Thank you for writing this powerful article. It brought up a lot in me – a lot that needed to come up. I am grateful that I get to live in the state where you have done such great work. I would love to talk to you about our experiences as family members. Thank you, again, for this article – I needed to read your words for my own healing.
Yeah .. I have to agree with you. I do think there are signs of change. This website being one of the signs. I hope from my heart that we move from a society built around competition to one built around collaboration. Dr. Bruce Lipton writes about how Darwin was wrong – the survival of this planet does not rely on “the fittest” rather, Dr. Lipton argues, the most collaborative. I like that view.
Hey Someone Else, Wow your comment really resonated with me. My life had to completely come apart for me to find my purpose and for me to truly open my heart to others. I do wonder if there needs to be a mass “rock bottom” so to speak before we all wake up to what we are doing to each other, to other sentient beings, and to the planet itself. I hope not – in the meantime I am grateful that there are people like you that are willing “to treat others with love, mutual respect, and compassion.”
Hey oldhead, My first draft began with a reference to “The Walking Dead” and zombies in general but ultimately I took it out because I felt it did’t work. I was comparing zombies with tranced out consumers. I just know life is way too short to be zombie-like or to be in a trance – it is also much more beautiful when we are awake to the good and the bad. And to see people made zombie-like under the guise of “treatment” is horrifying.
Travailler-vous, I appreciate you commenting. I think living our life fully awake to our psychological needs is truly great subject material for us. Harder said than done but worth the effort. Peace to you. Deron
Hey Frank, I appreciate you taking the time to comment. I agree with you around personal responsibility for the most part – my concern is that our subconscious is so much more powerful than our conscious mind and there are so many ways to get conditioned into escaping our basic humanity without our being fully aware that it is happening. The “mental health system” being a great example – you are struggling with your human experience and summon the courage to ask for help – resulting in your being encouraged to accept that you have a permanent brain conditioned that requires strong drugs and a cessation of full-time employment (a narrative I have heard far too many times). Also true of so many other methods of aversion – we too often follow the lead of others and end up sucked into the power of alcohol, consumerism, etc. I do think it is personal responsibility that plays a huge role in people getting out of that trap – as does the love of compassionate people. Deron
Hi Alex, thank you for sharing such beautiful words. I too had to bring my heart energy into balance. Once I did the work required to take the journey from my head to my heart, my life changed in ways I never imagined. I agree – heart healing is the turning point!
It made my day to wake up and read this beautifully written and emotionally moving personal story. So great to see your name and picture on MIA! I am proud to know you. Great article!
I really appreciate you taking the time to write this comment. I have learned a lot from you and your comment further adds to that. The stories I believe need to be heard are the ones that refute a paradigm that is failing. This applies to many walks of life. I am also interested in seeing serious reform in the way our government views gambling. The stories of destruction related to gambling are not being heard – it has become just a way for state governments to raise money. The stories of truth are being squashed. I believe honest stories can help change some of the ways we have gone off path. But yeah – stories that reinforce a bad status quo are damaging. I do know that it was the people that shared their truths with me that saved my life.
The stories that are being told are often hand picked to validate the status quo – this is true in so many areas of concern in this country. I agree they need to be refuted. Thanks for the comment.
Taking away hope is most certainly evil. I hope to read your story one day. I always benefit from reading stories that contain love, hope and healing. Thank you for your comment.
Thank you for your kind words. My wife has been amazing at maintaining a positive outlook through this challenging ordeal. I hope to hear her singing soon!
Thank you for commenting. I definitely agree that what people say can be very damaging. After writing this blog, I reread The Four Agreements. Don Miguel Ruiz does a great job articulating the power of words. Societally we need to change the words that are used with people experiencing emotional distress.
