25 years and still strong - Asylum magazine.

I am proud to work on the editorial collective of Asylum magazine. This year we have four special issues on the theme of comics and mental health.  Helen Spandler is an academic who has been involved in Asylum magazine for a number of years.  Here is a podcast about History Of Asylum Magazine by Helen Spandler

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Language and mental illness

‘I am such an idiot!’ Said the woman sitting behind me in a cafe. This is mild compared to people self-diagnosing themselves at the drop of a hat; one is no longer tidy OCD is the new term used to describe a preference for cleanliness. Language is important anyone who has been diagnosed with a metal illness will tell you the term schizo, spaz or autistic don’t feel particularly empowering.

While mental illness is still stigmatised and feared in society the idea of it has trickled down into everyday speech. This perhaps is a triumph of the system, it no longer has to worry about going out to diagnose, we have become our own policemen. Foucault in his writing did envisage an era where power would be distributed in such a way that it became a means of self-regulation. Visibility as he pointed out was a trap. Mental illness is one such trap, our behaviour is constantly normalised to such an extent that any deviation is automatically classified as mental illness.

Mental illness is also dependant on language as the language to describe mental deviation is almost always unpleasant. Terms we throw about carelessly have an effect on a person. 

Women, Addiction and Nation- My latest article

One of my articles has been published by Ragged University it is a free article and you can access it by clicking the link below.

Women, Addiction and Nation

Based on work that eventually lead me to write my thesis this article tackles some of the issues I came across whilst dealing with an apparently clinical condition. 

When nation, gender and madness collide

In all my years of studying Psychology I am always struck by how mental illness is often the first explanation that is ascribed to most behaviour. The history leading up to the formal diagnosis is often forgotten. creating disorder is more social process than a clinical one. I have challenged notions of biology before however my stance is best summed up by Richard Bentall- "Throughout the history of psychiatry, the idea that schizophrenia and related conditions are genetic diseases has been treated as an axiom, rather than a hypothesis."  

Here is the abstract I am presenting at the Psychology of Women's Section Conference 

Mental disorders are increasingly being looked at through clinical framework. The production of mental disorders is dependant upon social and historical factors. Location and gender interact with each other to produce disorders which are sometimes given a clinical status. Diagnosis in India is not merely dependent on clinical classifications. Women’s alcohol and drug consumption is tied to their sexuality, tethered to nationalistic discourse about ideal Indian femininity.

Women’s alcohol and drug use is often viewed as an anti national/maternal resistance leading to public violence. Bollywood films are a source of data to observe how cinematic violence often mirrors everyday violence against women and vice versa. Examining discourse in films and incidents of gender violence arguments of western corruption, representations of  ‘deviant’ women are used on screen as tropes to caution against trespassing the boundaries of national decorum.   Nationalism, gender and madness collide to create clinical disorders and social strategies of control. 

It's a very, very mad world..

And I find it kinda funny

I find it kinda sad

The dreams in which I'm dying

Are the best I've ever had

I find it hard to tell you

I find it hard to take

When people run in circles

It's a very, very mad world, mad world- Tears for Fears

If you are in Edinburgh and crave something cerebral I recommend the Mad World Exhibition at St Margaret’s Place. A wonderful free exhibition with meaningful artwork that will make you ponder about the mental health system. Amongst the many things I did over the weekend this made the biggest impact on me.

The exhibition is the perfect place to learn about activism in the radical mental health field for the last thirty years. Abuse in the mental health system is an idea that perhaps not emphasised upon enough this exhibition does just that. It invites the viewer to ponder over the stories of those who have used mental health services, been abused and are now challenging what it means to go through this system.

It was wonderful to see copies of Asylum magazine from the 1980’s; some of the issues raised then are still relevant today. Mental illness is still stigmatised in our society, fears about mentally ill people still colour our judgment. This exhibition helps dispel those notions calling the viewer to listen to stories of people who are more than the labels that were assigned to them.

The lovely Alex Dunedin is more than happy to sit you down and talk about this subject passionately. Sharing his inspiration behind this exhibition and the possibility of more to come. 

I was interviewed at the exhibition and here is the  free podcast interview with Sonia Soans

Here are some photographs of the exhibition.

