The Silent Patient is a thriller novel by Alex Michaelides. The story revolves around a woman, Alicia Berenson, who has killed her husband and refuses to speak which leads her to being confined to a mental hospital and our narrator, Theo Faber, who is a psychotherapist and aims to treat Alicia.

I would like to discuss mental illness which is, in my opinion, the main theme on which pillars this book. There are also themes linked to it like abuse, both psychological and mental.

The idea of mental illness was put to light from the very start. Our both main characters’ story has a touch of it. It is introduced through Alicia when her husband is apparently killed by her and that she slit her wrists after this crime. She refuses to say anything in her defense and only is in a state of trauma after the murder. She only moves her lips but they don’t shape any words. Although it would have been a perfect plan to avoid the harsh punishment by acting mentally upset her condition continues years after the trial which confirms the fact that our character is mentally ill and needs help. Apparently she is in trauma and is not able to absorb all the tension which may have caused her mental state to deteriorate over time which may help to explain her numbness and the fact that she did not say anything in her defense.

The author has also shed light on mental illness and abuse through Theo Faber too. This is conveyed to the readers with the help of Theo’s father as he would physically abuse his son for no reason. This is confirmed by the fact when Theo asks his mother as to why his father beats him to which his mother replies, “I don’t know.” Thus Theo suffered abuse during his childhood because his father was mentally ill and his torture also led to Theo being mentally ill as he tries to commit suicide as an escape from this torment. His attempt fails and therefore he seeks a professional to tackle his pain and captivity. The author used pathos to discuss Theo’s life and how abuse and mental sickness can hurt oneself and scar others life.

In my opinion, mental illness is a real issue which people today take with a grain of salt. It is a form of cancer that spreads slowly and when the limit is reached a person can resort to anything from being a lifeless person to a serial killer. When factors outside the brain contribute to deteriorating it, then its effects also expand outside the human brain. I can relate to this as I also have suffered through this short yet suffocating experience. Therefore if anyone is suffering through mental health issues, comfort him and offer to help and understand his/her problem.

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