Knowing that I was writing this blog for MIA, I did not flesh out my use of the word “epidemic” in the last paragraph. A couple friends, not associated with this platform, have asked why I think medicalizing human emotions is creating a crisis. My reasons are: Every day 850 adults and 250 children are added to the disability rolls for mental health reasons. In 1987 there were 16,200 children receiving disability payments for mental health reasons. In 2007, the number was 561,569. People entering the public mental health system are dying 25 years younger than the rest of the population. The growth in psychiatric diagnoses is staggering. There are also the blatant human rights violations that are happening around the country to people with psychiatric labels. We need to have honest community conversations about the real mental health crisis in this country.
Wow this post got to me. I am sitting with some intense emotions right now. It is all good though – feeling emotions is beneficial for me these days (after many years running from them). Thanks, my friend, for your beautiful writing.
I agree that things are changing in some places – Western Mass for example. I think we need to be really concerned about Congressman Murphy’s proposed legislation taking back all the changes people fought so hard for. Advocacy is definitely needed.
I really appreciate your comment. One of the unhealthy relationships I developed was with gambling. It is sad to watch governments and the gambling industry blame the social costs associated with gambling on a brain “defect” that they claim resides in certain people. They take no responsibility for their part. Terrible stuff.
Thank you for your comments. I really can’t argue that addiction is at least a medical condition during withdrawal but overall it helps me to see it as a spiritual condition.
I agree, Duane – Copy_cat leaves some great comments. I facilitated a workshop recently where about 20 of the folks in attendance identified as being in recovery from drug addiction. Someone jokingly asked if anyone wasn’t diagnosed with “bipolar” during the withdrawal process. It was a joke for them because they rejected the diagnosis. I didn’t reject it and framed some years around a “bipolar” existence. So it wasn’t a joke for me. The diagnostic process is scary (intentional understatement).
Thank you for taking the time to post a comment. We appreciate your words and will be reading Mad Science. The focus of my work is mainly centered on “mental health.” The number of calls I have received from people concerned about the drugging and labeling that is happening at addiction facilities precipitated this article. The trend is alarming.
I really appreciate and agree with your comments. Just because a person’s life gets out of control and they are on a destructive trajectory does not mean they are either a bad person or have a brain disease they have no control over. Addiction is being framed as a disease partially because there seems to be no room in our culture to simultaneously view oneself as at fault for our actions and not be a bad or weak person.
For many years I went to great lengths to avoid, suppress and numb my emotions. When I finallly stopped my methods of avoidance, the emotions flowed in – guilt and shame lead the way. I painstakingly worked through the emotional pain and amazingly started to feel peace and real joy. I use to have to go to extremes to feel what I thought was joy. Now I just sit peacefully on my deck reading a book or watching my dog chase leaves. And when shame and guilt creeps in – I now know that if I allow myself to experience the emotions they will be transient.
Thank you for writing such a great article. You definitely got me thinking. And feeling!
Thank you for the book suggestion. At some point I needed to mention the gambling industry. I realize this is not the forum but the damage the gambling industry (with government support) is doing to this country is extensive. I wear two hats in my work but at the end of the day human rights abuses are human rights abuses regardless of what form the predatory body takes. Also, thank you for sharing your advocacy narrative. I cannot stress enough how much I learn from the articles and comments on MIA.
Thank you for your post. I have learned a lot from this and other comments you have written. I agree courage does take different forms or needs to come from a deeper place in situations like the one you articulated. I do think that most of the people that write in this forum have been both fighting from the locked confines of psychiatric hospitals and also using the legislative process. I know I have been in a med line like you described. I hope we all come together to do something about these awful human rights violations.
Thank you for your comments. I am glad we are able to spend some time talking at NARPA. I look forward too many years fighting this fight alongside you.
Thank you for the comment. I spent a fair amount of time in Bethel. There is a lot of work to do in Connecticut. It is nice to know there are a growing number of people in CT that are opposed to the status quo.
Thanks for the great quote! I love reading the articles on here but I also enjoy following the comments by people like you. Honestly, sometimes I see what you and some others say in your comments prior to reading an article. I always have been a little backwards. Thanks for your thoughts.
i am honored that you think we are kindred spirits. I agree that we have a moral obligation to take risks and make sacrifices in order to make progress. Thank you for your kind words.
