Not insane and not unique

(Not insane and not unique) ~~ Someone in the linked-in NAMI group left this comment about this piece on Carl Jung’s Red Book in reference to Carl Jung having been psychotic:

“Absolutely insane. And yet very unique; and very Carl Jung.”

my response to her was this:

“Not insane, not unique, but instead exactly how recovery works for a lot of folks…healing and transformation happen when one stays conscious and moves through the chaos. The opposite of what psychiatry allows for.”

Deep transformative growth, could be the norm. Things would be different if those claiming to be healers actually knew what was involved in the individuation journey .

We can heal “psychosis.”

Words like “psychosis” are the clinical language of the oppressor. The word gives the impression that those who use it actually know what they are talking about. The fact is they generally do not.

We, who have experienced that which gets called psychosis and have healed to some clarity are the only ones who speak to it with authority. Let us come together and help one another out.

People who get a label of “psychosis,” are most often met by professionals that do not even believe that healing can occur, let alone deep transformative growth. This is the catastrophic reality.

Meeting the dark underbelly of the psyche as those of us who have been labeled psychotic at one time or another is a calling and an act of heroism. One that is rarely encouraged in society. I might add that it’s to the detriment of all society that we are shut down and often tortured rather than supported.  

I love this piece: What a Shaman Sees in A Mental Hospital. A shaman doesn’t see sick people.

More on healing from what gets called psychosis from Beyond Meds: Not insane and not unique

• “Rethinking Madness: Towards a Paradigm Shift in our Understanding and Treatment of Psychosis”
• “People recover from psychotic disorders all the time, all over the world.” Our mental health system’s denial of this costs lives
• Schizophrenia: A drop of sunshine – full length film about a young woman in India who finds her way through the maze to heal and thrive again
• Madness as a reckoning of one’s own psyche. Yes.  — Faith Rhyne
• UK psychologist now thrives after the damning diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia

All forms of psychosis (“bipolar” and “schizophrenia” and psychosis NOS, etc) have been known to transform this way given the chance.  For a much longer list of such articles and stories and information:  Psychosis recovery: stories, information and resources

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