the voices in my head

She did it! — the voices in my head: Eleanor Longden

She learned to listen to her voices and now asks anyone (who might end up in the mental health system) not “what is wrong with you” but WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?

Yes, what happened to you?

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People recover from that which gets labeled psychotic and schizophrenic with great frequency when appropriate supports are offered. Psychiatry, though, generally tells us it’s not possible. Please educate yourself if you or a loved one gets a diagnosis. We heal. We thrive. And we were once told we would not.

UPDATE: Eleanor has just posted something at Mad in America about the experience of being at TED Talks

It was that sense of kinship and convergence – of shared perspective and shared beliefs – that fortified and sustained me when I was asked to present about my experience of voice hearing at the TED 2013 conference. In the run-up to the event, and constantly afterwards, people would ask, “How can you bear the pressure of doing a TED talk?!” A quick scan through the attendee list showed that, amongst 1,700+ other audience members, were Ben Affleck, Cameron Diaz, Bill Gates, Al Gore, Matt Groening, and Goldie Hawn. In my own session, amongst other brilliant individuals, was Vint Cerf, widely credited as a ‘founding father’ of the Internet. And there was me, a mad woman from Yorkshire! But it was the knowledge of all those others out there, “the rebels and renegades, truth-tellers, pioneers and freedom fighters” as Jacqui Dillon (2010) puts it, “all walking along the same path … seeking the same kind of justice” – that stayed with me and helped ensure I didn’t falter. (read the rest at Mad in America)

See the Guardian Article from today

More Eleanor on Beyond Meds: Meaning From Voices Eleanor Longden

Hearing voices is strongly connected with traumatic experiences, but are voices a brain malfunction or a creative strategy for protection? UK psychologist Eleanor Longden survived a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia and went on to be a leading researcher around voice hearing, trauma, and dissociation. She is a pioneer in the movement to understand voices as a normal human experience — and truly help people by healing trauma. (more)

And the Hearing Voices Collection of links on Beyond Meds:  The voices are real the voices in my head

And also: Psychosis recovery: stories, information and resources

Communicating With Psychosis | Dina Tyler: Madness Radio

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