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Resources Basic Information Introduction to Mental Disorders More Information Diagnosis and Dual DiagnosisForeclosed IdentitiesNew Magazine Accepting SubmissionsReligion and PsychotherapyScapegoating And Mental Illness StigmaService Dogs and the Confusing Issue of the Americans with Disabilities ActSuffering Is Easy. The Challenge Is Growth! Temperament 101The Medicalization Of Mental IllnessWonderland's Distorted Vision Lookups Link: Mental Health Facilities Locator Latest News For Mentally Ill, Gap in Life Expectancy Up Since 1985Latest Edition of Psychiatry's 'Bible' Launched Amid ControversySocial Considerations Not Accounted for in DSM-5Belief in God Tied to Greater Psychiatric Treatment ResponseBrain Wiring May Explain Unhealthy Obsession With LooksPsychopaths May Lack Capacity for EmpathyFaith May Complement Treatment for Mental IllnessHospitalization OK for Psych Patients Can Take HoursMental Health Seaches on Web Follow a Seasonal PatternSeverely Injured Vets May Need Ongoing Emotional CareGoogle Search Trends Suggest Mental Woes Vary by SeasonsMental Illness a Frequent Cell Mate for Those Behind BarsU.S. Must Step Up Response to Vets, Report SaysNews Coverage of Shootings May Boost Stigma of Mental IllnessPeople With Mental Illness Make Up Large Share of U.S SmokersADHD Can Often Persist Into AdulthoodSNPs Confer Risk for Multiple Psychiatric DisordersChildhood Bullying Linked to Adult Psychiatric OutcomesShared Genes May Link ADHD, Autism and DepressionPeople With Disabilities More Likely to Become Victims of ViolenceAntipsychotic Rx for 22 Percent of Nursing Home ResidentsSmoking Rates Much Higher Among the Mentally Ill: CDCPsychiatric Drugs More Often Prescribed in the SouthMarked Geographic Variation in Mental Health Medication UseStrong Genetic Selection Against Some Psych DisordersSocial Withdrawal, Isolation Should Be Addressed in YoungMental Disorders Linked With Domestic Violence, Study SaysFor Psychiatric Patients, Cancer Is Often Spotted Too LateWorkplace Bullying Takes Toll on Witnesses Too, Study FindsBenzodiazepines Linked to Higher Risk of PneumoniaADHD Can Cause Lifelong Problems, Study FindsConcerns for Long-Term Safety of Antipsychotics in Over 40sSAMHSA: Prevalence of Mental Illness in U.S. Stable in 2011Psychiatry Gets Revised Diagnostic ManualMental Illness Affects 1 in 5 U.S. Adults, Survey FindsLong-Term Use of Some Antipsychotics Not Warranted in Older Adults: StudyFor Many, 'Superstorm' Sandy Could Take Toll on Mental HealthMore Evidence Linking Creativity, Mental IllnessDeployment Affects Mental Health of Relief WorkersWhere You Live May Boost Your Sense of Well-BeingPremature Death Rate Higher in People Who Self-HarmPsych, Sleep Meds May Affect DrivingPhysical, Mental Toll of Japanese Nuke Plant Meltdown AssessedPsychological Distress Linked to Increased MortalityPhysical Ailments Take Toll on Mental Health: StudySerious Mental Illness Tied to Higher Cancer, Injury Risk: StudiesGenes Influence Whether Psych Drugs Lead to Weight GainAging Boomers' Mental Health Woes Will Swamp Health System: ReportFamily History of Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder May Up Kids' Risk for AutismEmployment Key to Helping Veterans Adjust to Life Back Home Questions and Answers BPD ? and MethAm I Crazy?I See and Hear Things, What's Wrong With Me?Anxious and Depressed Son20 Year Old Viewed Child Porn, Computer Taken by PolicePTSD vs. DIDIm Scared I'm MadMy Little GirlIs Psychosis Curable?What To Do?Hearing Things?What Is The Difference Between Mental Illness and Depression?Violent BrotherHigh Anxiety - J. - May 10th 2010Paranoid Schizophrenia DiagnosisI Need Help Desperately - Jim In A Bad SituationAm I Schizophrenic?Extreme Psychopathy/sociopathy?Five year old daughter hears voicesShould I be worried?A young adult needs to find help, but cant find it.Major Depressive Disorder Severe with Psychotic FeaturesAm I Bipolar? Could be Medicalmy boyfriend, does he need help?voice in my headdating and the stigma of mental health.MULTIPLE PERSONALITY DISORDER? SCHIZO? BI-POLAR?Deranged fatherDepression? Bi-Polar? Personality Disorder?Hearing Voices response appreciated..will my husband still love me after he comes out of major depression?How do you get a 81 yr woman to get help when she is in strong denial??Insanity by Alcohol?Am I just a bad personHow to live with a depressed personMy friend needs help that I can\'t give,can you help me?Rate the Public Mental Health Hospitals by StateDepression/dysautonomia?Should I see a different psychiatrist?I think my mom has mental health issues or alzheimers10 year old dreaming of killingpreteen bad behaviorhow can i control morbid jealousyMother's Personality DisorderPregnant and Possibly SchizophrenicThey Never Find Anything WrongDisordered Family Member BehaviorRequirements for HospitalizationStalkedFriend's Downward SpiralStepson With Personality DisorderWading Through MudHearing VoicesI RefuseDelusional FriendHarassment AftermathDelusional FriendLying About IllnessOcassional DelusionsBlossoming Paranoia?In Love With A Diagnosed SociopathBiological ProblemHow Can I Help My Friend?Going CrazyAttachment DisorderDisclosure #2: How Do I Tell My Boyfriend About My IllnessesSerious ProblemsAre Some Patients Hopeless?StalkerThree Million People In One SkinWithdrawn BrotherHow To Explain Psychosis To A Boyfriend?ParanoiaSchizophrenia?Would Problems Be Very Obvious?Feeling FragilePornography # 2: Should I Go Or Should I Stay?Getting Paranoid And DelusionalLack of IdentityIn Emotional DisrepairAm I Paranoid?Mental Illness vs. InsanityShe Won't Get HelpRacing ThoughtsReactive Attachment DisorderHistrionic Sister-in-LawLong-Distance SupportWhat Is A Delusion?Early Experiences As Described By A Self-Diagnosed SchizoidIs This Depression?ParanoiaWhat Is Wrong With Me?Father In RomaniaLiar and KleptomaniacHow Does Childhood Affect Us?Paranoid BoyfriendEncopresisI'm Going CrazyParanoid DadTalking DiceAvoiding Her ParentsObsessionAbusive HusbandStalkerUnrealitySelf-MedicationAgoraphobia?Somatization and HypochondriasDe-RealizedParanoia?What is ECT?Fighting StigmaBody NumbnessWhat's the Diagnosis?For The Health Class In AustraliaNo One Believes Me...Am I Crazy? Links [2] Articles[6] Associations[3] Community[8] Government[59] Information[2] Journals[1] Other Sites[1] Training[3] Research[1] Services[10] Videos[8] Blogs Book Reviews 50 Signs of Mental IllnessA Beautiful MindA Lethal InheritanceAddiction and ChangeAddiction Recovery ToolsBeating the BluesBrave New BrainClinical Handbook of Psychological DisordersComplete Mental HealthCultures of NeurastheniaDSM-IV-TR Mental DisordersGrieving Mental IllnessI Never Promised You a Rose GardenIntegrative Mental Health CareKundalini Yoga Meditation for Complex Psychiatric DisordersLaw, Liberty, and PsychiatryLife at the BottomLiving with SchizophreniaMad PrideMary BarnesMasters of the MindMental HealthMore, Now, AgainNew Hope for People with DepressionNothing to HideOn the Edge of DarknessOne Flew Over The Cuckoo's NestOut of the ShadowsOvercoming Depersonalization DisorderOvercoming Destructive Beliefs, Feelings, and BehaviorsPeople Like OurselvesPersonality Disorder: Temperament or Trauma?Prozac and the New AntidepressantsPsychopathologyQuitting the Nairobi TrioRecovery in Mental IllnessRefusing CareRelative StrangerRethinking Mental Health and DisorderRethinking the Sociology of Mental HealthSelf-Taught and Outsider ArtSlackjawStop Walking on EggshellsStraight Talk about Your Child's Mental HealthThe American Psychiatric Press Textbook of PsychiatryThe Eden ExpressThe Healing Power of PetsThe Hillside Diary and Other WritingsThe OutsiderThe Savage GirlThe Talking CureThe Wisdom in FeelingThis is Madness TooTreating Affect PhobiaTreating Chronic and Severe Mental DisordersTreatment and Rehabilitation of Severe Mental IllnessWarning: Psychiatry Can Be Hazardous to Your Mental HealthWhat's Normal?Will@epicqwest.comWinnie