I really enjoyed reading this article. I was particularly drawn to your paragraphs concerning the people you may want to work with in the future. I look forward to seeing you later this month at NARPA. I am happy that some folks in CT will get to see some of your great work.
Thank you for this great article. “Revolution is the word and the answer and it always has been.” Inspiring statement and so true. I found the last four paragraphs highly motivating. Thank you for that. And yeah we have “the collective horsepower to take back our culture.”
I am happy to see your narrative in this forum. I am continually inspired by your commitment to living optimally. I am grateful to know you and I am looking forward to presenting with you at NARPA.
Thanks for the feedback, links and pieces of personal narratives. I learn a great deal from the comments. I spent a fair amount of time over the weekend captivated by The Top Five Regrets of the Dying by Bronnie Ware. She talks about her experiences as a caregiver for people in their last weeks of life. She also spent a couple of pages writing about a young man she worked with named “Anthony.” Anthony ended up in a nursing home because of unspecified injuries (seemingly not life threatening). The author tells how Anthony assimilated to the home and became like the elderly people and subsequently died at a young age. “Anthony’s biggest failure lay in becoming a complete product of his environment, lacking any desire to challenge himself and hence, improve his life. It was such a waste of a good and intelligent person, and of natural gifts he had been born with.”
Anthony’s story really resonated with me. I think it is even worse in the mental health system because I think many people, unlike Anthony, have a desire to challenge themselves but are encouraged otherwise. I think in many ways people do become like their surrounding environment so it is really important for activists to keep fighting to change the current “mental health” environment.
I am so grateful that our paths crossed. I have learned a great deal from you – in person and through your writings on FB and now through your deeply moving article here. I have brought many ideas about human rights to AU (learned from Tina and Daniel). You have greatly expanded my frame of knowledge around human rights particularily those concerning the impact of privilege. Thank you and I look forward to seeing you soon.
I started reading your post Saturday night and simply could not finish – I could not read though my tears. Your words brought me back to my childhood watching powerlessly as my mother was abused by the “mental health system.” Like you – she has spoken at length about her experiences but there are some things she does not talk about or possibly remember – the same ones that I will never forget. My beautiful and brilliant mother strapped to a gurney in a hallway – yelled at and not allowed to go to the bathroom. Not because she broke any laws – no just because she was f’n sad. I have lost track of the number of times I visited her in a psych hospital but I cannot lose the memories. The most recent memory is of my mother coming to see me in a psych hospital – my life had just completely fallen apart. I thought she was going to tell me to listen and try to learn what I could while I was there. But I was wrong – she screamed and fought to get me out of there as soon as possible. There are some things she will never forget too.
Thank you for sharing this Dorothy. Thank you for everything you do. I admire, love and respect you for many reasons – not the least of which is for allowing me in to your home. Meeting you and your friends has been life changing for me.
Cheri,
Thank you for writing this powerful article. It brought up a lot in me – a lot that needed to come up. I am grateful that I get to live in the state where you have done such great work. I would love to talk to you about our experiences as family members. Thank you, again, for this article – I needed to read your words for my own healing.
Deron
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Yeah .. I have to agree with you. I do think there are signs of change. This website being one of the signs. I hope from my heart that we move from a society built around competition to one built around collaboration. Dr. Bruce Lipton writes about how Darwin was wrong – the survival of this planet does not rely on “the fittest” rather, Dr. Lipton argues, the most collaborative. I like that view.
Report comment
Hey Someone Else, Wow your comment really resonated with me. My life had to completely come apart for me to find my purpose and for me to truly open my heart to others. I do wonder if there needs to be a mass “rock bottom” so to speak before we all wake up to what we are doing to each other, to other sentient beings, and to the planet itself. I hope not – in the meantime I am grateful that there are people like you that are willing “to treat others with love, mutual respect, and compassion.”
