Brain on Fire

A reflection by: Jo L. Soreta

XII-STEM 1

A millennial, Susannah Cahalan had an experience that had the world, especially the
doctors’ concept come to a change. She is happy with her job, as a reporter at the New York
Post. She has a musician as a boyfriend (Stephen), and her parents, though they may be divorced,
both are happy with their new life and are still in touch with one another.

She was satisfied and healthy until all of a sudden, a once was a happy woman turned
upside-down –she became devastated, she zones out randomly, suffers from terrible migraines,
missing deadlines and meetings, and also began hallucinating. By the time she had a seizure;
Stephen immediately took her to the hospital wherein doctors’ claimed it as lack of sleep, and
excessive partying or intake of alcohol. Followed by multiple diagnoses, Stephen and Susannah’s
parents weren’t satisfied with the doctors’ claims, knowing their daughter wouldn’t and haven’t
done such activities.

Having heard the story of Susannah, Dr. Najjar was convinced to check up on her. After
several investigations, he correctly diagnosed Susannah’s problem where she has anti-NMDA
receptor encephalitis, an immune deficiency that causes the body to attack the catatonic brain. He
described it as “Brain on Fire”. Seven months after her full recovery from the treatment he
prescribed her, she was functioning well and got back to work.

Directed by Gerard Berrett and produced by Charlize Theron, Susannah Cahalan’s

memoir Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness was well portrayed in the story. This experience of
Susannah’s emphasized the importance of doctors to go to great lengths –when textbook
diagnoses won’t do. That’s true for a world to prosper, you need to look beyond and discover; to
learn new things. Misdiagnosis could be fatal and unfortunate for the patient because instead of
getting treated, his/her condition may get worse. Like her being diagnosed as schizophrenic and
bipolar when it was something much more than that.

One of the greatest aspects of the story is the ones who have supported her –her family,
boyfriend, co-workers, and Dr. Najjar. Being encouraged to be well is also a significant when it
comes to healing. I loved how they didn’t give up on her during her times of crisis. Moral
support contributes greatly even if it’s a small thing. It’s also not only the physical health that we
should be weary of. Mental health and our well-being must be kept in mind.

For those who have mental illness, we shouldn’t invalidate their feelings and thoughts
just because they aren’t stable enough. Everyone, whether they admit it or not, all have feelings.
Being considerate is the least you could do. Being in their shoes isn’t as easy as one may think.
We need to be aware of this and change our mentality for the people who are in that state.