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Archive for May, 2014

10 Ways Mental Health Professionals Increase Suffering

Posted in american pathology, collective action on May 20, 2014| 1 Comment »

In his thought provoking post, “10 Ways Mental Health Professionals Increase Misery in Suffering People Bruce Levin quoted Martin Luther King who asserted in a 1962 speech that:

“Modern psychology has a word that is probably used more than any other word in modern psychology. It is the word “maladjusted”. . . There are certain things in our nation and in the world which I am proud to be maladjusted. . . I never intend to adjust myself to economic conditions that will take necessities from the many to give luxuries to the few. I never intend to adjust myself to the madness of militarism, to self-defeating effects of physical violence… I’m about convinced now that there is need for a new organization in our world: The International Association for the Advancement of Creative Maladjustment.”

Approximately half a century later, maybe it’s time we finally created that association.

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The Chilling Findings Regarding Long Term Use of Psychiatric Medications

Posted in depression, healing recovery, health, males and depression, mental health, therapy on May 19, 2014| Leave a Comment »

First let me say that I am fully aware that psychiatric medications can save lives. My concern is not their existence, but their abuse. All too often people in emotional pain are prescribed medication by their physicians without even the suggestion that there are other treatment options. For example, If your doctor has prescribed an antidepressant, did he or she also mention exercise, diet, counseling, psycho-education, support groups, exposure to natural light, journaling, etc.?

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Daring the Dark

Posted in creativity, crisis, healing, healing recovery, hope, Poetry, tagged , , , on May 14, 2014| 6 Comments »

view from my bedroom window by Kristen Fowles
Please forgive me for not writing in some time, this has been a period of deep reflection, soul searching, and exploration for me.

In his book, “The House of Belonging,” Poet David Whyte wrote the following:

“Sweet Darkness

When your eyes are tired
the world is tired also.

When your vision has gone
no part of the world can find you.

Time to go into the dark
where the night has eyes
to recognize its own.

There you can be sure
you are not beyond love.

The dark will be your womb
tonight.

The night will give you a horizon
further than you can see.

You must learn one thing.
The world was made to be free in.

Give up all the other worlds
except the one to which you belong.

Sometimes it takes darkness and the sweet
confinement of your aloneness
to learn

anything or anyone
that does not bring you alive
is too small for you.”

I have been daring the dark and as I’ve travelled further into the deep, into and beyond the confinement of my own aloneness, the dark has truly served me. And out of its depths I have emerged stronger, wiser, and more alive than ever before.

And I am here right now to lovingly and gently reassure that when you find yourself in darkness, don’t be afraid . The dark promises a new beginning — allow it to nurture and to stretch you. Say “yes” to it’s invitation for you to grow beyond the safety of your current boundaries. Say “yes” as you step courageously over the threshold.

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Posted in mental health, tagged , , , , on May 3, 2014| Leave a Comment »

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