Early Symptoms of a Changing Mind
In early 2009, Susannah Cahalan, a young reporter at the New York Post, developed a strange obsession with bedbugs. Despite an exterminator’s assurance that her apartment was bug-free, she remained convinced of an infestation and paid for unnecessary spraying. This fixation bled into her professional life, where she struggled to maintain her composure in the fast-paced newsroom. For the first time in her career, she was completely unprepared for a pitch meeting, earning a sharp reprimand from her editors. This distress triggered an impulse to throw away years of sentimental journalism clips. Physical symptoms soon followed, including sharp migraines and a heavy, sluggish feeling in her limbs that she initially attributed to the flu.
A few days later, Cahalan experienced a disturbing shift in her personality while staying at her boyfriend Stephen’s apartment. Overcome by an irrational urge to snoop through his belongings, she found old correspondence from his past relationships. She felt an intense fury that was entirely foreign to her. Catching a glimpse of her wild-eyed reflection in the mirror brought a wave of disgust. Shortly after this outburst, her physical symptoms intensified. A persistent tingling and numbness started in her left hand and quickly spread down the entire left side of her body, signaling that her condition was moving beyond simple stress.
Seeking answers, Cahalan visited her gynecologist, who referred her immediately to a neurologist. At the neurologist's office, she encountered an unsettling, abstract painting of a distorted face that seemed to mirror her internal confusion. Despite normal reflex tests, the doctor ordered blood work and an MRI. During the MRI, she left behind a lucky gold ring, an oversight that fueled her growing irrational obsession. The MRI showed no major trauma, but revealed enlarged lymph nodes, leading her doctor to suggest she might have mononucleosis.
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