These articles were submitted by our readers

by Michael Coughlin I survived the tragic and sudden death of my 12-year-old brother, the near-death of my second brother, and the horrific suicide of my uncle, all with barely any medication. I became an extremely happy and high-functioning adult through holistic and spiritual growth. I loved life itself. Then a freak occurrence happened. I… Continue Reading

by  Philip A. Kumin Author’s Note: The following article was originally written in 1991. Since then, Judi Chamberlin has died of cancer, and both national patients’ organizations have fallen into disarray due to constant infighting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  Perhaps concurrent with the… Continue Reading

  by Philip A. Kumin Author’s Note:  The following article was originally written in 1987.  Immediately before the start of the Alternatives ’87 Conference, a Constitutional Convention was held for the National Mental Health Consumers’  Association. Persons whose names I used are in the public domain regarding their status as patients. . . . …. Continue Reading

by Philip A. Kumin For anyone privy to the dynamics of the discussion surrounding the manifest destiny of the mental patients’ movement one thing is clear; those founding activists who survive are aggrieved at the loss of their native movement. In almost any venue in which these activists air their grievances, there is an aggregate… Continue Reading

                                             by Philip A. Kumin I’m a self-taught author, and a good one at that.  I tried for years to get my well written vignettes published in almost every publication imaginable including the great,… Continue Reading

After suffering from severe mental illness for over 30 years, which started in 1989 when I was 19 years old, I am now experiencing true happiness and peace. I never thought I would ever feel this way. The following is my story, which I am telling with the hope that it might help others who… Continue Reading

I am in recovery from “mental illness”. I’ve always felt that the typical professional services were unable to provide the relief I needed. When I re-entered the workforce I focused my energy on these limitations. I became a peer specialist-a person in recovery trained in supportive counseling and advocacy. I also began earning my master’s… Continue Reading

Hi All, Phil, I agree with you on the dismal and almost criminal state of psychiatry, today. I have mixed feelings about Benzos, however, because of the almost unbearable chronic anxiety attacks I was having. Take a pill and anxiety gone. It helped keep me alive at the time. But now, 3 years later I take a small… Continue Reading

My neice living in a townhouse complex – has reached the following stage:- 1-complete isolation from anybody even her sisters. 2-will not acknowledge her illness and will not accept any medication whatsoever. 3-will not allow anybody into her home. 4-all the symptons of Schizoid Personality Disorder 5-threatening to all and considers everyone responsible for her divorce that she… Continue Reading

In the late ’90s I experienced some kind of distress of consciousness. My wife took me to the emergency room of a local hospital and I was told I had “bipolar disorder,” an incurable “mental illness” which meant I would have to be on psychiatric drugs the rest of my life. We now know that… Continue Reading

Thank you very much for your article in regards to the validity of Bi-polar Disorder. my mother claimed to have that and other mental disorders to qualify for SSDI. Of course she had physicians who were all to eager to verify her “self diagnosis”. They saw a cash cow and I suppose so did she on a lesser scale…. Continue Reading

  Hi, I have a story to tell, I don’t care if you like it I only need to tell it… First let me tell you a little bit about me, I am 13, my real name is not Kykie, I am a girl of course, and I am mentally messed up, or so I’ve been told. I… Continue Reading

I am an inmate of St. Joseph’s Psychiatric Hospital, Hamilton, Ontario. Although I am still trapped in the intricate web of the forensic “mental health” system, I consider myself a psychiatric survivor. After all, I’ve made it this far, but I realize that more time is needed before I’m finally able to extricate myself from… Continue Reading

Despite a long debated idea about the abolishment of psychiatry and the futuristic dream for the once known mentally ill and ex mental health population of America and elsewhere, has left me dazed and confused about a lot of things. As Ex mental health patient culture to me wasn’t very helpful, I was expecting more of a professional environment,… Continue Reading

I’ve spent my adult life working in mental health services.  I worked for 15 years in residential treatment with adolescents, and another 15 years in large outpatient programs with adults.  I’ve been in clinical roles and leadership roles, primarily as a group therapist. I am a strident cognitive behaviorist. I’ve been a passionate and sincere… Continue Reading

It saddens me that there appears to be 6 distinct camps on mental illness’s validity. I am convinced that Camp 1, the APA and their DSM, allow or add so many disorders, and constantly rewrite diagnosis criteria to pump up business. Camp 2: The “worried well” that feed this machine by seeking help for normal human behaviors that disturb them… Continue Reading

I am a college student who has experienced several various mentally challenging roadblocks. My mental and health issues stemmed from a previous eating disorder. I have experienced stages of anxiety, depression and eating disorder relapses. My own self harm also resulted in medical conditions that I will live with and need to be treated for for the rest of my… Continue Reading

I received my ‘life sentence’ from a Montana psychiatrist at the tender age of 22. I was diagnosed with Bipolar because I had what he called a ‘chemical imbalance’ in my brain and would need to take medicine to treat it for the rest of my life. At the time I was struggling to deal with the aftermath of… Continue Reading

I am a 58 year old male. I was born into a dysfunctional family with issues of shame and guilt.  I believe that this affected my psychological state. I had severe Asthma and I was unintentionally put in front of an open fire and out in a cold street in my pram where I was exposed to… Continue Reading

  As third born of four children, I was pretty much invisible. My brother, 3 years older than me, would come home from school and we would play school and he would teach me everything he learned that day. I was five, he was eight. I idolized my big brother. I followed him everywhere. When I was in the… Continue Reading

I have been struggling with bullying since middle school and I find it hard.  I will start from the beginning. I started getting bullied in middle school because i looked different. I decided to create coping skills, like watching anime and playing video games.  Indeed these skills helped me get through hard times when i was young. Middle school was… Continue Reading

I too have been digonisoed with bi- polar 11. and hve been taken lithium for the last twney four years, since 1991 nd I find that iam bter off and can fuction better without them   A Reader