Reviews tagging 'Panic attacks/disorders'

Veronika decide morir by Paulo Coelho

29 reviews

iqlofty's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Homophobia, Sexual content, and War

megh_'s review against another edition

inspiring reflective

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, and War

espea's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Medical content, Suicide attempt, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

pau_line's review against another edition

challenging hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

ich muss wirklich sagen, dass das Buch mich sehr fasziniert hat. Das hatte ich, ehrlich gesagt, nicht so erwartet.
Es ist ein schwieriges Thema, es geht um (versuchten) Selbstmord, psychische Krankheiten und das Leben.
Es wird die Geschichte von Veronika erzählt, einer jungen Frau, die beschließt zu sterben, schließlich jedoch erst durch den Tod herausfindet, was das Leben zu bieten hat.
Zwischendurch bekommen wir neben Veronikas Perspektive auch Einblicke in die Gedankenwelten anderer Patient*innen von Villete (der Psychatrie, in die Veronika eingewiesen wird), was ich sehr interessant zu lesen fand.
Schon während des Lesens hat mich das Buch beeindruckt und zum Nachdenken gebracht. Ich habe vor ein paar Jahren bereits ein Buch von Paulo Coelho gelesen und konnte wenig damit anfangen, was bei diesem Buch so ganz und gar anders war.
Die Geschichte ist sanft und stark zugleich, sehr bewegend und stimmt, zumindest mich, nachdenklich.
Für mich ist es faszinierend, wie Coelho es schafft, diese Botschaften, die er transportieren möchte, in diesem kleinen Büchlein von 224 Seiten zu verpacken und den*die Leser*in so völlig in den Bann zu ziehen.
Auch wenn ich das Buch gerade erst beendet habe, bin ich mir fast sicher, dass Veronikas und die Geschichten all der anderen Figuren noch eine  Weile in mir nachhallen werden.

"Als ich die Tabletten genommen habe, wollte ich jemanden umbringen, den ich hasste. Ich wusste nicht, dass es in mir andere Veronikas gab, die ich lieben könnte."

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Suicide attempt, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

pn__'s review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and War

Minor: Eating disorder and Classism

michela_ognibeni's review against another edition

emotional sad

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Suicide attempt, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

saint_mikael's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Suicide attempt

aleilvandrea's review against another edition

adventurous emotional fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Dementia, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, and Abandonment

stellabyproxy's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

veronika decides to die to escape the mundanity of her life. she isn’t depressed, or vengeful, or even insane. she is simply attempting to fast track what she believes will be a cyclical life of ennui, towards the one inevitable fate that awaits us all: death. despite her failed attempt, her heart is said to be irreversibly damaged. death is definitively days away, but even that prognosis will not suffice. 

she wants to die, but on her own terms.

inspired by paulo coelho’s own life, seen in brief self inserts in which he briefly relays his experience of being institutionalised three time, we follow veronika on a fresh path as she becomes acquainted with her fellow patients. if you’re looking for a plot heavy novel with twists and turns, this might not be it. with her days said to literally be numbered, the characters are the life sustaining breath that keeps us tethered to veronika’s story and her growth appears exponential in wake of the little time she has left. 

although it isn’t very plot heavy, it is interesting to see the different perspectives of certain characters, their treatment and the biases and connotations of mental health simply reduced in coelho’s style. the depictions are not necessarily world-bending, but rather a reminder of the views and philosophies that culminate into the pretence that is society. the goals, expectations and desires we squash for the sake of “normalcy”. and the sanctity and tranquility that can be found in detaching from social norms with others who all want the same thing. an escape. from mental illness, from responsibility, and even from life itself. which begs the big question: “what does it mean to be crazy?” when we’re all a little bit mad?

veronika decides to die can simply be described in the words of a random tweet i came across two months ago: “the arc of my 20s is discovering that heartbreak, sadness, and suffering are not that bad. the real enemy is ennui. i’m not afraid of bad local optima, i’m afraid of flat energy landscapes.”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

aphrochilds's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Abandonment