As a 30-year licensed clinical social worker (17 years of experience in inpatient psychiatric hospitals, 13 years as a private psychotherapist) and a lifelong Kerouac devotee, I am more inclined to place the diagnosis of Jack in the realm of schizoaffective disorder than any specific mood disorder or thought disorder (as if it makes any difference at all what diagnosis Jack may have had). It is doubtful that he had bipolar disorder, and if he did suffer from schizophrenia, he was certainly one of the most high-functioning people I've ever seen with untreated schizophrenia. Rather than providing a long-winded explanation, I suggest that the reader look up "schizoaffective disorder, bipolar type" and see if that doesn't make sense.
Hi Rick – Thank you for your comment. Could I contact you directly, please? Thank you, Simon Warner
As a 30-year licensed clinical social worker (17 years of experience in inpatient psychiatric hospitals, 13 years as a private psychotherapist) and a lifelong Kerouac devotee, I am more inclined to place the diagnosis of Jack in the realm of schizoaffective disorder than any specific mood disorder or thought disorder (as if it makes any difference at all what diagnosis Jack may have had). It is doubtful that he had bipolar disorder, and if he did suffer from schizophrenia, he was certainly one of the most high-functioning people I've ever seen with untreated schizophrenia. Rather than providing a long-winded explanation, I suggest that the reader look up "schizoaffective disorder, bipolar type" and see if that doesn't make sense.