Searching for Zen and Finding a Cow
If I had a clinical problem, why was something as ancient and simple as meditation helping me? And if normal positive human habits could be so profoundly useful, why the heck was the field marketing pills and “clinical” coping mechanisms to me instead? This frustration helped me jump ship from the medical mindset and hop into the world of humanity.
Searching for Zen and Finding a Cow
If I had a clinical problem, why was something as ancient and simple as meditation helping me? And if normal positive human habits could be so profoundly useful, why the heck was the field marketing pills and “clinical” coping mechanisms to me instead? This frustration helped me jump ship from the medical mindset and hop into the world of humanity.
My Polypharmacy Predicament
Ironically, my post-traumatic stress disorder no longer stems from the events that led to my hospitalizations, but from the maltreatment I received within the hospitals. Now, every time I take my medication late or miss a dose, I feel the unsettling presence of dissociation creeping in, the terrifying panic of losing my mental bearings and being rehospitalized.
The Story of a Professional Delusion: Do Psychiatrists Believe Their Own Words?
I believe this is what happened: The people responsible for this travesty looked at the truth (that psychiatrists hardly ever tell the truth about their drugs) and realised they didn't like what would flow from that fact getting loose. So they removed it and substituted a falsehood (only ever) whose consequences they could live with.
12 Mental Health Design Principles to Replace This Thing
One of the issues we face in mental health is that everyone knows the system is broken, but there is no replacement yet. So the question is, what are the mental health design principles to build a replacement? How do you build a functional mental health system that isn't disease-based? How do you make it robust, scalable and spreadable?
Mad in Asia: Towards Multiple Narratives for Inclusion
An e-zine with the mission to contribute to changing the narrative about madness and mental distress in the Asia region has launched. Mad in Asia hopes to showcase narratives that are contextually relevant to the Asia region, with a focus on the human rights of persons with psychosocial disabilities.
Why Have Unity When We Can Have Polyphony?
Every day, we as a movement accomplish something truly incredible. Every day, we create a space where each person can freely express their own truth. Without an overarching structure or unifying platform, each individual can stand on their own. Each voice within the community is wholly unique and distinct from any other; each person is their own universe.
NEWS UPDATE
Thirty mental health experts write to UK Secretary of State about ‘unprofessional’ conduct of the Royal College of Psychiatry.
MIA Continuing Education
Enroll now in Mad Studies: An Introduction to Philosophical, Social and Cultural Perspectives on Madness. (Starts July 6.)
ARTWORK AND POETRY
Lancet Psychiatry Needs to Retract the ADHD-Enigma Study
Lancet Psychiatry, a UK-based medical journal, recently published a study that concluded brain scans showed that individuals diagnosed with ADHD had smaller brains. That conclusion is belied by the study data. The journal needs to retract this study.
UPDATE: Lancet Psychiatry (online) has published letters critical of the study, and the authors' response, and a correction.
Cure Your Child With Food: An Interview With Kelly Dorfman
An interview with Kelly Dorfman (KD) who holds a master’s degree in nutrition/biology, is a licensed nutrition dietitian and is the author of Cure Your Child With Food: The Hidden Connection Between Nutrition and Childhood Ailments.
MIA GLOBAL AFFILIATES
Mad in Asia launches a new e-zine to contribute to changing the narrative about madness and mental distress in the Asia region. Video of Fernando Freitas of Mad in Brasil and Laura Delano talking at Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública (ENSP), Rio de Janeiro, June 2018.
FEATURED VIDEO
Open Paradigm Project - Matt Samet
15:33
Open Paradigm Project - Sera Davidow
05:47
UCLA/ISEPP - Robert Whitaker
29:47
UCLA/ISEPP - Bob Fancher
30:21
Open Paradigm Project - Amy Long
06:05
Open Paradigm Project - Leah Harris
08:43
UCLA/ISEPP - Allen Frances
23:09
Open Paradigm Project - Cheryl Sharp
06:04
UCLA/ISEPP - Peter Whitehouse
20:12
UCLA/ISEPP - David Healy
17:54
Open Paradigm Project - Faith Rhyne
06:07
Open Paradigm Project - Leonard Roy Frank
11:28
Open Paradigm Project - Dorothy Dundas
12:23
UCLA/ISEPP - Bonnie Burstow
25:16
Open Paradigm Project - Sean Donovan
06:09
UCLA/ISEPP - John Read
15:07
Open Paradigm Project - Celia Brown
07:16
Open Paradigm Project - Joanna Moncrieff
10:12
Interview with Bruce Levine
09:17
Open Paradigm Project - Iden McCollum
04:06
Interview with Peter Gøtzsche
15:46
Mad in America's International Film Festival
03:22
Robert Whitaker Withdrawal Series
04:16
Will Hall at "Pharmaceuticals – Risks and Alternatives", 15th of October, 2016.
30:03
Open Paradigm Project - Jenna Fogle
07:21
Jaakko Seikkula, PhD at "Pharmaceuticals – Risks and Alternatives," 15th of October, 2016.
37:41
Open Paradigm Project - Laura Nicole Sisson
08:02
Open Paradigm Project - Oryx Cohen
04:04
Forced Psychiatric Detention
18:37
Sandy Steingard on Mad in America's Psychiatric Drug Withdrawal Course
02:55
Psychiatric Drug Withdrawal Course
03:45
Birgitta Alakare, MD at "Pharmaceuticals – Risks and Alternatives", 15th of October, 2016.
35:43
Sami Timimi, MD at "Pharmaceuticals – Risks and Alternatives", 15th of October, 2016.
46:06
Olga Runciman at "Pharmaceuticals – Risks and Alternatives," 15th of October, 2016
41:08
Open Paradigm Project - Will Eberle
07:46
Open Paradigm Project - Marty Hadge
04:30
"Moving Beyond Psychiatric Labels"
05:24
Carina Håkansson, PhD at "Pharmaceuticals – Risks and Alternatives", 15th of October, 2016.
39:26
John Read at "Pharmaceuticals – Risks and Alternatives," 15th of October, 2016.
40:54
Antidepressants & Pregnancy: The risks and potential harm to normal fetal development
01:38
About Mad in America (2013)
03:40