The Loony-Bin Trip
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| Products | Books |
The Loony-Bin Trip is the seventh publication by American feminist and anti-psychiatry author and advocate Kate Millett, released in 1990 through Simon & Schuster. This work provides an intimate narrative of Millett’s involuntary psychiatric hospitalization experiences. It earned a nomination for the 3rd Lambda Literary Awards in the category of Lesbian Non-Fiction. The book attracted coverage in prominent media outlets, emphasizing its critical examination of psychiatric practices and mental health care systems.
Synopsis
In The Loony-Bin Trip, Millett opens her story at her sustainable farm located in Poughkeepsie, New York, where she makes the decision to discontinue lithium after seven years of continuous use, following two forced hospitalizations instigated by her family. She highlights lithium’s adverse effects—such as hand tremors and cognitive dulling—that significantly hinder her creative work as both painter and writer. The narrative also delves into the tensions within her romantic relationship with Sophie Keir, who, alongside Millett's relatives, opposes her choice to cease medication. The book examines the repercussions that follow this pivotal decision.
The memoir recounts flashbacks to her psychiatric detentions. At age 18, Millett was employed at St. Peter's Asylum, where she observed mistreatment of patients firsthand. Despite these observations, her family remained skeptical of her reports. Her initial involuntary hospitalization lasted ten days before she consented to voluntary admission; this was initiated by her mother, sister, and spouse, Fumio Yoshimura. Later that same year, she endured a second admission at St. Paul for two weeks until attorney Donald Heffernan successfully argued a sanity trial that secured her release and influenced Minnesota’s legislation on involuntary commitment. Following this second discharge, Millett struggled with profound depression amid pervasive social stigma.
Seven years later, her sister Mallory attempted to have her hospitalized once more due to concerns over Millett’s decision to stop lithium. With Dr. Pulp present and ambulances waiting nearby, Mallory pressured Millett toward institutionalization. However, thanks to protective New York State statutes and a compassionate police officer, she avoided compulsory admission. While en route to deliver a speech for the Irish Labour Party, Millett was detained at Shannon Airport under suspicion and confined to what she describes as "the worst bin of all." After an unsuccessful escape attempt, activist allies including actress Margaretta D'Arcy intervened to transfer her to a superior facility with better prospects for release. Millett acknowledges these supporters in her gratitude section.
During this period, a psychiatrist diagnosed her with manic depression (now known as bipolar disorder), yet Millett challenges this label, attributing her mental health struggles more to the effects of institutionalization than a medical condition. Upon discontinuing lithium, she fears that expressing anger might reinforce her family’s perception of her as "mad." She offers a critical reflection on psychiatric hospitalization as a mechanism aimed at enforcing conformity through medication and control:
In the closing chapters, Yoshimura ends their twenty-year marriage—a relationship largely maintained for immigration reasons—with both having lived apart for several years. Despite the divorce, Millett hopes to preserve an amicable relationship but conceals ongoing depression so as not to impede his departure plans. She concludes on a note of gradual healing: "... I am getting better." The book closes inspired by a visit from Rae, a former partner institutionalized for many years, which motivates Millett to write The Loony-Bin Trip.