Narcissus Called My Name: Heroes and the cost of specialness - Paperback

by Maya Eichler (Foreword by), John J. Whelan (Author)

Military personnel and first responders are more susceptible to mental disorders than your average office worker. Studies confirm that the rate of PTSD is fifteen times higher among soldiers than among civilians. It does not help that military mental-health diagnostic systems are not the most thorough. Mental illness in veterans, soldiers, and first responders is often chalked up to traumatic events during combat. That might not be the whole story, though. In fact, in most cases, combative events are the trigger for something that runs much deeper. Through stories told by veterans themselves and his own experiences while serving in the Canadian Navy, Dr. John Whelan paints a compelling case for an alternate route to assessing mental illness in veterans and first responders.

Whelan explores the correlation between military and paramilitary conditioning and the rewiring of the brain in a way that prevents soldiers, veterans, and first responders from engaging with and responding to acute emotional situations. As a psychologist who deals with military PTSD issues every day, he helps connect the dots between military culture and men and women who might be predisposed to mental disorders.

Author Biography

Dr. John J. Whelan is a psychologist with more than two decades of experience in the field. Himself a veteran, he has previously written two books on mental health among soldiers: Going Crazy in the Green Machine (2014) and the award-winning Ghost in the Ranks (2016). An adjunct professor at Mount St. Vincent University in Halifax, Dr. Whelan runs a private clinic that deals with complicated cases of military PTSD, among other mental-health issues. He continues to probe deeper into mental illnesses in veterans, soldiers, and first responders, helping the community understand these afflictions better.