A life without mental health
A life without mental health is a small autobiographical book written by the young Spanish author Alba González. The work was published by the Ibera publishing house in March 2022, after an arduous process. At first, the writer did not have enough money to launch her material from a publisher, so she had to resort to various loans. However, later this title became one of the most recognized by Spanish-speaking readers.
The book became a media phenomenon thanks to Tiktok. On said platform, the author —through her personal account— shares videos showing some of the fragments that make up the work. Usually, this content is accompanied by melancholic music. After its publication, at least four million adolescents had read A life without mental health.
Synopsis of A life without mental health
The history of a disorder
A life without mental health is the written portrait of the history of Alba González and her psychological suffering. In the book, The author tells how the process of dealing with various diseases and disorders has been. Among them, depression, anorexia and maladaptive anxiety stand out. All this is carried out through a series of short notes, poems in prose, drawings and illustrations compiled in an old personal notebook.
Despite being so young, Alba was admitted to a psychiatric clinic in Spain. There he enjoyed compiling fragments of thoughts written in his journal. A year later, these same scraps of memories became her first book, A life without mental health.
According to González, the volume aims to tell the raw and uncensored side of the various disorders that he has suffered for more than half of his life, as well as leaving a clear message: ask for help.
Alba González's narrative style
A life without mental health It is an intimate and personal work, which directly reflects who Alba Gonzales is during her worst periods. depressed and anxious. In addition, it shows what it is like when he goes through difficult times with his own body, as he suffers from an eating disorder. The poems, stories and thoughts written in the book can be described as realistic.
The author does not abound in metaphors or other literary devices. In fact, there is no visible lyrical language. A life without mental health It is, therefore, a title that does not pretend to be lyrical, but to expose through the lyrics a world that is difficult to digest, where pain, relapse, darkness and loneliness exist. It is not literature, it is the experience of a sick person, one of the forms of therapy that Alba Gonzales uses to battle her ills.
Expert criticism of A life without mental healthby Alba González
After the publication of his first film, which he has promoted through his social networks, the author went viral thanks to the short snippets she posts, accompanied by trending melodies and songs.
To date, his TikTok profile has 713.5K followers. His posts have accumulated around 21.2M likes, especially by adolescents and young adults who identify with Alba's anecdotes and dark thoughts.
This fact keeps the Spanish-speaking community of mental health experts concerned.. They claim that this type of content promotes misinformation about various disorders and their treatments.
For its part, Alba Gonzales has pointed out on several occasions that her intention is not to romanticize psychic disturbances. Nor does it seek to suggest to patients with depression, anxiety or any other condition that they forget therapy or stop going to the psychologist.
Is it harmful for teenagers to read A life without mental health?
Álvaro Valdivia, who works as director of the Peruvian Center for Suicidology and Suicide Prevention (Sentido), comments that all initiatives undertaken to address mental health issues, in addition to creating dissemination channels in this regard, they are positive. And it is that the subject had never been addressed as much as now. However, he is concerned about the type of information that is shared.
A wrong approach to concepts related to mental health can cause misinformation, leading many to think that they have a disorder, and others to treat their illnesses in the wrong way. Given her criticism, Alba Gonzales has reiterated that if someone feels too identified with what she describes in her work, it is time to ask for help and go to therapy. As a plus, she points out that no book replaces psychological support.
Even so, for certain detractors, It is not the book itself that has caused such controversy, but the way in which certain passages have been disseminated. of the same. The lack of context of the phrases uploaded to TikTok are a confounding factor, creating the propensity to romanticize depression and suicidal thoughts.
Some verses from A life without mental health
"Now I am not able"
"I'm not well
You do not see me?
insist please
Even if I don't let go at first
help me because i can't
don't ask me why but i can't
I am not able"
“I missed that conversation about what was happening to me
I lacked that interest that I never saw, but that I always expected
That how are you of the real ones, not of those who tell you out of pure cordiality
that look of support, or that hug of comfort
I was missing many things, all insignificant, that could have changed such an important ending”.
About the author, Alba González
Alba Gonzalez
Alba González was born in 2004, in Malaga, Spain. Her passion for letters began at a very young age. She was already twelve years old, she put her feelings on paper, or on the white sheets of the Word of her computer. In 2017, when the author was thirteen years old, she was diagnosed with depression. Later, she began to suffer from anorexia. She subsequently attempted suicide on several occasions, which led her to voluntarily enter a psychiatric center.
In addition to other artistic activities, Alba Gonzales began to spend her time at the center sorting pages of her diary., in which he talked about how he felt about his family problems, and what his relationship with his body, food and lifestyle was like. Soon, those fragments became a book that the writer would use to drain her discomfort and help others feel accompanied during difficult periods.
After perceiving the acceptance that his first book had, decided to self-publish a second volume called All I have left to tell. This went on sale on May 4, 2022. Then, he released his third title: scars that hurt, available from March 6, 2023.