Interview with J Michael Mahoney: Schizophrenia: The Bearded Lady Disease

On Saturday January 22nd, 2011 I traveled over the hill to meet with psychologist J. Michael Mahoney.

Mr. Mahoney recently released a controversial theory dealing with the origins of the mental disease, Schizophrenia. In his book Schizophrenia: The Bearded Lady Disease he suggests that all mental illness -specifically schizophrenia- stems from the repression of sexual urges.
Although this may come across as a jarring notion, in his book, Mahoney has spent nearly 40 years collecting nearly 700 pieces of evidence from various studies of schizophrenic patients that he believes proves his theory.

In the interview we spoke about the then recent Arizona shootings by Jared Laughner, an individual suspected to be mentally unstable. Mahoney believes he had not come to terms with his sexuality and was thus driven to insanity.
We also spoke about his poem dealing with circumcision, which is still a subject of controversy in current day.

All proceeds from the book are donated to a scholarship foundation at Yale University so that young adults can continue to question the world around them.

Overall, J. Mike Mahoney was a kind, elderly gentlemen who often drew parallels to himself and Darwin. He said, "Darwin developed a hypothesis and spent his whole life collecting information to support it, that's all I'm doing!"

He also, unsurprisingly, is a student of Freudian theory. I had to move a pillow with Freud's face on it aside in order to sit comfortably on his couch in Larkspur, California.

Click to listen to our interview which aired February 11th, 2011
Interview with J. Michael Mahoney

Photographed below is J. Michael Mahoney. When I met him he was wearing a red button down shirt. The same goes for this picture. And every photograph taken of him. Ever.

Below is a link to his website in which one can view the book and his other works.

http://www.schizophrenia-thebeardedladydisease.com/