoying it less if they were told the ending.

Somehow I feel their conclusions might be a bit overly broad.

Re: A psychiatrist reflects on Philip K. Dick’s substance abuse and mental health

#40

Post by sebisgosh »

Trasmatta wrote: post #16

If anyone would really like to delve into PKD's life, I'd recommend the biography Divine Invasions (not to be confused with PKD's books "The Divine Invasion"). He was such a deeply fascinating person, and I feel like most articles you read about him manage to only touch on the obvious or superficial.

Never heard of this one - thanks for the recommendation
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