I spent the next five years going in and out of hospital like a yoyo, labelled as severely mentally ill and had a regular prescription for a large cocktail of major tranquilisers.
I was constantly being bombarded by terrifying voices. I believed they were all powerful entities that were always right. One of the voices I heard claimed he was the devil, another threw lewed insults at me such as whore and told me he could kill anyone he wanted if I didn’t do what he said, another controlled what I ate and berated me with insults about my appearance.
To now this (medication free and healthy):
I am a psychology student. I believe there is no such thing as normal, that objectivity doesn’t exist, and that emotional distress is not a biological illness.
I see the voices I hear as parts of myself that hold the strong emotions it didn’t feel safe enough to feel. They are parts of me that without, I would not have survived. To see them as a symptom of a mental illness is insulting and failing to acknowledge their pivitol role in my survival as a human being. I want to thank them…not get rid of them!
Now, the voices are great friends and advisors. I would never want to get rid of them. I no longer identify with my previous role as a severely mentally ill psychiatric patient but a human being that is experiencing and surviving life in my own unique way…just like every other human being on this planet. I am co-authoring a book with Rufus and am currently studying psychology at university. I am medication free and no longer access the mental health services. I still have therapy where I continue to work on my experiences of abuse but these days I am generally a happy soul that has found a life worth living. I want to help others find the same and help spread how this can be possible. (read the whole story)
You must be logged in to post a comment.