Killing My Body to Save My Mind

Written by Lauren Slater

In her essay, Killing My Body to Save My Mind, Lauren Slater analyzes the relationship between her mind and body. Slater, who has a master’s degree in psychology from Harvard University and a doctorate in psychology from Boston University, is a firm believer in French philosopher Rene Descartes’ idea of dualism, which states that the mind and body are completely separate. Slater holds this belief because she was diagnosed with severe depression and was prescribed many psychotropic drugs. The drugs drastically improved Slater’s mental state, although, one of the drugs called Zyprexa, caused her to become severely obese. After just a year using Zyprexa, Slater gained almost 100 pounds and was declared pre-diabetic, making her at risk for heart disease and cancer. But even with these health risks, she refused to stop taking the drugs, saying that a stable mind is better than a healthy body. Slater’s purpose for writing this essay is to convince the reader to support Descartes’ idea of dualism and persuade them that mental stability takes precedence over the body’s well being. She directs this argument towards people similar to her that are trying to balance their psychotic problems with their overall health. In the essay, Slater appeals to the reader’s emotions and senses with the use of imagery. When describing her worsening health, Slater says, “I can practically fell the sugar in my blood, practically hear the crystals clanking” (Slater 260). This vivid description of her high blood sugar, which is also a bit of an exaggeration, really puts into perspective the health troubles Zyprexa is causing Lauren Slater. In my opinion, this imagery and the other strategies used by Lauren Slater do not allow her to achieve her purpose and convince the reader to support her opinion. The imagery she used contradicts her purpose and focuses more on Slater’s bad health, than on her mental state. This tells the reader that the body’s health is in fact more important, which does not support Slater’s purpose for writing this essay.

Source- Wikipedia.org

This is Descartes' original drawing depicting dualism. He believed that instead of the mind and body working together, a gland in the brain produces all human senses.