by David Oaks After 4 decades as a psychiatric survivor human rights activist and 3 decades with spinal arthritis (ankylosing spondylitis), that fused my spine into peanut brittle, I knew I needed a break. The break that I got about 3 weeks ago was not the one I expected. I slipped off a wet ladder in my writer's studio, and it resulted in a complete break of my neck.
There has been a Beyond Meds page on Facebook now since October of this year. It's been fun. Quite a lot of things I don't post on the blog show up on the Facebook page so it's worth checking out for that reason. I share additional news items and inspiration and fun stuff and posts... Continue Reading →
Finding meaning in difficult times
May you be well. May you be free from harm. May you rest in peace. May the joy of Life be known within you. Loving-kindness to all during this season and always...
Yoga has been a profoundly healing part of my journey for past traumas (both experiential and the iatrogenic trauma that psychiatric drugs imposed) and for rehabilitation after having been bedridden for a couple of years. The below information about yoga healing and integrating PTSD and past trauma is very important practice, news and research. In the interview Dave Emerson talks about it being important that the yoga be non-hierarchical and/or non-competitive. In a classroom setting this is often hard to find. Us humans like to compete and compare. I do my yoga at home out of necessity. I remain unwell enough to go to a classroom and so there is never any peer pressure nor any pressure to please a teacher who might not understand my needs which can also be a problem. I think that has been critically important for me and my healing. At this point I know I don’t care what others think about what my yoga looks like on the outside. For yoga to be deeply healing the people practicing need to be deeply mindful of their own body. A typical class of yoga might not support that as deeply as vulnerable people healing from trauma might need.
Your brightness is my darkness. I know nothing of You and, by myself, I cannot even imagine how to go about knowing You. If I imagine You, I am mistaken. If I understand You, I am deluded. If I am conscious and certain I know You, I am crazy. The darkness is enough.
In America, whether it comes to tackling crime, or the most severe mental illness, there’s a popular sentiment that says the best solution is to “lock ‘em up and throw away the keys.” That’s part of the reason this country has a higher incarceration rate than any other. A knee-jerk response to the Newtown massacre is likely to be a push to reduce legal obstacles to involuntary treatment.
By Paul Woodward Adam Lanza couldn’t have killed twenty children without access to lethal weapons. But the rage that led to a massacre might never have been triggered without access to lethal drugs. As the British psychiatrist Dr. David Healy has said: “psychotropic drugs of pretty well any group can trigger violence up to and including homicide.” Alongside the emerging debate on gun control in America, another conversation on mental health is also unfolding. Unfortunately, much of the latter conversation is poorly informed and based on false assumptions, namely that the primary weakness in the mental health system is lack of universal access, and that when mental health care is available, it is effective.
This recipe was inspired by a recipe a friend emailed to me. It's right here. The blog it comes from suggests several possible variations. Generally when I get an idea I look up on google and enter the main ingredients of a dish and then I look at 4 or 5 or 6 recipes to... Continue Reading →
One of the things that helped me most in learning to cope with the dozens of acute and bizarre symptoms that the psychiatric drug withdrawal caused was to become curious about my experience, yes, to attend to the pain and pay attention to it rather than avoid it or disassociate from it. This has not... Continue Reading →
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