Welcome to the exclusive serialization of my new memoir Cured. This is more than just a memoir; it’s a digital health initiative to bring the possibility of mental health recovery to everyone.
The premise of Cured is simple: It’s possible to recover from every psychiatric condition: anxiety disorders, major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, OCD, ADHD, eating disorders, schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, etc.
Not everyone will recover, but everyone must be given the chance.
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Interviews with experts like Dr. Thomas Insel (former head of the NIMH), Chyrell Bellamy (director of Yale’s Program for Recovery and Community Health), and Larry Davidson (senior advisor to SAMHSA’s Office of Recovery)
Stories of recovery from those with different backgrounds and identities, particularly those from marginalized communities
My memoir of recovery from serious mental illness after ending up one of those “hopeless cases”—diagnosed with bipolar disorder, chronically suicidal, and unable to live independently
Resources and tips for those who are struggling
How does Cured work?
You can read and listen to the audiobook version of all available chapters of Cured: The Memoir online for free through 2023. You can start reading Cured at any point. Each installment stands alone. I designed it that way.
You’ll receive interviews with experts, stories of recovery, and resources each week—and access them on the site.
Paid subscribers can support this project with a monthly or annual subscription and mental health advocates get a signed copy of my first memoir, Pathological: The True Story of Six Misdiagnoses (HarperCollins).
Each subscription and every share sends a message to the media, publishers, clinicians, and researchers that mental health recovery is important and needs to be talked about.
Mental health recovery statistics
Over 50 percent of adults diagnosed with major depressive disorder recover spontaneously, their only treatment being the passage of time.
A 2020 study showed that anxiety disorders have a complete recovery rate of 40 to 72 percent.
In eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia, full recovery is 62 percent and 68 percent, respectively.
One study showed that 65 percent of adolescents diagnosed with ADHD no longer meet the criteria ten years later.
Studies show that OCD is curable in children, who often grow out of it without treatment.
Bipolar rarely gets talked about in terms of recovery though that’s starting to change.
Even full recovery from schizophrenia is possible with a 2018 study finding that nearly half of those with schizophrenia reached recovery. A more conservative 2020 study showed a rate of 29 percent, which is also high given that schizophrenia is often treated as inevitably deteriorating. Other recovery rates from schizophrenia are more hopeful. In the 1970s, researchers John Strauss and William Carpenter conducted an extensive, multi-year study finding that 67 percent of people diagnosed significantly improve, and many fully recover.
One meta-analysis of data collected between 1969 and 1999 found similar recovery rates across cultures, countries, and healthcare systems. Researchers concluded that 45 to 65 percent of people with serious mental illnesses will recover with or without treatment over time.
About Me
I’m an author at HarperCollins, an adjunct professor at Northwestern University, a freelance writer at The New York Times and elsewhere, a certified mental health peer recovery support specialist (PRSS), and a mental health keynote speaker who’s spoken to audiences across the country about recovery from mental illness.
My first memoir Pathological: The True Story of Six Misdiagnoses (HarperCollins) is a journalistic account of the twenty-five years I spent in the mental health system and the flaws in psychiatric diagnoses, it was featured on NPR, Oprah Daily, Salon, Forbes, The Los Angeles Times, and more.
I write for many publications, including The New York Times, The New Republic, The Los Angeles Times, The Atlantic, Time Magazine, and The Paris Review, where I was an advisory editor. My essays have been nominated for pushcart prizes and chosen as notable mentions in Best American Essays. I’m the recipient of the Hopwood Award for Literature and grants and fellowships from Yaddo, the Mellon Foundation, and the MacDowell Colony, among others.
I live in Chicago with my two beloved cats, Siddhartha (a.k.a. Mr. Sweets) and Baby Theo. They were instrumental in my recovery. More than anything, I want a t-shirt that says, Ask me about my cats.
For more, visit www.sarahfay.org and follow my cats on Instagram @sarahfayauthor.
A note on terminology
I use the term cured deliberately. Clinicians and researchers don’t like it. But that’s because they’re using it as a noun. There isn’t a single cure for mental illness. There’s no pill or magic bullet. But the definition of the verb cure is “to restore to health, soundness, or normality” and “to bring about recovery from.” What are health, soundness, and normality? They’ll look different for each person.
Being “cured” of chronic mental illness doesn’t mean being chronically happy or comfortable or calm. It entails uncomfortable, painful emotions for extended periods; behaving in ways we’d rather not; and being besieged by negative thoughts because that’s part of the human experience.
For a complete definition of mental health recovery, see my post here:
*Nothing in Cured or on this website should be taken as medical advice. I am a doctor (of philosophy) and a certified mental health peer recovery support specialist but not a licensed professional.
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