A safe place to talk openly about mental health & illness
Unfortunately, mental health professionals are a major source of stigma towards people with mental illness. Recovery-oriented practice is one possibility for transforming mental health care into a less stigmatizing place, so let's talk about what that might look like. What recovery is Personal recovery, also known as psychosocial recovery, is a different can of tuna… Continue reading Recovery-Oriented Practice and Mental Illness Stigma
Manic Man: How to Live Successfully with a Severe Mental Illness by Jason Wegner, with a foreword by Dr. Kerry Barnes, is a memoir of a first episode of bipolar mania and subsequent recovery. The book's prologue opens with the author's parents having called paramedics to take him to hospital. It then shifts back in… Continue reading Book Review: Manic Man
From Hardened to Healed by Debi Silber encourages readers to move beyond where they're stuck right now to a place of greater healing. I learned of this book from Joshua Shea, who you may know from his blog paddictrecovery.com; in the book, he shares his story of recovery from addiction and betrayal trauma. The author… Continue reading Book Review: From Hardened to Healed
The Night the Lights Went Out by Drew Magary tells the author's story of experiencing a traumatic brain injury and the gradual process of recovery. After hosting the 2018 Deadspin Awards, he collapsed, breaking his skull and his brain. In this book, he brings readers along as his life is turned upside down. Since the… Continue reading Book Review: The Night the Lights Went Out
The International Hearing Voices Movement (InterVoice) seeks to normalize, depathologize, and destigmatize the experience voice-hearing, and also provide support to people who hear voices, see visions, etc. InterVoice is based in the UK. There are also 28 national networks, including the Hearing Voices Network in the UK and Hearing Voices Network USA. The movement believes… Continue reading A Look at the Hearing Voices Movement
I Will Not Be My Mental Illness: Let's Recover Together by Karina Pommainville-Odell, a fellow blogger, is an invitation for the reader to join the author in working on a better life with mental illness. The book's tone is friendly and encouraging, and positive in a realistic rather than over the top way. Chapters are… Continue reading Book Review: I Will Not Be My Mental Illness
Winter Dragonflies wrote quite a while back about creating your peace. It made me think about the relationship between non-acceptance and suffering in the context of mental illness, and I started this draft that I've finally gotten around to writing. Mental illness isn't fun, that much is clear. How we relate to illness, wellness, and… Continue reading Non-Acceptance, Suffering, and Mental Illness
From Famine to Feast: My Thoughts About My Eating Disorder is the first book by K. Michelle Pahl, who you may know from her blog, From Famine to Feast – The Journey. The book includes her twelve most popular blog posts, and they were definitely popular for a reason. Together, they offer remarkable insights into… Continue reading Book Review: From Famine to Feast
Bottled Memories by David Ritter is a short book (40 pages) of poetry capturing both active addiction and the process of recovery. While the poems relate to his own experiences, there are themes many others will relate to, including the lure of "one more," "praying to the porcelain throne," and doing the walk of shame.… Continue reading Book Review: Bottled Memories
Action for Happiness I'm definitely not a fan of the whole toxic positivity business, and no, happiness is not a choice (or at least not always). But a while back I stumbled across the Action for Happiness website, and I like their style. I was looking through my journal and came across the 8 pillars… Continue reading Action for Happiness: More Than Just “Choose Happiness”