Yes she whines like a sleeping basset hound, and yes she verges on the most self absorbed creature on the planet, but we love her really.
Don't we?

She holds no interest for me.

Helen Fielding's earlier novel, "Cause Celeb", was serialised on "Woman's Hour" years ago, and I would listen to it back in the days when I had trouble getting up in the mornings. It wasn't very good.

I hated the book. Bridget was obsessed with completely trivial things.

TV idents, Carlton, Graeme Garden writing to the Guardian and anything to do with Chris Morris - they're things to get obsessed about!

If you're 15, why are you reading cack like BJ? Read Lolita instead.

Am just about to watch Cuckoo's Nest and am currently seeking a copy of Knots by RDLaing so there!

Oh, go AWAY...

RD Laing was rubbish. Read Thomas Szasz for a better version of the case against psychiatry.

Szasz - now there's a name i never wanted to hear again...

Have you got the name of a particular book by him, Jon? Am being serious, I adore most literature, except Jane Austen for God knows what reason.
Ignoring Ewar.

Works of Thomas S.Szasz:

The Myth Of Mental Illness
Ideology And Insanity
... some others I can't remember. He published from the mid-50s up to 1980 or so.

Was probably also the inspiration behind Foucault's 'Madness And Civilisation'.

With respect to Laing:

'Bird Of Paradise' is rubbish. "Sanity, Madness and the Family" suffers the methodological flaw that Laing never studies any control groups of non-schizophrenic adolescents. I was told my mediacl student friend of mine (who has read all the Laing stuff) that this was the crucuial problem with his work: he could never define what a 'normal' family would be, in contrast to a 'schizophrenic' family. Yet his whole approach depends upon there being a difference.

There are several biographies, which all also point out that he was willing to use drugs on patients if he had to, despite his official line.

should say: "I was told by a medical student friend..."

Didn't Szasz and Laing do work together? OR did they just have the same hastily thought up conclusion? I think my Psychology teacher didn't teach it right. That's my excuse anyway. It was good though. He used to say "madness is a reasonable reaction to an unreasonable world", go "ahhh" and not explain or elaborate on what he meant. Well, i enjoyed it anyway.

Understand your point, but the whole reason I got into the psychology stuff was in a short story I wrote the whole relationship was based on the physical identity and how little you really ever know yourself or the people closest to you, it ends with a short paragraph about how the character's identity slips away when she no longer has her physical identity and power to cling to.
I am me.
She is me. etc.
But the criticism is always welcome if constructive.

Szasz has fallen out of failure, his work is caricatured and he gets blamed for things like Care In The Community (which have nothing to do with him). But The Myth Of Mental Illness is a soundly argued book that makes the case that the psychiatric establishment had no real clear distinction between eccentricity and mental illness, and that, given the influence they had, this posed a threat to liberty. You must also remeber the historical context: homosexuality was classed as a pathological condition requiring treatment in the 50s. Suiii and John! would have been hauled off for aversion therapy in those days... which they might have enjoyed...

Anyhow, Szasz never denied that patients with neurotic conditions may need care or attention (see his discussion of Freud in Myth Of...) He did deny that this should be sen as medical treatment for a 'condition' in the same way that eg. infections were dealt with.

I wrote an essay on all this, years and years ago.

Should have started "fallen out of favour". What a bizarre typo.

Similar age/similar situation to Bridget Jones. She's a loser.

Woke up and worried all through my toast and coffee. Chained smoked through the Big Breakfast and tried to jog to the bus stop. Worried that bus would be late. Bus arrived on time sat down and worried about the man next to me. Got to work on time but I couldn't get my make up right - are my lips shrinking? Worried about this as I ate my chicken and salad bap. Didn't have any wine as I've become quite concerned about the amount I drink. Should cut down on smoking to. I'm I smoking too much or am I smoking too little (seem to be putting on weight. This is worrying). Perhaps I'm worring too much? This worried me. I decided to phone Clive back. Should I have sex with Clive. This is our third date so he'll be expecting it. I worry that if I don't Clive with go elsewhere. God he might even go with prostitute. Now that is worrying! My publisher phoned today and told me I should write a sequel. Will it be as good as the first? What if it doesn't sell! I know I worry too much but there's good money in worrying. What about if someone else uses my style? I needn't worried I'm so crap only a fool would copy me. That's worrying! There's a lot of fools about. I hope Clive doesn't read this. Should I let him go down on me? Better not the shower's been on the blink and I might not be to his taste. Everything's so damn worrying. Now that is worrying!

I'm worried about my last post. So many mistakes. Am I losing it? Did I ever have it? God do I really have any talent? Christ this is so damn worrying.What am I doing writing this at this hour? And who am I? Saw Richard Herring today, snubbed me. Bastard. Now he's hanging around with that bald man he doesn't want to know. I'll make do with Clive. Herring can keep his prison bate or whoever he's chasing. I won't worry about him. Has he ever worried about me? No, he hasn't. Now am really worrying.

I'm worried about my last post. So many mistakes. Am I losing it? Did I ever have it? God do I really have any talent? Christ this is so damn worrying.What am I doing writing this at this hour? And who am I? Saw Richard Herring today, snubbed me. Bastard. Now he's hanging around with that bald man he doesn't want to know. I'll make do with Clive. Herring can keep his prison bate or whoever he's chasing. I won't worry about him. Has he ever worried about me? No, he hasn't. Now I'm really worrying.

V. worried today. Seem to be repeating myself...

Not only that, I also used the wrong homonym. That's terribly worrying. I wrote "bate" when it should have been "bait". I couldn't sleep when I realised my mistake. Clive came wrong last night. When I kissed him his mouth tasted of cock. That worried me.

Wish I had never started this bloody thread...

...oo vudge welcome...