Shoshanna's Psychiatric Survivors' Guide

Welcome To Shoshanna's
Psychiatric Survivors' Guide

Introduction To Empowerment
Glossary Of Terms: What We're Really Talking About
The Company We Keep
The C/S/X Movement (Page Under Construction)
NAMI -- With Friends Like This... (Page Under Construction)
Neuroleptic Drugs (Page Under Construction)
ECT -- What You Should Know
Involuntary Commitment (Page Under Construction)
We Are Hostages
Advance Directives (Page Under Construction)
Speaking Up and Fighting Back (Page Under Construction)
A Final Word To My Ex-Therapist
Comments?

Support/Information Sites:
Walkers In Darkness (Mailing List -- Depression)
Pendulum (Mailing List -- Bipolar Disorder)
Multiple Personality Disorder Resources
Dissociation Page (a.ka. MPD)
Anxiety, Agoraphobia, & Panic Attacks Page
Emotional Trauma
Survivors' Page (Sexual Abuse & Rape)
Suicide Resources on the Internet

For The Adventurous:
DreamLink (Tools & Methods of Dream Interpretation)
Keirsey Temperament Sorter (Meyer-Briggs based determination of Personality Type)

Introduction To Empowerment

William Blake, Lord Byron, Hemingway, Faulkner-- names to reckon with. And madmen, one and all, as defined by the world in which they lived. A few among many of those blessed with the twin fires of creative genius and altered perception-- blazing lights who have brought a new dynamic to not only literature, music, and art, but also to the sciences and to the pathways of invention. In the late 15th century, who but a madman would dream of flight? DaVinci did, as he looked into the future and drew his dreams of air-borne man. Who but a madman would think to sail the world when all considered sane knew, as unquestionable fact, the world was flat? Columbus did not find the land he sought, but he possessed the vision, the imagination, and the madness to go looking for it. Unbounded by the walls of limited perception, it is the madmen who have dreamed, who have envisioned, who have created, and who have opened the doors to the future.

In the year 40 A.D. the philosopher Seneca observed that "there is no great genius without a touch of madness." Given that the perceptually-marginalized will never become comfortable with the fact that they are destined to plod through a humdrum existence and are-- by the very nature of their limitations-- unable to produce the fiery brilliance that is kindled by the divine spark of a mind unfettered by accepted "realities," they will inevitably feel compelled to project upon those who possess it their own inadequacies. To this end they attempt to diminish, to degrade, to damage, and to destroy.

This is not at all dissimilar to the manner in which the KKK and like-minded hate groups appeal to the very dregs of white society-- simply put, these are people who are afraid of what they don't understand, are convinced that to be different is to be wrong, and are most pleased with themselves when they are in the process of controlling someone who falls into either of the first two categories.

What is the practical difference between a Klansman who burns a cross and then lynches a man and the psychiatrist who has a c/s/x committed and then drugs him into oblivion? Only one-- the psychiatrist does it legally. And the moral difference? The psychiatrist does it in the name of altruism. But what a strange altruism it is! One that coerces and brutalizes, one that drugs and shocks and restrains and imprisons-- not on the basis of actions, but assumptions. It is an "altruism" that is openly insulting and degrading. It is an "altruism" that maims-- and someimes kills. The long-dominant atmosphere of arrogant disrespect and blatant disregard for the civil rights of those in its care does not engender faith, confidence, or-- in return-- respect for the psychiatric establishment. It is a profession that possesses an unparalleled power to destroy-- and uses it; for the most part, with complete impunity. As long as psychiatrists have the ever-ready option of force, there is no impetus for them to seek or make use of better alternatives. What force achieves is the assurance that its victim-- or whatever remains of him-- will, in the future, stay as far away from psychiatric "help" as he possibly can.

And so, in us there is anger-- anger born of cavalier malpractice and habitual abuse. Our voice is the voice of those who have been terribly harmed-- some beyond repair-- by those who claim to "help." And there are more of us every day. That's the tragedy. But we needn't lie back and take it forever, nor must we meet it with the deference and and unquestioning acceptance that's expected. We can speak up, we can unite and strengthen each other, and we can arm ourselves with knowledge-- the best weapon, and perhaps the only one that can never be neutralized. We can recognize that we do not have to accept being made less so that others can feel they are more. In the ongoing battle for our right to survival and self-determination, we must recognize that when those who take an oath to "first, do no harm" are free to destroy at will, and when those approved and self-approving agencies that purport to speak in our name then turn and act against us, we cannot affort to be re-victimized by our own passivity. And we must understand the bottom line-- that we, ourselves alone, are the only ones truly concerned with our own protection.

The Web pages that will be developed here over the coming months will address empowerment, and the methods by which it can be reclaimed. This will be a continuing effort, with its goal being that of a combined central information bureau and revolutionary declaration; a place in which individuals can not only find the information they need, but also learn to question the sacrosanct and not-properly-questioned power of the mental health profession-- preferably before it's able to do them any harm.

For too long we have remained accepting-- and silent. It is time for that to end.