Most "healing"professionals of all stripes and varieties wear professionalism like a suit of armor. This is a subtle form of lying. They hide behind the armor of their profession hoping to seem flawless and authoritative. Removing themselves from their fellow humans... This armoring is done by necessity, really. The professional is not fit to withstand... Continue Reading →
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]
When we learn to trust ourselves then we know when and if we should proceed with a helping relationship. This is what needs to be taught as soon as someone begins to seek help. Really it should be taught from the minute we're born, but instead we generally are taught to stop listening to ourselves as our parents too were conditioned that way. …
“It is no measure of health to be well-adjusted to a profoundly sick society.” – Jiddu Krishnamurti I can’t call the current system of care a “mental health system” when it’s so clearly one that generates, encourages and sustains mental illness. And so I’ve often referred to it as a mental illness system. Here I’m underscoring that as it’s important that we make big changes if we want to help not only the most vulnerable people in our society, but also society itself. We create one another. None of this happens in a vacuum.
I was told by the medical student I was interacting with the other day that my work undermined the authority of mental health professionals. So...basically, his stance was that if you empower the "patient" you, by definition, undermine the professional. Very sad. Still, I'm pleased to say that a good 50% of my subscribed readers are professionals and I'm aware of many who are also young and still studying. There are some good ones out there that want big change too. … [click on title to read the rest]
We would be much better served if we were told by mental health professionals from the very beginning to trust ourselves. Instead, the entire system is fraught with the infantilization of the client...this is true of both psychology and psychiatry. Sometimes we absolutely need others...but the wrong other is often far worse than no one at all...re-traumatization often being the rule rather than the exception.
I’ve been documenting my correspondence with my longest term prescribing psychiatrist for a few years. The page where I link to all the documentation has been getting traffic since the article I wrote about my being polydrugged was published on David Healy's site and Mad in America. I link to it when I mention the conversation I have with my prescribing doctor.... Continue Reading →
Everything Matters 
You must be logged in to post a comment.