Report comment
Hey oldhead, My first draft began with a reference to “The Walking Dead” and zombies in general but ultimately I took it out because I felt it did’t work. I was comparing zombies with tranced out consumers. I just know life is way too short to be zombie-like or to be in a trance – it is also much more beautiful when we are awake to the good and the bad. And to see people made zombie-like under the guise of “treatment” is horrifying.
Report comment
Travailler-vous, I appreciate you commenting. I think living our life fully awake to our psychological needs is truly great subject material for us. Harder said than done but worth the effort. Peace to you. Deron
Report comment
Hey Frank, I appreciate you taking the time to comment. I agree with you around personal responsibility for the most part – my concern is that our subconscious is so much more powerful than our conscious mind and there are so many ways to get conditioned into escaping our basic humanity without our being fully aware that it is happening. The “mental health system” being a great example – you are struggling with your human experience and summon the courage to ask for help – resulting in your being encouraged to accept that you have a permanent brain conditioned that requires strong drugs and a cessation of full-time employment (a narrative I have heard far too many times). Also true of so many other methods of aversion – we too often follow the lead of others and end up sucked into the power of alcohol, consumerism, etc. I do think it is personal responsibility that plays a huge role in people getting out of that trap – as does the love of compassionate people. Deron
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Hi Alex, thank you for sharing such beautiful words. I too had to bring my heart energy into balance. Once I did the work required to take the journey from my head to my heart, my life changed in ways I never imagined. I agree – heart healing is the turning point!
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Corrine,
It made my day to wake up and read this beautifully written and emotionally moving personal story. So great to see your name and picture on MIA! I am proud to know you. Great article!
Deron
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Frank,
I really appreciate you taking the time to write this comment. I have learned a lot from you and your comment further adds to that. The stories I believe need to be heard are the ones that refute a paradigm that is failing. This applies to many walks of life. I am also interested in seeing serious reform in the way our government views gambling. The stories of destruction related to gambling are not being heard – it has become just a way for state governments to raise money. The stories of truth are being squashed. I believe honest stories can help change some of the ways we have gone off path. But yeah – stories that reinforce a bad status quo are damaging. I do know that it was the people that shared their truths with me that saved my life.
Deron
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Joe,
I agree with your comment. I believe all narratives are necessary to shift the current paradigm. Thank you
Deron
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Thank you brother for taking the time to comment – means a lot to me.
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B,
The stories that are being told are often hand picked to validate the status quo – this is true in so many areas of concern in this country. I agree they need to be refuted. Thanks for the comment.
Deron
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Survived,
Thank you for your heart warming comment.
Deron
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Thank you, Rossa. Please keep your stories coming too!
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Someone Else,
Taking away hope is most certainly evil. I hope to read your story one day. I always benefit from reading stories that contain love, hope and healing. Thank you for your comment.
Deron
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Great article, Sera. Thank you!
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Corrine,
Thank you for commenting my friend. And thanks for being an inspiration to me and so many others in Connecticut.
Peace,
Deron
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Thank you for your kind words. My wife has been amazing at maintaining a positive outlook through this challenging ordeal. I hope to hear her singing soon!
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Rossa,
Thank you for commenting. I definitely agree that what people say can be very damaging. After writing this blog, I reread The Four Agreements. Don Miguel Ruiz does a great job articulating the power of words. Societally we need to change the words that are used with people experiencing emotional distress.
Best,
Deron
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Thank you Monica!
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Thank you Alex. This is definitely a time for dedicated and meaningful healing – I love those words!
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Knowing that I was writing this blog for MIA, I did not flesh out my use of the word “epidemic” in the last paragraph. A couple friends, not associated with this platform, have asked why I think medicalizing human emotions is creating a crisis. My reasons are: Every day 850 adults and 250 children are added to the disability rolls for mental health reasons. In 1987 there were 16,200 children receiving disability payments for mental health reasons. In 2007, the number was 561,569. People entering the public mental health system are dying 25 years younger than the rest of the population. The growth in psychiatric diagnoses is staggering. There are also the blatant human rights violations that are happening around the country to people with psychiatric labels. We need to have honest community conversations about the real mental health crisis in this country.
