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Introducing a series of reflections on different cultural and disciplinary perspectives through which madness is observed, experienced, examined and treated. This book explores the role of history in explaining madness; lay people's understanding of psychic disorder as 'mental suffering', academic philosophical discourses compared and woven together with personal experiences of madness; madness as a subtext to conflict, precariousness and struggle for identity; the globalisation of the depression 'industry'; the notion of intent in suicide; specific interpretations of classical works of literature; the links between emotional disorders and rationality; and the dynamics and activities of those who suffer from psychic disorders where viewpoints that are normally marginalised and concealed by medical expert opinions, are transformed into exercises of meaningful citizenship.