My Veterans Benefits Were Denied Because My Military Job “Did Not Exist” And The...
“Section 23a of your Form DD-214 lists your military occupational specialty as ‘EXP,’ the letter from the VA said. “That occupation does not exist....
The Autistic Person Speaks Out by Richard Plowden
I really find it such a stigma
That men to me are an enigma,
(That, greatly to my consternation,
I just cannot make conversation.)
Yes, though I call...
I Wish I Were by Ken Segal
I wish I were....
I wish I were a dolphin, just a-swimming in the sea,
I would swim and fish forever, a happy swimmer I would...
War in Utopia by Anonymous
the sanest of men are here
they are not carrying weapons
even if they fight against
ticking dynamite
no gunshells against people who walk on eggshells
they have pens...
A Poem for Lovers of the DSM by Rebecca Donaldson
And what is healing?
Chiseling.
Chipping.
Picking.
Smearing and rubbing off the grime.
The gunk.
The graffiti I no longer wish to wear.
To hear.
To feel in my left foot.
Raised shoulder.
Waist...
Things Not Taught to a Psychology Student or MFT by Rebecca Donaldson
I wish you could see what happened to me
They are things often not taught to a psychology student or MFT
My mother became a drug...
Hearts Are Meant to be Fed Love, Not latrogenic Harm by Rebecca Donaldson
I wish you had tried to understand what had happened to me, but in the end, you lacked empathy.
I tried to convey to you...
Mad Women by Rebecca Donaldson
Mad women
Sad women
Neglected
And not accepted
Our experiences of child abuse and suicidal ideation can’t possibly be connected
We are said to be “crazy, hysterical, and abnormal,”
And...
Broken Down Hallways by Abby Abbott
Battered and bloody
locked up
locked down
in your broken down hallway
“where is the exit?” I ask
“Its in your hand” says the nurse
“the little yellow pill”
“Take it...
Madness, Beauty, Love by Laurenne Kredentser
There’s a beauty in madness
That most will never understand
A love that opens up your heart
To those you never met, never knew, never saw before.
And...
Dear Doctor (Unsent Letters) by Rose Y.
Dear Doctor,
Can we please rewind,
slip back in time?
To the first time that we spoke.
You say you don’t remember me
It’s no trouble,
Let’s refresh your memory
I’m...
A Love Poem for the Girls with ‘Borderline’ by Rebecca Donaldson
I want to write a love poem for the girls who have been branded with, “Borderline.”
I want to write a love poem for the...
Bedridden by Joey Marino
I can remember certain feelings, but I can’t feel very well.
I can’t hold someone’s hand because my hands over grip. They squeeze very hard....
The Impasse by Devin S. Turk
Some say I am explaining
the anti-psychiatry movement
to my psychiatrist,
but I can only tell you:
On the kitchen stove
a tea kettle is screaming
and no one is...
What if We All Became Preachers? by Laurenne Kredentser
What if we all became preachers?
Us madfolk
Who’ve been locked up, lobotomized, and drugged into a living death
Who’ve been tied to trees and left to...
Everything is Tammy by Ms. Dangerfield
Me alive apparently - not sure.
Jonah potential danger Dr. Ivorchuck is being paged.
That's Shawn's voice. Dr. Oram- or him? I might have HIV so...
I Am Not Your Pejorative Label by Rebecca Donaldson
I wish you had tried to understand what had happened to me, but in the end, you lacked empathy.
I tried to convey to you...
Poetry By Ken Segal
Inside my brain
Inside my brain are pitch black bits,
They cause me to forget.
I got them many years ago,
Do I hate them? You bet!
All sorts...
From Maggie’s Love to IDHS Hell by Marci Webber
Love we shared with exquisite tenderness
With the Dr’s scripts has long since vanished.
They say it wasn’t my responsibility
Not guilty because of acute insanity.
Yet they...
A Blessing for Those Who Have No Choice by Carlene Hill Byron
Peace to those
who are not safe
whose locked doors do not hold
whose words are given no meaning
but are taken for authority
to smash and enter and...
Thank You for the Somatoform Disorder Diagnosis (or Psychiatry Needs Therapy) by Anonymous
The psychiatrist sits across the room
While asking me questions about how the
Medication is going
Seldom looking over at me
As she types my responses at her...
An Ode Against “Recovery” by Rebecca Donaldson
An Ode Against “Recovery”: Flourishing After Childhood Trauma by Rebecca Donaldson
I remember when a therapist of mine once told me I could “recover.”
The...
The Price You Pay by Anonymous
If you have never dropped out of school for mental health reasons,
you probably won’t cry tears of joy on the car ride over to...
Secure Attachment Is a Privilege by Rebecca Donaldson
Having an internal working model of secure attachment from childhood is a privilege.
Yes, it’s a privilege.
It’s a privilege to not carry this hole.
It’s a privilege to feel you truly know who you are.
She Flies With a Broken Wing by Robin Edwards
She flies with a broken wing
looking for a branch to rest on
Somewhere safe to lay her head
waiting for the warmth of dawn,
She knows the branch that welcomes her
even in the dark
She’s nestled there many times
to rest her weary heart,
