I Am Not Sick, I Don’t Need Help

by Xavier Amador with Anna-Lisa Johnson

One of the key reasons Dr. Xavier Amador became a psychiatrist is because his brother Henry had paranoid schizophrenia. Having seen first hand how his brother didn’t believe he was ill and viewed treatment as punishment, Dr. Amador became a respected researcher on a key mental illness issue: people with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder have poor insight into their illness. In his book, I Am Not Sick I Don’t Need Help, Dr. Amador explains how lack of insight is a by-product of the same brain dysfunction that causes the mental illness. Dr. Amador suggests practical approaches to persuading people with mental illness to accept treatment. His book also provides useful information for families dealing with the difficulty of serious mental illness.

The book can be purchased online at http://www.vidapress.com/INSIDNH-Main.htm for $15.95. Ten percent of all proceeds go to NAMI, the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression, the National Depressive and Manic-Depressive Association, and a fund set up by David Kaczynski, brother of Theodore, to help the victims of the Unabomber.