Month: July 2014

The Anti-DSM otherwise known as The Outlaw Catalog of Cagey Optimism

Psychiatry and psychotherapy obsess on what's wrong with people and give short shrift to what's right. The manual of these professions is a 943-page textbook called the DSM-IV. It identifies scores of pathological states but no healthy ones. Some time back, I began to complain about this fact, and asked readers to help me compile material for a proposed antidote, the Anti-DSM -- a compendium of healthy, exalted, positive states of being. As their entries came in, we at the Beauty and Truth Laboratory were inspired to dream up some of our own. Below is part one of our initial attempt at creating an Anti-DSM-IV, or as we also like to call it, The Outlaw Catalog of Cagey Optimism. … [click on title for the rest of the post]

Hope for those still in the darkness of protracted psych drug withdrawal or other chronic illness

I have a friend who studies the neurology of awakening to the nature of reality and consciousness. He often has said to me that the brain remembers the good stuff. This is another way of thinking of neuroplasticity. If we get to a place where we accept and are okay with things just as they are, our brain likes that...it remembers and does all it can to get back there. In this way we can trust that if we do things to help us accept and find goodness in life, even now, in the darkness, our brain will, in effect continue to conspire to get to those glimmers of hope and joy we sometimes see and feel. … [click on title for the rest of the post]

Grief is subversive

a cracked heart Grief is subversive

Grief, like all the other difficult and/or dark emotions often gets pathologized, and it is an important part of life, without which we would not be human. I would also like to suggest an idea for consideration. Much of what is labeled psychiatric disease is grief that has never been expressed or properly felt, or validated.

0

I needed a chance to be a teen

colorful floral illustration on black surface for I needed a chance to be a teen

I woke up to two EMTs standing at the foot of my bed. My mother stood beside them. They told me kindly and respectfully that if I went willingly there would be no police involvement. I quietly obliged. They walked with me out of my bedroom, down the stairs, through the garage, and into the back of the ambulance. They told me to lie down on the stretcher. Next came the straps. The straps were a formality, they said. Standard procedure. … [click on title for the rest of the post]

1

Los Angeles has increased its outpatient involuntary treatment program in spite of UN declaring force torture

Even as we have access to more and more information that links that which gets labeled mental illness to trauma -- treatment that exacerbates the trauma response continues to gain legal traction all over the country. This, of course, leads to the epidemic of harm and iatrogenic illness we're watching happen. … [click on title for the rest of the post]

Reactivity, empathy, perpetrator and victims

impressionistic design with black bird for Reactivity, empathy, perpetrator and victims

hinking about how reactivity masks itself as empathy – Empathy calls us to think deeper, tolerate ambiguity & complexity and mourn… — Martha Crawford ...

0

Chanting mantra break…

Time to relax, meditate and generally chill-out. Enjoy.

Listening to and making meditative music and sounds has been an important part of my healing journey… [click on title for the rest of the post]

We don’t have a healthcare system in this country. We have a disease management system.

What is happening in our country and around the world too is tragic and we need to demand it stops. Those harmed by psychiatry sometimes think these issues are particular to psychiatry, but far too much of it is system wide in standard western medicine. The collection of information here is coming from several different sources. … [click on title for the rest of the post]

Earth Trek: The Economics of the Future

Time to think big.
“We have it within our reach–now–to achieve nearly every dream of mankind.” -Gene Roddenberry
A lesson in sustainable Star Trekonomics featuring Charles Eisenstein, George Carlin, Martin Luther King Jr. and a couple captains of the Enterprise… … [click on title for the rest of the post]

We don’t know what is right for another. I practice that in speech and deed.

It is not a good idea to tell people what they need in the way of supplements and it can sometimes be dangerous...especially if folks are taking psychiatric medications and/or are in the process of withdrawal from psych drugs.

Supplements in a hypersensitized body (as many are after having been on psychiatric drugs) can be quite dangerous. It's not okay to assume that something that worked well for you or someone you know is safe for someone you've never met here on this page (or anywhere else you might be likely to hand out such advice) You can share your experience here, but I ask you to refrain from directing people to what they should take and to refrain from thinking you know anything about what might be appropriate and safe for someone you do not know (or for that matter someone you do know, too as you won't know their body) basically everyone needs to find their own sense of guidance and intuition. Your experience may help inform their experience but it's rare that someone can safely simply copy what another has done and it's not a good idea to tell folks what to do...pretty much ever. … [click on title for the rest of the post]

Powered by WordPress.com.

Up ↑