From The Edge Of The Couch - Softcover

Persaud, Raj

Softcover

ISBN 10: 059304696X ISBN 13: 9780593046968

Publisher: Bantam Press, 2003

Synopsis

You may think that vampires and werewolves were merely the stuff of bad Hollywood films and mysterious legends, but as consultant psychiatrist Dr Raj Persaud reveals, there are real people out there who believe they are werewolves and vampires. As a result, they behave in ways beyond our most disturbing dreams and the wildest fantasies of imaginative film producers. Dr Persaud uses authentic case studies to explain contemporary thinking on brain function and emotional disorders - such as that of the man who could only get his sexual kicks by being crushed in garbage trucks, the film fan who embedded dozens of needles into his body in order to become a robot, and those who take dieting to the ultimate limit by obsessively giving blood or eating nothing but toilet paper. Through these and other conditions, such as "alien hand syndrome" - where sufferers believe that one of their own hands is out to harm them - "multiple personality disorder", "erotomania" and the cases of some women in Turkey whose tears are actually filled with blood, Dr Persaud also suggests that we may not have as much free will and control over our bodies as we would like to believe and provides startling new evidence that these conditions might be more common than sceptical psychiatrists realize.

About this title

About the Author

Dr Raj Persaud is a Consultant Psychiatrist at the Maudsley Hospital, London. He has won numerous awards, including the Royal College of Psychiatrists' Research Prize and Medal. An accomplished broadcaster, he has a weekly slot on ITV's hugely popular programme, 'This Morning' and is currently presenting the acclaimed Radio 4 programme, 'All in the Mind'. He also writes regularly in the national press and has a column in Men's Health magazine. He lives in London.

From the Back Cover

You may think that vampires and werewolves are merely the creation of Hollywood and legend, but as consultant psychiatrist Dr Raj Persaud reveals in FFROM THE EDGE OF THE COUCH, there are bizarre people out there who are convinced they really are werewolves, vampires and other incredible creatures. As a result, they behave in ways beyond our wildest fantasies.

But could these phenomena in fact arise from our most disturbing dreams?

In the tradition of Oliver Sacks's bestselling book, The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, Dr Raj Persaud uses authentic case studies to explain current thinking on brain function and emotional disorders. In one case, a man could get his sexual kicks only by being crushed in garbage trucks, while another successfully persuaded his wife she had been abducted by aliens.One man made love to his furniture; another believed he was really a tiger and conducted an affair with a tigress in the local zoo. A film fan embedded dozens of needles into his body in order to become like a robot he had seen at the cinema, and a plane hijacker believed he was taking part in a video game.

Through these and other conditions, such as Alien Hand Syndrome - where sufferers conclude that one of their own limbs is out to kill them - Multiple Personality Disorder, Erotomania and the Capgras Delusion - where the victim believes those close to them have been replaced by impostors -- Dr Persaud suggests that we may not have as much free will and control over our bodies as we delusionally believe.

Fascinating, illuminating and complete with absorbing real-life case studies, FROM THE EDGE OF THE COUCH reveals how scientists still struggle to understand the outer limits of the mind. Even more provocatively, Dr Persaud argues that despite the medical profession's current love affair with the technology of the latest body scanners, it is still the extraordinary clinical cases that offer the ultimate insight into how the brain produces consciousness.

In throwing open the usually secret world of the psychiatrist's casebook, Dr Raj Persaud proves that fact really is much stranger than fiction.

Edition details

• Publisher: Bantam Press
• Publication date: 2003
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 059304696X
• ISBN 13: 9780593046968
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 512