Like mads (english) – Comme des fous

Elizabeth Gilbert parle du génie créatif

La romancière américaine Elizabeth Gilbert nous parle ici de la magie de créer. Très inspirant!

The Inmates Are Running the Asylum [36min]

Version sous-titrée en français.

« Les internés gèrent l’asile : Histoires de la MPA (Mental Patients Association) », documentaire sur un groupe d’activistes en psychiatrie créé au début des années 1970 à Vancouver au Canada.

Le langage de la folie [David Cooper]

David Cooper (1931-1986) est un psychiatre sud-africain, inventeur du terme antipsychiatrie, qui ressemble plus à une non-psychiatrie.

« La folie dont je veux parler est la folie qui est plus ou moins présente en chacun de nous, et pas seulement la folie qui reçoit un baptême psychiatrique…
Donc, quand j’utilise ici le mot « fou », je ne fais pas référence à une race spéciale d’individus : le fou en moi s’adresse au fou en vous dans l’espoir que le premier fou parle suffisamment clair et fort pour que le second l’entende.
La folie est un mouvement vers l’autonomie : voilà quel est le « danger » réel de la folie et la raison de sa violente répression.
Agir politiquement signifie simplement récupérer ce qui nous a été volé, à commencer par la conscience de notre oppression au sein du système capitaliste.
La folie est la révolution permanente dans la vie d’une personne. Tout délire est une déclaration politique. »
David Cooper

language of madness david cooper Télécharger

“The Unsung Survivor Story Book”’ – Call For Contributions

This is the call for contributions for “The Unsung Survivor Story Book” » an anthology of first-hand accounts written by people who have survived. Whatever this means for the writer; is what it means for the writer.

The purpose of this anthology is to support people in telling their stories and in being understood.

We are survivors. We can heal when we feel understood.

We liberate ourselves when we take our power back.

We await your contribution of your personal story; sharing of your lived experience during these challenging times.

•IDEAS: Write about:

Your life experiences with mental health struggles, addiction and trauma
Your feelings
The stigma and judgment you have faced,
How your family and friends have treated you and how you have treated them
Your daily struggles and pain
Your successes and accomplishments
The challenges you face/have faced,
About relationships/friendships, legal/police issues, poverty, housing, medication (good experiences/bad experiences and why you take it/why you don’t), about mistrust and abuse by providers (and healthy/good experiences), tragedies, losses, pain, institutionalization, rehab, successes, heartbreak/heartache, positive treatment, peer support, effective help, about your dreams and desires and your recovery, and your ongoing struggle.

•This is an opportunity to tell your story. There is no right or wrong way to tell your story. There is no judgment. Your experience is as difficult, painful, desperate, horrendous, amazing, life-changing or wonderful as you feel that it is. There are no comparisons. What you have experienced is valid and you are important and must be treated with respect and dignity and you deserve to be legitimized.

•Not every story is going to be one of complete success or recovery and your story does not have to have a happy ending, however by acting in solidarity with one another and by publicly taking back our lives with the power that lives within all of us, we absolutely will live happier, healthier and more satisfying lives.

*Please write up to 2000 – 4000 (or so) words typed.

*Please write in your first language (we will have it translated into English for this edition)

*Every question you have about this project is important so please ask

*We will accommodate your needs and work with you in making this a success for you (Ask please)

•You can get a copy of ‘You’re Crazy – Volume One’ (Punk Rock Survivor Anthology) here: http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/betterdaysrecoverypress

*If you are a person who has had any challenges in the past with anyone involved with this project; you are encouraged to contribute. This project is in support of healing so please, everyone matters, you, me and all of us!

*All contributors will sign a release permitting their story being published.

*All contributors will receive a copy of the book with their story in it.

*All contributors can obtain copies of the book with their story in it at discounted rates.

*All contributors are supported in organizing speaking events in their communities.

•The deadline for submissions is June 1, 2020 Please email your submission and any and all questions to: THEUNSUNGSURVIVORSTORYBOOK@GMAIL.COM

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1u9Z9Z3zSppbyFneaq_0Wgld8Yc_BDEklKd8nsu8UPWA/edit?usp=sharing

Craig Lewis mad portrait

As Craig, let us make your mad portrait by answering these 5 questions.

My punk rock nickname is Crusty Craig. My name in Mexico is Goyo.

What inspires you in life and what are your expectations?

*Viktor Frankl, the author of ‘Man’s Search For Meaning’. Viktor Frankl has guided me in spirit from since before I took my first breath in 1973.

**Paris and Marseille, France. When I arrived in Paris on January 28th, 2018, it was with a one way ticket. I had no home to return to in the United States. No home, no job, no safety, no nothing. The people I met in Paris and in Marseille, accepted me and are my friends to this day. Landing in France, with my specific set of dangerous circumstances, back in the US, was what we call in English, a « Hail Mary ». It’s an idiom and clearly as evident in me being a contributor to Comme Des Fous; My « Hail Mary » was a success.

***Doing the impossible. It is an inspirational act of love for the world to prove that the impossible is actually quite possible. It is one of my personal hobbies.

****https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/thing
What do I aspire to? My answer is as simple as it is complex. I pray every day. It is the first thing I do when I wake up and I do it before lunch and dinner. My prayer is this: Dear Universe, Please help me become the best version of myself possible. I am grateful. I am grateful. I am grateful. This prayer is also my answer to your question.

How would you describe your job and why do you like it?

Sanity is a Full-Time Job. It seems to me that my job is to use my strange, fucked up and cool, life experience to help society find new ways to navigate through this minefield called life.

What do you think about the world of Mental Health?

