I have a mentally ill Uncle – I know that he’s been tortured by his condition for more than 25 years, and would do anything to be ‘normal’ again, but I have always been amazed by his ‘crazy wisdom’ – his incredibly unique insights and lateral/creative gifts…and I wonder, if mental illness were not so stigmatised by western society and those who have these conditions, so undervalued, whether he and others in similar circumstances may have happier, more productive lives, based on an acceptance and value of their ‘conditions’ …let’s face it, in other times and cultures, my Uncle would have been worshipped as a spiritual savante main-lining messages from the divine world …
That’s why the emerging ‘mad pride’ movement is so interesting, bec. it challenges the pathologisation (hey, that’s not a word) of ‘mental illness’, choosing to see ‘mental disorders’ as “dangerous gifts” rather than illnesses. This is a really interesting article:
Thanks to Kelly Chapman for the great reference.
Tags: mad pride, mental illness
