So I am compelled to ask: whose wellness is the SAMHSA 10×10 Wellness Campaign talking about? Without addressing polypharmacy and iatrogenic illness, it seems obvious the answer is not “the seriously mentally ill.”
Stumbled across this series of paintings by the young artist Craig Hawkins the other day. Beyond the stated themes of the series, I think they speak very well to madness, stigma, and dehumanization. His description of his work: A series that seeks to question the way we hide. Dealing with isolation, and compartmentalizing. What feels safe... Continue Reading →
I first heard of the Finnish Open Dialogue Approach four or five years ago, and I remember searching all over the web for articles about it. It wasn’t so hard to find information about their data, but what I was really after was a better sense of what the people there were like, and how they did their work. What I would have loved to see was a film about them -- to hear the people who did Open Dialogue explain their approach in their own words. Ultimately, I never found what I was looking for on the web -- or anywhere, really -- so, I decided to create it myself. I spent two weeks filming in northern Finland, and about two months editing, and the film 'Open Dialogue' is the result!
There are good bits and pieces of the puzzle for good mental health all over the place. Sometimes people aren’t aware that they only have one piece on the puzzle at their fingertips. Other times they are and they make sure the people they help get the other supports they need too. At Beyond Meds we try to collect as many natural, holistic methods of healing as possible on this blog. Diet and what we put in the body is an important part of the puzzle. Finding the right combination of wholesome means of healing and thriving is what we all need to do as individuals.
Today I"m pointing to a Comment is Free article from the Guardian. Nice little synopsis of a lot of what gets covered on Beyond Meds by Harriet Fraad. Psychiatry - profiting from distress. The excerpt: The New York Times recently led with a front-page splash about psychiatry's propensity to prescribe pills, "Talk Doesn't Pay, So Psychiatry Turns Instead to Drug Therapy". That news is already widely known in the mental health field, but it has vast ramifications for Americans trying to maintain their sanity in our market-driven and medical system for delivering mental healthcare. What does the turn to drug therapy mean for the mass of Americans?
Are you familiar with this oft-quoted statistic: “people with serious mental illness served by the public mental health system die, on average, 25 years earlier than the general population”? You see it everywhere...
The other day, I posted the Icarus Project's suicide prevention/awareness poster. I think it's great. I think there should be more posters like it -- posters that speak directly to the so-called mentally ill, instead of bypassing them. Posters without any pharmaceutical funding behind them whatsoever. Posters that speak to balance, wellness, and healing. I made one... Continue Reading →
In some instances as the first story below indicates, diet and nutrition can be THE miracle cure for what is labeled "mental illness." More often it's a PART of becoming healthy along with many other things a person can do in combination with things like therapy, exercise, meditation, peer support and a long list of... Continue Reading →
Posted by KIMBRIEL: This is an upate to let you all know that Alison Hymes was NOT sent to a long-term facility this morning. Our efforts were successful. I think this proves that when we all band together, we can fight the oppressive forces of psychiatry. Alison had very little family support, but she had... Continue Reading →
So, what really happens when I embrace all these symptoms rather than fix (mask) them through psychiatric "treatments"? Hmmmm.... well, I very rarely have any of these symptoms anymore, and when I do, they don't last nearly as long. To be honest, I can't remember details of their recurrences anymore because they don't stand out like they used to. They are no longer "bad" or "horrible" in my mind or my experience, so why make a note of them? It's like having a rainy day. Who cares? It just happens. Anyway, my goal was never to make the symptoms go away. It just happened.
This is a list of conventional vegetables which are most heavily impacted by pesticides down to those which are least impacted by pesticides. This is good information to have in the event, if you'd like to minimize exposure but save some money at the same time like I do. So basically you want to buy... Continue Reading →
