Book release
(Cover page photo)
“A journey through a psychotic breakdown” shatters taboos about coping with mental illness
Written in first-person, “A journey through a psychotic breakdown”, by Douglas Gonçalves, tells the moving account of the executive when he faced a psychotic episode that made him a spectator of his own fate and changed his life forever.
São Paulo, December 2022 – In 2004, Douglas Gonçalves, a 34-year-old hotelier from São Paulo, embarked on a personal journey after having a psychotic episode. He now faces the transformations he experienced, shedding light on his memories, his past, his traumas, and untying the plots of destiny. The narrative culminates in the treatments for the disease, through an engaging and dynamic reading free of prejudice.
The author’s account provokes reflections on the current causes that trigger this disease and demystify the issue. According to medical statistics, one in four people will have mental health problems throughout their lives, which will greatly affect their personal, professional, and social existence.
Spirituality and Health
In the author’s opinion, the narrative aims at warning people who are prone to develop psychotic episodes, and helping families to quickly identify them. It also wishes to alert doctors to a more patient-centred treatment approach: an associative diffusion between spirituality and health, which refers to the relevance of spirituality in the treatment of mental illnesses.
Ancestry and affection
The narrative was written as a journal, in a simple and direct, sometimes humorous style. It highlights challenging moments, as the dramatic experience lived by the author in New York during the September 11 attacks; marriage concerns; familiar conflicts; and professional dilemmas, all leading to the breakdown. Gonçalves offers the reader a moving analysis, so much so in the post-pandemic world.
“When we face crucial situations and repeatedly disrespect the limits of our body, the brain finds ways to “turn us off” through the self-preservation instinct”, the author examines. And he adds: “The journey is individual but enriching. I followed the prescribed treatment, and by way of antipsychotics, antidepressants, self-knowledge therapy, analysis of past events, diet, a lot of reading, and time, I could understand my disease triggers, and be on the alert for an eventual return. The search for understanding the deeper psychological causes, change in habits, spiritual re-education, acknowledging that nothing happens by chance: these were fundamental factors to reinstate the balance of the biological, psychological and energetic bodies”, he concludes.
The book will be available in Brazil on Amazon as an e-book format only, from 23 December 2022. Printed versions (pocket and hard cover) will be available in Portugal and other parts of Europe in January 2023. English and French versions will also be available in February 2023. In Brazil, a portion of the proceeds will be donated to the non-governmental organization Espaço SER.
About the author:
Douglas Gonçalves, 54 years old, from São Paulo, is married to Aline and has two sons, Guilherme and Ricardo. He is a hotelier with an MBA degree from LSE (London School of Economics) and has been working in this area for more than 30 years, either in Brazil or abroad (Mexico and the United Kingdom). Gonçalves is currently working in Wales, where he lives with his family.
About the non-governmental organization Espaço SER
Espaço SER is an ecumenical non-governmental organization, 100% composed of volunteers and maintained through private donations. It is located in São Paulo (Brazil) and works both IN-PERSON and ON-LINE, which means it can help people from all over the world provided that they speak Portuguese. Espaço SER offers Complementary Integrative Practices (based on the Ottawa Charter – WHO) as a complementary treatment to the psychological and psychiatric ones. Furthermore, it assists people who are under emotional distress, with personality disorders, major depression, chronic anxiety or any other syndrome with self-destructive symptoms or suicidal ideation.
BOOK DETAILS
Brazil: e-book format
Language: Portuguese
Number of pages: 182
Price:US$ 3.96 on Kindle or US$ 9.69 print / € 3.26 on kindle or € 7.98 on paperback
Press Agent:
Cristina Braga – MTB 17.607
e-mail Crisbraga1963@gmail.com
Phone:(55)1199810.3103 (WhatsApp)