A Standing Meditation for Self-Care
In this piece for On Being, Sharon Salzberg discusses the importance of self-care and describes a meditation technique that can help increase self-love and self-compassion.
Mental Health Professionals Critique the Biomedical Model of Psychological Problems
While a great deal of the excitement about advances in psychological treatments comes from the potential for research in neuroscience to unlock the secrets of the brain, many mental health experts would like to temper this enthusiasm. A special issue of the Behavior Therapist released this month calls into question the predominant conception of mental illnesses as brain disorders.
Science is Catching Up to the Buddha
From Big Think: In Robert Wright's new book Why Buddhism is True, he illustrates how contemporary science has confirmed some of the core tenets and beliefs...
Spiritual Texts in the Psych Ward
With current self-publishing capabilities, there’s little that can stop anyone with the slightest messianic complex from actualizing their potential as a prophet—except perhaps the tactics psychiatry employs: forced drugging, locking people up and limiting their abilities to communicate with the rest of the world.
Sunday History Channel: Did Ancient Buddhist Tales Prophesy the DSM-5?
On the Sri Lankan social media platform LankaWeb, medical doctor Ruwan M. Jayatunge recounts stories of difficult states of mind described in the ancient...
Cognitive Enhancement With Yoga
From Psychiatric Times: A recent study suggests that Kundalini yoga may be at least as effective as memory training in improving cognitive resilience in older adults with...
We Need Ecstasy and Cocaine in Place of Prozac and Xanax
From Aeon: While psychiatric drugs are often ineffective and can have serious side effects, there are many psychedelics and other illicit substances that have proven...
Rethinking Madness: An Integral Vision
From Emerging Proud: Activists from around the world are gearing up for the launch of #EmergingProud, a grassroots social movement with the goal of de-stigmatizing...
Existential Therapy Assists Patients Withdrawing From Psychiatric Drugs
Confronting existential anxiety through “Basal Exposure Therapy” shows promising results in people withdrawing from psychotropic drugs.
Psychics Who Hear Voices Could Be on to Something
In this piece for The Atlantic, Joseph Frankel compares and contrasts the voice-hearing experiences of self-described psychics and mediums with the experiences of people diagnosed with...
Every Sufi Master Is, in a Sense, a Freudian Psychotherapist
In this piece for Aeon, Sam Haselby explores the parallels and intersections between Freudian psychoanalysis and Islamic mysticism.
"The affinities between mystical Islam and Freudian thought...
Consciousness Began When the Gods Stopped Speaking
In this piece for Nautilus, Veronique Greenwood discusses the legacy of Julian Jaynes, a psychologist best known for theorizing that consciousness was a cultural development resulting...
Love: At the Intersection of Anti-Racism and Anti-Stigma
In this piece for Beyond Meds, Chris Cole examines the intersection of racism and oppression against people labeled "mentally ill."
"This is where social justice becomes...
Human Connection is the Antidote to a Culture of Isolation
We need to burn through some darkness before we collectively see the light. The light is a palpable shift toward reaching for human connection; toward opening our hearts and our minds and intentionally focusing on the positive future that wants to emerge.
New Data on the Adverse Effects of Meditation and Mindfulness
Study reports on the less-examined findings of difficult and painful meditation-related experiences.
Initial Trial of Ayahuasca for Depression Shows Promising Results
Ayahuasca found to be effective in treating moderate to severe depression in low-income population.
When Minds Crack, The Light Might Get In: A Spiritual Perspective on Madness
You can’t go back to mundane ways of seeing the world after very dark things happen. Trauma cracks open a hole in our lives and in our minds, throwing us into the zone where we face the big spiritual questions. Bad ideas can get in when things open up like that. But it’s also possible that something new and positive can get in.
‘Ego-Dissolving’ Psychedelic Drugs Could Improve Mental Health
From Medical Xpress: Researchers have proposed that psychedelic drugs such as LSD and magic mushrooms may help some people with anxiety, depression, and addiction by dissolving...
What Meditation can do for us, and What it Can’t
In recent years, American scholars and thinkers have increasingly argued for the secularization and modernization of Buddhism, proposing meditation as a fully secular form...
Spiritual Experiences Vital for Black American Women’s Mental Health
Spirituality and transcendental experiences are even more important than religion to the psychological well-being of many Black American women, according to a study in...
“How a West African Shaman Helped My Schizophrenic Son”
-MIA Blogger Dick Russell recounts the story of his son and Malidoma Somé.
Spiritual Emergency: Crisis or Transformation?
A spiritual emergency is a crisis during which experiences are so intense that they temporarily disrupt the sense of self. Mislabeling them as pathological symptoms may be damaging to further spiritual development as well as to the individual's psychological and physiological well-being.
Pathways to Enhance Well-Being: Free Resource on Alternative Wellness Practices
This week we e-release a new free booklet, Pathways to Enhance Well-Being. Its creation began with my colleague Linda Lentini sharing with me some of the barriers she experienced as she moved towards bringing alternative approaches such as meditation and breath practices into state psychiatric institutions.
A Healing Journey: Leaving Psychiatry Behind
The world calls what was "wrong" with me "bipolar." I prefer the notion that I went through a birth process to become the healer that I am today. I can't be silent because I know there are people like I was who are trapped and may not realize it yet. When they begin to see the prison bars that surround them, I want to be there for them as others were for me.
I Almost Got Hit by a Lightning Bolt
I am so thankful that my brain healed from the damage caused by psychiatric medications. Most importantly, finding my purpose in life and living an authentic life helped to ground me and prevent further psychosis. Psychosis is the psyche’s cry for transformation and healing. When one listens to the call, one is brought from darkness to light.
