Must ''Mad Pride'' Mean ''Anti-Psychiatry''?

In My Humble Opinion
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The wiki on the Mad Pride movement indicates

I’ve been a long-term fighter against the stigma of mental illness which includes sharing my own experiences living with mental illness and being a consumer of mental health services, fighting for mental health parity and pushing for a broader spectrum of choices in treatment. That said, I get the impression Mad Pride is historically grounded in the experience of psychiatric abuse. I do have my own personal axe to grind as a consumer, but it has more to do with having shitty unsupported treatment modalities pushed on me than it has to do with bad experiences with psychiatric medication or being coerced into taking medications against my will. Neither am I anti-DSM per se, though, I recognise the ways in which it is problematic.

The movement appeals to me because it recognizes the strength in suffering and fights to reclaim those very words used to denigrate folks who are neurologically different. I have no problem calling myself crazy and I’m not particularly ashamed of being so. I do think we have a responsibility to fight against the social stigma that constantly attempts to shame those of us who think differently. And the historical treatment of people with mental health disorders is abysmal and still reflective in some of our mental health policy.

But, I take drugs. Somewhat grudgingly but on the whole that’s the right choice for me, and I suspect I will take drugs for the rest of my life in order to remain functional. I would never sugarcoat the reality of test-driving 13 different medications or dealing with a lowered seizure threshold or any of that bullshit that comes with it, but I don’t subscribe to any conspiracy theories that psychiatry is a racket. It has an imperfect but solid evidence-base like cognitive behavioral therapy or anything else thoroughly researched.

Is that contrary to the Mad Pride movement? Do I fit in there or does it require a total rejection of the disease model of mental illness? Just how big is the Mad Pride umbrella?

Thanks,

Christy

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There is a second psychiatric-inmates movement that you might find more appealing, which is generally referred to as “the consumer’s movement”. The two wings don’t always get along, but we both do believe in self-determination and protection from abuse and social stigma. The “consumers” are people who do avail themselves of mental health services but want the same patients’ rights as people who are consumers of other branches of medical practice.

I’m part of the “mad pride” anti-psychiatric “survivors’” wing of the movement myself. I don’t take drugs and have very little positive to say about what the psychiatric profession has to offer. But in the name of self-determination I support the right of people to find what works for them.

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I think this is better suited to IMHO.

Colibri
General Questions Moderator

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If a 2009 source from ABC News is good enough, then they found that the Mad Pride movement was about 8000 strong back then.

Within the Mad Pride umbrella, many do reject taking pharmaceuticals; however, that is usually prefaced with for themselves. The people ABC quoted seem quite supportive and accepting of any thing(s) or method(s) that others use to feel whole and stable.

Others are more focused on removing the stigma and shame around mental health, and improving our nation’s open dialogue about such issues. They are trying to get people to acknowledge that they have mental issues, and accept that there is nothing “wrong” with that; in the sense that they are not lesser or bad or should be punished in some way by society. After that first step, they are trying to then show that receiving psychiatric care and medicine, is nothing shameful or wrong. Those of Mad Pride want the Mad to freely seek help so that they can become stable, and become even greater people in society than they ever could have been without any outside help.

It seems to be a movement around personal freedom and being “pro-choice” in the sense that the Mad should have the first and last say in whether or not they get treated at all. Some Mad acknowledge that some should perhaps be forced to take medication anyway if they are the violent types (such as the Virginia Tech shooter), for their own safety as well as for other’s; But it overwhelmingly seems to be populated by people interested in alternative methods of controlling their madness (such as gardening, or acupuncture, or having close friends that they can call during an episode and be taken away to a hotel rather than a hospital).

So, yes Spice Weasel you would fit within this group. I don’t think that there are many that wholly reject the disease based model of mental health, because that is what they were raised to believe in; but that model is a far cry from the truth, we are finding out. At best we can say that it is a mixture of disease-theory-based faulty genes, and chemical imbalances, but mostly of ingrained experience and our natural coping mechanisms. It is a problem of learning the wrong things (ways of thought, coping strategies), and having to re-learn something new. Like putting our full faith in Newtonian physics our entire lives, only to require deep knowledge of quantum mechanics for the rest of your life instead. Or now needing to only walk upside down on your hands.

So in that way, The people of Mad Pride see the need for all people to recognize that mental illness is also a problem of personal agency, in addition to biologically based. With the needs for treatment being centered around legitimate emotional distress, rather than a chemical imbalance.

Why We Need to Abandon the Disease-Model of Mental Health Care - Scientific American Blog Network

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Thank you for your thoughts. Yeah, I guess I would frame my position as similar to the ‘‘pro-choice’’ movement. People need to have access to all mental health care options and the decisions about their care should be in their own hands. So while I have chosen to take medication and XYZ treatments I respect every individual’s right to make that decision for him/herself.