David Oaks "I Got Better"

via Hugh London

Here, David W. Oaks, Executive Director of MindFreedom International, presents his video from MindFreedom's "I Got Better" campaign. Starting as a 19-year-old, David experienced five psychiatric institutionalizations while attending Harvard. He was told that he would forever need to be in mental health care, including taking psychiatric drugs. He graduated with honors anyway in 1977, and has been off all psychiatric drugs since then. He has been a community organizer for human rights in mental health care since college. "I'm pro-choice about taking prescribed psychiatric medication," said David. "At one point, I really begged for that. However, I was told that back then it was hopeless, and that I would forever be on psychiatric drugs. That was wrong. I found a lot of a lot of alternatives that worked for me. I recovered from hopelessness... and so can you. I hope you tell your 'I Got Better' story!"
About David W. Oaks, MFI Director                  David W. Oaks web site

via I Got Better:

About the Campaign

MindFreedom International's I Got Better campaign aims to challenge the dominant narrative of hopelessness in mental health care by making stories of hope and mental wellness widely available through a variety of media.

We're collecting:

I Got Better videos
written stories
AND
data on hope and hopelessness in mental health care

With this collection of stories and evidence we can spark a new dialogue in our society about mental and emotional distress, moving from hopelessness and chronic illness to themes of resiliency, recovery, wellness, and HOPE!

We're very interested in feedback about the site, which you can send to us at igb@mindfreedom.org.

The I Got Better campaign is generously funded by a grant from the Foundation for Excellence in Mental Health Care (FEMHC).

Join MindFreedom International here

Friday Funny: I Got Butter, Dead Fish and Girls That Piss Me Off

MindFreedom i got better links and igotbetter.org

Residents of Lyme Regis, Dorset, are no longer lawfully permitted to slap each other with a 5-foot-long conger eel. It’s officially known as ‘conger-cuddling’ or ‘doing the conger’, and the game — which involves knocking opponents off of a platform by swinging the dead fish at them — was both wildly popular in the community and a source of funding for a local lifeboat charity for 32 years. Despite its long history and general appeal, ‘doing the conger’ was banned in 2006 after an animal rights group complained that the game was disrespectful to dead animals.

Read the full text at: mental_floss "Where Knowledge Junkies Get Their Fix"

(profanity warning)

Jenna Marbles on youtube

A special thank you to my cousin Damien for sharing my optimism!