Mental health in comics

Yes my very own article in Asylum Magazine co written with a friend . Don't miss the cover image is from A Tale of One Bad Rat by Bryan Talbot. You can buy a copy of the magazine from here  Subscribe. More issues on comics and mental health to come out soon. 

HOAX by Ravi Thornton at MancsterCon

I spent the weekend at Mancstercon listening to Ravi Thornton talking about her work.

Hoax tells the story of Ravi Thornton’s brother Roabbi - or Rob as he was called, who was affected by schizophrenia. The title is borrowed from a poem titled HOAX written by her brother. In her words it attempts to capture her brother’s landscapes of struggle through illness the an ultimate release. HOAX attempts to bring about empathy about mental health issues. 

Described as A social enterprise that aims to inspire empathy and understanding around social issues through collaborative cross media storytelling. The graphic novel sees Collaboration with artists such as Bryan Talbot, Rian Hughes, Hannah Merry, Mark Stafford to name a few. Keen to champion the work of newcomers Ravi has got them to collaborate with well-known artists. HOAX also sees academic inputs from Professor Mark Green. 

  

HOAX  is a cross media project which involves using a single narrative and using it in many forms such as drama, dance or film.  A  dramatised  version of and been shown at the Royal Exchange at Manchester. 

From my limited knowledge about comic books I have never seen comics portray mental illness positively and certainly not through a survivors point of view. Mental illness is almost always ugly and tied up with the idea of criminality. Schizopherina even amongst mental health is seen as ‘a complete breakdown of the individual’. There is a sense of unease about acknowledging personal suffering through an easy diagnosis which labels an individual but does very little in proving comfort.

Ravi’s work tells an important story from her brother’s point of view addressing his experience of the world as opposed to an easy idea of what mental illness is. It delves into what would be too messy a narrative to tell clinically.

In a world where popular media provides non representative narratives her work provides an alternative way of looking at issues we have only seen through stigmatising eyes.

If you want to find out more about Ravi Thornton's work or Mancstercon here are some helpful links -

To buy the graphic novel click here. Money from the sales will help support mental health charities SANE and Manchester Mind.

This is a link to the songs HOAX My Lonely Heart composed and performed by Minute Taker

MancsterCon is a voluntarily run organisation dedicated to bringing together the best of the independent sequential art scene in the North West. 

What does it mean to be Trans*gender

I must say I don't understand the issue fully but I am aware that it is still classified as a mental disorder. Being labelled with a mental illness is an unpleasant experience. It also is the only way somebody can transition. Hate crime, misunderstanding and misconceptions about the issue have isolated people in the community. Through this event we hope activists in this field can share their experiences with us. 

The event is free but you need a ticket. Book tickets here  

St Dymphna Seminars, 2013 Manchester

The St Dymphna Seminars was created in 2012 to provide a safe and open environment for those with an interest in mental health to  discuss issues relating to practice and experience. Inspired by the models of community care in traditions established at Gheel, the seminars aim to educate and reveal aspects of living with mental illness and perspectives on predominant models and treatments that are rarely shared. It is hoped that these seminars will also provide an arena for conflicting stances to witness the reality behind the ideology.

Here is t link to the website. http://theswordandfettereddevil.wordpress.com/about/

Democratic Psychiatry

Democratic Psychiatry, sounds like an oxymoron of Foucauldian proportions but it isn't. Over the years I have heard the silence the mental health profession imposes on its users. It’s not the bad practitioners I am talking about but the good ones. They are probably the most lost here. They get accolades they don't breach ethical boundaries but they don't do any good either.

The practice of mental health requires a belief akin to the belief in God. As long as one believes they have found a way through they come out of the clinic feeling better. Those who question those assumptions, they fall by the wayside and their voices are never heard. Clients who question the practitioner are said to be resistant or worse still their curiosity worked into their symptomatology some unlucky ones get medicated.

As someone once said to me “ you don’t know what it is like to get diagnosed, you loose your sense of self, no matter what you do after that is looked as insane”.  

How many people will have to feel this way before we sit up and acknowledge the gaping holes in our mental health system? When will the client be able to speak and be heard?

Mental health must be looked at from the users perspectives their concerns however trivial must be taken into account. One must consider the damage a diagnosis can cause an individual. It may help some people but what about those who see the label as damaging?  

Practice must look at each individual within their own language rather than fitting the client into the language of psychiatry. How does this work? simple ask and the client will tell you.