Category: psychosis

Recovering or adjusting to illness?

By Lewis Mehl-Madrona M.D. (psychiatrist) -- Many of us were not surprised when the research failed to support the currently dominant biomedical model of psychiatry. A 2015 panel at the American Psychiatric Association's annual meeting in Toronto confirmed that even more research is accumulating to question the benefits, if any, of the long-term use of anti-psychotic medication. Paris raises the question, why doesn't research change anything? ... [click on title to read the rest]

Change, change, change

Sometimes I hear people say that nothing is changing. That psychiatry continues to harm and that for this reason despair rather than hope is warranted. -- I don't see it this way at all anymore. ...

Mental wellness: empowering ways to consider our difficult experiences

Part of coming to understand our profound capacities to heal and transform is to first know that it's possible. I know 1000s of folks who've been able to discover this now. I have met them in mental health circles and chronic illness circles both. I've also met them among people who've never suffered in these ways but were lucky enough to be born into situations where they simply learned how to do it right from the beginning. Imagine that. We can create a world where we teach children how to profoundly take care of themselves and others. ...

We all have stories and context — diagnosis try to strip that away from us

Everything that happens in our lives (and all our encounters with psychiatry) are SITUATIONAL. Always. There is no such thing as a clinical depression without a "situation." That is a ludicrous and destructive fantasy. The same is true for anyone with any diagnosis. Schizophrenia, bipolar, anxiety, OCD. We all have stories and context. Diagnosis try to strip that away from us. The fact is EVERY single person with a diagnosis has an individual, unique story and context. Everything matters. Diagnosis (as currently most frequently used) are reductionistic lies that try to remove us from the fabric of our lives. ...

I am responsible. I love you. I’m sorry. Please forgive me. Thank you.

An ancient Hawaiian tradition: "In these communities no one was considered an isolated individual. Every single person was a member of the interdependent community and bloodline. Every single person in some way or another represented their clan/family/lineage/village. - So If one single person behaved criminally then the whole family, clan and village felt they were responsible for that behaviour. A criminal action belonged to and was the responsibility of the whole community. - If there was a wrongdoing therefore the whole family and village would come out to take responsibility for it, to redress it and to heal it." … [click on title to read and view more]

Marijuana for Mental Health Conditions?

By Will Hall -- Cannabis (marijuana) is now legal in two states, legal for medical use in 23 more, and polls show the majority of Americans support legalization. As a counselor working with people diagnosed with psychosis and mental illness I am often asked about my clinical -- as well as my personal -- experience with medical cannabis. … [click on title for the rest of the post]

Everyone is mentally ill

I think that instead of denying mental illness at the individual level (for some good reasons like lack of lab work indicating any sort of markers of any actual disease) it's time to recognize that everyone is mentally ill...and some of those most impacted are psychiatrists and other officials of the state who harm those of us who are more conscious...not less. Our society and world is sick...the individuals who are most sensitive are canaries in the coal mine. We all need help and we all need healing. Everyone on the planet needs to come to consciousness should we wish to save our species as well as a lot of others too. "It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society." - Jiddu Krishnamurti ... [click on title for the rest of the post]

Madness made me: “I made meaning, not in spite of my madness, but because of it”

Thanks to the reader on Facebook for sharing this nice short video documentary. Just 3 minutes of packed brilliance: "Down the end of the long polished corridor, Mary O'Hagan comes face to face with the condemning words written about her in her psychiatric files." ... (click title to view and read)

Radical uncertainty: a healing stance for all

By Ron Unger, LCSW -- Unfortunately, the typical interaction between professionals and clients seen as psychotic in our current mental health system has characteristics which make a positive human relationship almost impossible. To start with, rather than starting from a place of equality, where two people negotiate to see each other and to define reality, the professional holds onto a position of assumed superiority and declares himself or herself as able to define both the other person and the overall nature of reality, without any need to reconcile that view with the viewpoint of the “psychotic” person. This makes sense within the standard paradigm, as once a person’s mental process is defined as “psychotic” it is understood to be determined by illness, and to be senseless, with nothing of any value to offer. Under such circumstances, true dialogue, in which the experience of the professional meets the full experience of the other, is impossible. … [click on title to read and view more]

Shades of awakening: when what gets labeled psychotic or hypersensitive is really about becoming conscious

THIS IS HAPPENING NOW...it's day 3...I've listened to a few of the interviews...they're all really good and this is truly an important and cutting edge event...you can still listen for free now and there is an option to buy the whole series. It’s so exciting to see the huge positive response as we bring together these cutting edge thought leaders for 3 days of informative and inspirational interviews covering a range of topics on spiritual emergency, consciousness, and de-stigmatizing mental illness. … [click on title to read and view more]

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