Through the Labyrinth Prateeksha Sharma; Faridabad, India Are you currently receiving any of the following services within the mental health system? No, I am NOT, I have recovered completely and work as an artist in addition to doing interdisciplinary research in social psychology; to study the emergence of mental illness In what ways have you…
Wisdom That Has Come to Me Karen Midwinter; St. Catharines, Ontario In what ways have you found psychiatric medication(s) harmful, if any? Destroyed parts of my system—a lot of times used for control which was unnecessary with dosages way to high as I have sensitivities to drugs—at times horrible reactions to them caused more problems…
Grateful and Humble Rita Brooks; Covington, KY During your mental health care, have you often felt hopeless about your chance of getting better? Yes. I felt like I would always be dealing with the threat of hospitalizations. Since empowering myself with education and support I no longer worry about that. If you overcame hopelessness that…
The Relief of Not Being Alone Brenda Kosky; Honolulu, HI During your mental health care, have you often felt hopeful about your chance of getting better? Yes, I’ve always looked to find others I could help, so I could ignore my own negative & devastating inner self talk. Because all thru life, when I help,…
I couldn’t adjust, and that’s OK Amanda Jensen; North San Juan, CA During your mental health care, have you often felt hopeless about your chance of getting better? Yes. And while this might be more of an indictment against the system en masse: I started thinking of my normal, even if sometimes dramatic, travails as…
Aim for a Balanced Life Carli Medications masked my trauma I’ve had many different diagnoses including Bipolar Disorder, Depression, Generalized Anxiety, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder & Schizophrenia. Over a ten year period I took a lot of different medications although it’s been between five – ten years since I last took any. The medications masked the trauma…
I Came To a Better Understanding Marian B. Goldstein I never doubted I would recover. I was diagnosed with Schizophrenia, I was told I’d probably never have a “normal” relationship with somebody, wouldn’t be able to tolerate being together with more than 2 or 3 others at a time, and wouldn’t be able to finish…
There Are No Silver Bullets Paul Nelson; Ames, IA My community could do with some advocacy I’ve been diagnosed with depression and I’ve been taking medication for some time now, I’d say between 5 and 10 years. The anti-depressant that I take (there have been three different kinds at different points in my life) has…
Emotions Are Normal — They Are Part of Natural Life Diana van Landeghem Despite what psychiatrist told me, I’m recovered from my illness. The most traumatic experiences are not because of this ‘illness’ but because of psychiatric treatment. They locked me up in an isolation cell and pumped me full with drugs for about a…
My Own Personal Evolution Kathryn In the spring of 2009 I suffered a psychosis that lasted over a year. I was labeled schizophrenic instead of depressed because the hallucinations were far more encapsulating than a depressed experience, with full tactile sensibility and a completely different world. I was 28 at the time. Throughout this experience,…