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She certainly is, Duane.
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Wow this post got to me. I am sitting with some intense emotions right now. It is all good though – feeling emotions is beneficial for me these days (after many years running from them). Thanks, my friend, for your beautiful writing.
Report comment
Jeffgishkin,
I agree that things are changing in some places – Western Mass for example. I think we need to be really concerned about Congressman Murphy’s proposed legislation taking back all the changes people fought so hard for. Advocacy is definitely needed.
Deron
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This is a great comment, ChuckSigler. Thank you. You started quite a conversation in our office.
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John Hoggett,
I really appreciate your comment. One of the unhealthy relationships I developed was with gambling. It is sad to watch governments and the gambling industry blame the social costs associated with gambling on a brain “defect” that they claim resides in certain people. They take no responsibility for their part. Terrible stuff.
Deron
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wileywitch,
Thank you for your comments. I really can’t argue that addiction is at least a medical condition during withdrawal but overall it helps me to see it as a spiritual condition.
Deron.
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I agree, Duane – Copy_cat leaves some great comments. I facilitated a workshop recently where about 20 of the folks in attendance identified as being in recovery from drug addiction. Someone jokingly asked if anyone wasn’t diagnosed with “bipolar” during the withdrawal process. It was a joke for them because they rejected the diagnosis. I didn’t reject it and framed some years around a “bipolar” existence. So it wasn’t a joke for me. The diagnostic process is scary (intentional understatement).
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Darby,
Thank you for taking the time to post a comment. We appreciate your words and will be reading Mad Science. The focus of my work is mainly centered on “mental health.” The number of calls I have received from people concerned about the drugging and labeling that is happening at addiction facilities precipitated this article. The trend is alarming.
In solidarity,
Deron
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Nick Stuart,
I really appreciate and agree with your comments. Just because a person’s life gets out of control and they are on a destructive trajectory does not mean they are either a bad person or have a brain disease they have no control over. Addiction is being framed as a disease partially because there seems to be no room in our culture to simultaneously view oneself as at fault for our actions and not be a bad or weak person.
Deron
Report comment
Michael,
For many years I went to great lengths to avoid, suppress and numb my emotions. When I finallly stopped my methods of avoidance, the emotions flowed in – guilt and shame lead the way. I painstakingly worked through the emotional pain and amazingly started to feel peace and real joy. I use to have to go to extremes to feel what I thought was joy. Now I just sit peacefully on my deck reading a book or watching my dog chase leaves. And when shame and guilt creeps in – I now know that if I allow myself to experience the emotions they will be transient.
Thank you for writing such a great article. You definitely got me thinking. And feeling!
Deron
Report comment
John,
Thank you for the book suggestion. At some point I needed to mention the gambling industry. I realize this is not the forum but the damage the gambling industry (with government support) is doing to this country is extensive. I wear two hats in my work but at the end of the day human rights abuses are human rights abuses regardless of what form the predatory body takes. Also, thank you for sharing your advocacy narrative. I cannot stress enough how much I learn from the articles and comments on MIA.
Deron
Report comment
Madmom,
Thank you for your post. I have learned a lot from this and other comments you have written. I agree courage does take different forms or needs to come from a deeper place in situations like the one you articulated. I do think that most of the people that write in this forum have been both fighting from the locked confines of psychiatric hospitals and also using the legislative process. I know I have been in a med line like you described. I hope we all come together to do something about these awful human rights violations.
Deron
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Matthew,
Thank you for your comments. I am glad we are able to spend some time talking at NARPA. I look forward too many years fighting this fight alongside you.
Deron
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Chrys.,
I am definitely with you in the fight too. Thanks for your comments. Stephen is right – you are rad!
