Author: Bailey Wilkins

To my dear sister Jane, and her beloved husband John,

	Jannie, I do hope you are faring well. I have all the confidence in you that you shall get well soon, and you can return home so that I may see you and my new precious nephew! John has written to me, and said you were doing oh so well, and improving. Bravo Little Sister! He also mentioned a nanny by the name of Mary has taken up the care of your new baby, and this is delightful news. Though Jannie, I am positive this nanny cannot possibly replace you. I know you are forbidden to write, so perhaps you shall ask John to take down a few words to mail to me sometime soon? This would give the office and I a good lot of comfort. Attached to this letter is a small note for John, so I must bid you farewell, dear sister. 
		
		Your devoted brother, 
			Joesph

Gilman Clinic of Psychiatry 
Joesph N. Plain, Phys.
89 Charlotte Avenue
Perkins Village, NE, 15243
1-800-joe-call

Re: Patient Jane Doe	
August 1, 1892

Dear Mr. Johnathon Doe,

	Mr. Doe, this is a critical letter regarding the health of my dearest sister, Jane. Before you left for your vacation, my lovely sister seemed distant and perhaps depressed, but from your letters I have deduced that she has become more ill. I know Jane very well, and I know her to be sly, but even from childhood she showed signs that something was not quite right. As a young girl she confided in me that she could “get more entertainment and terror out of blank walls and furniture than most children could find in a toy-store” (3). A toy-store! She is pretending to be getting well, good sir, and you have fallen for the trick. While you have been away, I have dedicated my life to helping my sister. John, I regret to tell you that as one well established physician to another, I am ashamed of and rather astounded by your behavior. In our last correspondence, you had written that you are “away all day” and even some nights when a “case is serious” (2). Is my sister's case not “serious?”  When a client is in need, you may not let them be alone for days at a time. Even more so when your wife is in need. I know we have discussed the matter, but I believe my diagnosis of Jane has changed; I believe she no longer has a simple case of nervous depression. I have consulted with other doctors and physicians, and they have agreed with me. 
	I believe Jane has a personality disorder called “Schizotypal” and has an underlying Clinical Depression. Schizotypal is linked to schizophrenia, as I'm sure you are aware. It is a pattern of being uncomfortable and the loss of capability to maintain close relationships. What is most concerning about this disorder however, is the preoccupation with fantasies and beliefs in magical behaviors. Becoming schizotypal can begin at any age, but is most prevalent in adolescence. Jane was strange even as a child as I had mentioned, and this is what led me to this conclusion. She always had a fascination with a certain chair in our childhood home. She said it had seemed to her like “a strong friend”  (3). She had also described some of our household items as “fierce” (3). John, that truly sounds like a belief in magical behaviors. What is more disturbing is what you had written to be about Jane and the walls of your shared bedroom. You wrote that Jane described the wallpaper as, “a woman stooping down and creeping about” behind the pattern (5). It is quite normal to sometimes see these things for any person. But you said she is rather fixated on it, you quoted her, “she is all the time trying to climb through that pattern—it strangles so; I think that is why it has so many heads” (7). She has a severe preoccupation with this wallpaper pattern; a severe fantasy that is overtaking her life. She even said she had “seen” the woman in the wallpaper. This is a dream-like state she cannot escape from. I do not mean to put total blame on you, but as her husband, you should have gotten her out of that bedroom—if  only to see how she would react to a new one. 
	Secondly, she is suffering from Clinical Depression. This is abnormal and prolonged sadness and withdrawal without onset or reason. Jane had told you hardly anything seemed “worth while” to even move a muscle, adding she was “getting dreadfully fretful and querulous” (4). She also said, “I cry at nothing, and cry most of the time” (4). This was alarming to me once I took a closer look. You also said you feel that she sometimes wishes you would not come home (8). This is shocking and even more so considering you are newly married. When you left for your vacation, she was undeniably in love with you, and you her. Now you say you believe she hardly wants you around. These are significant signs Mr. Doe, that she is withdrawing from you, and her usual activities. Crying so constantly is also a sign of her clinical depression. 
	John, keeping her in that room will make her worse. You have set her aside and kept her from social activity. You have contributed to her madness. You must bring her home to my clinic immediately. She must be treated, and she must interact with others. We must work together to separate her from this fantasy, and get her back into reality. Please call, John, for this is an urgent matter. My office's number is 1-800-joe-call. 
	I look forward to hearing from you, and planning for my dear sister. 

Sincerely, 

JOESPH PLAIN, Phys.

Leading Physician at Gilman Clinic of Psychiatry.