A Day in the Life

" Initially when a person realises that they have been identified as psychotic and therefore different to others, a sense of loss of one's normality follows. This can feel very threatening. Cast as psychotic one has entered a taboo identity in Western society, with connotations of being socially, morally and genetically inferior. A real sense of social failure and despair can set in... Consequently, there may be a period of time when one has to mourn the loss of a former identity and reassess one's expectations and values." - Rufus May. When I first became ill, many of my friends reacted in unexpected ways. One of them was to tell me that my life was over. Indeed, I remember the conversation that we had on that night, what must now be nearly twenty years ago, but remains as fresh in my mind as if it were yesterday. "My God!", he said, "your life's over , Dave. What is there out there for you now?" The truth was many years of illness. But at th...

The other day at MAGMH we were discussing self or internalised stigma. This is what happens when one's past experience of stigma or, indeed, anticipation of the future experience of it, actually stops those who have experienced mental ill health from doing things which would have been a normal part of their lives, e.g. applying for jobs or attempting to forge new relationships. According to Graham Thornicroft's book, "Shunned", this is a very common trait amongst those with mental ill health and , indeed, one which is not helped by the mental health system itself. Professor Thornicroft points out that some of the things which would make service users feel better is having some form of control in managing their illnesses, being treated with respect, and finally, not feeling powerless in the face of the seemingly all-knowing psychiatrist. Unfortunately, his book suggests that in all of these areas the system is sadly lacking, with many service users reporting experie...