Deron
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Cannotsay,
What a great comment. If I could rewrite this, I would include your logical explanation of the history of the word “heretic.” Thank you
Deron
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MJK,
Thank you for the comment. I spent a fair amount of time in Bethel. There is a lot of work to do in Connecticut. It is nice to know there are a growing number of people in CT that are opposed to the status quo.
Deron
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Duane,
Thanks for the great quote! I love reading the articles on here but I also enjoy following the comments by people like you. Honestly, sometimes I see what you and some others say in your comments prior to reading an article. I always have been a little backwards. Thanks for your thoughts.
Deron
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Ted,
i am honored that you think we are kindred spirits. I agree that we have a moral obligation to take risks and make sacrifices in order to make progress. Thank you for your kind words.
Deron
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Daniel,
I really enjoyed reading this article. I was particularly drawn to your paragraphs concerning the people you may want to work with in the future. I look forward to seeing you later this month at NARPA. I am happy that some folks in CT will get to see some of your great work.
Deron
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Great article, Vanessa! I will be listening to David Foster Wallace’s commencement speech soon. Thank you.
Deron
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Michael,
Thank you for this great article. “Revolution is the word and the answer and it always has been.” Inspiring statement and so true. I found the last four paragraphs highly motivating. Thank you for that. And yeah we have “the collective horsepower to take back our culture.”
Deron
Report comment
Cyndi,
I am happy to see your narrative in this forum. I am continually inspired by your commitment to living optimally. I am grateful to know you and I am looking forward to presenting with you at NARPA.
Deron
Report comment
Thanks for the feedback, links and pieces of personal narratives. I learn a great deal from the comments. I spent a fair amount of time over the weekend captivated by The Top Five Regrets of the Dying by Bronnie Ware. She talks about her experiences as a caregiver for people in their last weeks of life. She also spent a couple of pages writing about a young man she worked with named “Anthony.” Anthony ended up in a nursing home because of unspecified injuries (seemingly not life threatening). The author tells how Anthony assimilated to the home and became like the elderly people and subsequently died at a young age. “Anthony’s biggest failure lay in becoming a complete product of his environment, lacking any desire to challenge himself and hence, improve his life. It was such a waste of a good and intelligent person, and of natural gifts he had been born with.”
Anthony’s story really resonated with me. I think it is even worse in the mental health system because I think many people, unlike Anthony, have a desire to challenge themselves but are encouraged otherwise. I think in many ways people do become like their surrounding environment so it is really important for activists to keep fighting to change the current “mental health” environment.
Report comment
Wyatt,
I am so grateful that our paths crossed. I have learned a great deal from you – in person and through your writings on FB and now through your deeply moving article here. I have brought many ideas about human rights to AU (learned from Tina and Daniel). You have greatly expanded my frame of knowledge around human rights particularily those concerning the impact of privilege. Thank you and I look forward to seeing you soon.
Deron
Report comment
Dorothy,
I started reading your post Saturday night and simply could not finish – I could not read though my tears. Your words brought me back to my childhood watching powerlessly as my mother was abused by the “mental health system.” Like you – she has spoken at length about her experiences but there are some things she does not talk about or possibly remember – the same ones that I will never forget. My beautiful and brilliant mother strapped to a gurney in a hallway – yelled at and not allowed to go to the bathroom. Not because she broke any laws – no just because she was f’n sad. I have lost track of the number of times I visited her in a psych hospital but I cannot lose the memories. The most recent memory is of my mother coming to see me in a psych hospital – my life had just completely fallen apart. I thought she was going to tell me to listen and try to learn what I could while I was there. But I was wrong – she screamed and fought to get me out of there as soon as possible. There are some things she will never forget too.
Thank you for sharing this Dorothy. Thank you for everything you do. I admire, love and respect you for many reasons – not the least of which is for allowing me in to your home. Meeting you and your friends has been life changing for me.
Deron
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Great work as always Laura. The key components alone would make an impactful book. So my incredibly gifted writer friend – when will this happen?
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