The Yellow Wallpaper: Case of John's Wife, Jane

     Diagnosing someone with a mental health illness is something that I take very serious. Professionally, I have to observe everything from little to big. A young man named John called me exactly one month ago, January 21, 2013 at my office. This man sounded terrified and desperate of help. John was in the hospital at the time of this phone call. He began to explain why he was there. Apparently John lost consciousness a while him and his wife were in the process of moving out of a house they were staying in. I allowed him to finish pleading for help and we planned a therapy session at my office soon after he gets out of the hospital.

January 29, 2013 - 10:13 a.m.

     Amanda, my assistant, indicated that John was making his way upstairs into my office. I'm not really sure what John may need to talk about since he gave me such little information when we talked on the phone. If it wasn't for me being quiet enough to listen for his knock, I would have never known he knocked on the door. It was almost like a hesitate knock. "Come in". This man looked sleepy, pale, and gloomy. He walked in slowly. I asked him to have a seat. As we begin to talk I realized this man wasn't here to talk about himself. He was seeking help for his wife, Jane. I asked questions about her. He was willing to answer them. He just wanted to know what to do about her before he made decisions about sending her to a mental institute. He was ashamed mostly because he was a physician himself questioning his wife's conditions.

     Even though John explained his wife's conditions, past and present, I needed to hear her thoughts. I insisted John to bring his wife in with him for a session. He looked at me with caution and nodded. John appeared as if he had great compassion for his wife. Now that I've heard from John, I needed to hear from Jane.

February 4, 2013 - 11:16 a.m.

     As John led his wife into my office I began to note her actions. She trembles a lot. She looked traumatized. So we began the session as they were seated. I began with simple questions. She was very open, although she was emotionally disturbed. John did not agree with a lot of things she spoken during the session on how he made her feel by moving into the house. I then started asking questions about the house. As she talked about this house and this room, I listened attentively. She began to tell me about her body after the birth of her first child. She said her body hasn't been the same since. The only place she ever felt comfortable was in that room. She explained that the yellow wallpaper gave her a sense of calmness in spite of the fact that she thought the room was creepy when they first moved in the house. As she talks, John looks as if he's still in disbelief that she's still carrying on about this yellow wallpaper. Somehow through every word Jane spoken, I figured out what was going on with Jane's body and mind. As she still talks about the yellow wallpaper I listen to the way she described it. She describes the yellow wallpaper as if it had feelings. She tells how the yellow wallpaper appeared to change especially at night. She says she was intrigued with the patterns of the yellow wallpaper. She describes a woman moving throughout the wallpaper being constantly trapped. She screams, crying and sobbing "I just wanted to free the woman!" repeatedly. I told her everything was okay. John began to console his wife, rubbing her right shoulder. I told him that we should end the session for today and so we did.

     After they had left my office I began looking through my notepad I use for all the sessions conduct. As I looked through the notes I had from John and Jane's session it was made clear of what happen to Jane. I had witnessed situations like this before. It suddenly came to me. Jane's suffering from 'Postpartum Psychosis'. Postpartum Psychosis is a mental illness following a woman's first childbirth that rarely happens. Most women try to hide this condition, as Jane did with John. It may be confused with a nervous conditions many times, but is not quite it.

Some symptoms include:

• Decreased sleep requirement
• Delusions
• Flight of ideas
• Misunderstanding the condition

I have had many cases like this. This condition has been going on for several years. Most women end up in a mental institutions and sometimes prison like Harriet Mordaunt, Melanie Blocker, and Andrea Yates. Women sometimes kill their children, husbands, family, or themselves with this condition. Without treatment this mental illness can last many months until something serious occurs. Treatment includes therapy and antipsychotic drugs. Antipsychotic drugs taken without caution causes a lot of dangerous side effects. Side effects vary from muscle cramps to fever. Many cooling blankets and ice packs are needed during this process. Soon after I gathered all my information I called John to get him to come to the office as soon as he could!

February 8, 2013 - 9:06 a.m.

     John sits down. I began to explain to him what was going on with his wife's body and mind. He still looks clueless of what to do. I tell him that there is a possibility that his wife will be okay if he makes sure she's taken care of. I gave him a prescription for Jane, 'Lithium', which is an antipsychotic drug for mood stabilization. I explained the side effects to him also. I told him that she should soon be able to interact with her baby after she goes through this process. I also recommended that he take off from his job for awhile to support his wife. John relieved, says he'll call if he needs to know anything or if her condition gets worst. As I watched him leave my office, I stood there hopeful in every aspect.

February 21, 2013 - 12:43 p.m.

     As of today Jane is said to be doing better since she's been taking my instructions. Even though Jane cannot really care for her child she's been able to hold her baby. She hasn't done that since the day her child was born. John says she no longer speaks of the yellow wallpaper. Her family are still supporting her through her condition and will continue to.