Related Topics Anxiety Disorders Bipolar Disorder Depression: Major Depression & Unipolar Varieties Schizophrenia Eating Disorders Medications

The Savage Girl takes a unique look at the current state of consumer culture.  We are taken behind the scenes where trends are orchestrated, and the public is manipulated through marketing techniques.

            Ursula Van Urden is the main character in this novel.  She’s an artist who moves to the city where her younger sister had become a famous model.  Ivy, her sister, had a breakdown and is diagnosed as a schizophrenic.  Ursula goes to the city to care for her, as well as to find out what it was about the city that pushed her over the edge.  To do so, she gets a job working for the man Ivy was dating prior to her mental collapse.  His company is appropriately named Tomorrow inc. where he is a trend spotter, selling his ideas to companies.

            Ursula is trained in the art of spotting the next big fad.  She basically sits on park benches, rollerblades through the city, and even watches people at the supermarket; all of this while she is lectured by Ivy’s ex Chas, and Javier another trend spotter.  They seek to enlighten her with philosophies rooted in fashion that in their eyes will change the world.  It’s quite absurd, and at the same time makes you wonder if there are really people like this.  Ones who seemingly blend into society, yet are watching everything and everyone hoping to stumble upon a profitable trend.

            Ursula’s journey with Tomorrow inc., and with her mentally ill sister reveal the darker sides of human nature- those rooted in greed.  Ursulas’s “big find” a homeless, rodent eating, savage girl sparks a new trend that in the end turns disastrous.  From cryogenically frozen trend spotters to schizophrenic watching web cams this book is full of surprises.  Perhaps after reading it you will think twice about the products you buy, or who is watching you buy them.  All in all this is a very interesting and thought out satire of our culture.

© 2002 Courtney F. Young

Courtney Young recently graduated from Dowling College, Long Island, NY majoring in Fine Arts and minoring in Philosophy.  While planning her next step, she maintains her mental health by surfing.

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