The world is a 6 billion person mental hospital and the rest of us survived.

What positive influence has madness for you?

No one said it better than the French, « Don’t Panic, I’m Psychotic », so whomever is responsible for this brilliance; contact me as you wish… Us survivors have a hard time… I know how to make « Don’t Panic… I’m Psychotic » into a global source of revenue.

Would you like to be and what could be the contribution of a minister of Mental Healthcare?

I am a well known crazy person, so my answer is, yes. I like French People. Your situation is not easy. and it would improve a great deal, if the people who have the « power » , understood that it is the people who have the « power ». I would ask the Minister of Health to spend a day with me eating good food, admiring the Louvre, showing each other photos of our cats, and talking about any possible topic with the exception of mental health and politics. Once able to establish our mutual and warm, humane and human respect for each other; the conversation about « mental health in France » would commence.
If that did not work, and maybe they get upset with me and say « get away from me you crazy American », my only French language response would be, the only thing I can actually say in French « Je suis merveilleux et beau ».

What page, organization or initiative would you like to share?

http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/betterdaysrecoverypress

Promising practices in prevention, reduction and elimination of coercion across Europe

Pratiques prometteuses pour prévenir, réduire ou éliminer les soins psychiatriques sous contrainte à travers l’Europe par l’ONG Mental Health Europe (MHE).

Coercion-Report Télécharger

Being Jesus [12 min]

BEING JESUS: a short documentary by John Dewinne about the greatest story ever told. One man’s struggle to save the world.

« MadLove : A Designer Asylum »

Inspiré par sa propre expérience de l’hôpital psychiatrique, qu’il a vécu comme des lieux punitifs plutôt que des environnements accueillants, The Vacuum Cleaner espère que les idées de son projet collaboration pourra éventuellement influencer le soin en psychiatrie, offrant aux individus un espace accueillant pour la folie (‘a safe place to go mad’).

Plus d’infos sur:
https://slate.com/human-interest/2015/03/madlove-a-designer-asylum-from-james-leadbitter-the-vacuum-cleaner-is-a-mental-health-space-designed-by-patients-in-the-u-k.html

« i », Kendrick Lamar

Les paroles de « i » de Kendrick Lamar:

(This is a world premiere)
(C’est une première mondiale)

I done been through a whole lot
J’ai enduré beaucoup de choses
Trial, tribulation, but I know God
Procès, tribulation, mais je sais que Dieu est là
Satan wanna put me in a bow tie
Satan veut me mettre un nœud papillon
Pray that the holy water don’t go dry
Je prie pour que l’eau sacrée ne se tarisse pas
As I look around me
Quand je regarde autour de moi
So many motherfuckers wanna down me
Trop de connards veulent me tuer
But an enemigo never drown me
Mais jamais un ennemi ne m’a noyé
In front of a dirty double-mirror they found me
Ils m’ont trouvé face à un double-miroir

And I love myself
Et je m’aime
(The world is a ghetto with big guns and picket signs)
(Le monde est un ghetto fait d’armes et de banderoles)
I love myself
Je m’aime
(But it can do what it want whenever it want, I don’t mind)
(Mais il peut faire ce qu’il veut quand il veut, je m’en fous)
I love myself
Je m’aime
(He said I gotta get up, life is more than suicide)
(Il m’a dit de me relever, que la vie est plus qu’un suicide)
I love myself
Je m’aime
(One day at a time, sun gon’ shine)
(Un jour, le soleil brillera)

Everybody lookin’ at you crazy (crazy)
Tout le monde te regarde comme si tu étais fou (fou)
What you gon’ do ? (What you gon’ do ?)
Qu’est-ce que tu vas faire ? (Qu’est-ce que tu vas faire ?)
Lift up your head and keep moving (keep moving)
Relever la tête et continuer d’avancer (continuer d’avancer)
Or let the paranoia haunt you ? (Haunt you)
Ou laisser la paranoia te hanter ? (Te hanter)
Peace to fashion police, I wear my heart
Paix à la police de l’apparence, j’ai le cœur
On my sleeve, let the runway start
Sur la main, commençons à avancer
You know miserable do love company
Tu sais que le misérable aime la compagnie
What do you want from me and my scars ?
Qu’attends-tu de mes cicatrices et moi ?
Everybody lack confidence, everybody lack confidence
Je ne peux pas leur faire confiance, je ne peux pas leur faire confiance
How many times my potential was anonymous ?
Combien de fois mon potentiel est-il resté vain ?
How many times the city making me promises ?
Combien de fois la ville m’a-t-elle fait des promesses ?
Si I promise this
Alors je promets

They wanna say it’s a war outside and a bomb in the street
Ils veulent dire qu’il y a une guerre au-dehors et une bombe dans la rue
And a gun in the hood and a mob of police
Et des armes dans le quartier et la police
And a rock on the corner and a line full of fiend
Et un dealer au coin de la rue et une ligne de cocaïne
And a bottle full of lean and a model on a scheme yup
Et une bouteille remplie de syzzurp et un modèle à suivre
These days of frustration keep y’all on tuck and rotation
Ces jours de frustration nous ont fait rouler des joints
I duck these cold faces, post up fi-fie-fo-fum basis
Je les remets à leur place, et les regarde depuis mon pied d’estale
Dreams of reality’s peace
Je rêve d’une paix bien réelle
Blow steam in the face of the beast
Ils soufflent de la fumée sur leurs problèmes
The sky could fall down, the wind could cry now
Le ciel pourrait s’écrouler, le vent pourrait pleurer à tout instant
The strong in me, I still smile
La force est en moi, je souris toujours

Walk my bare feet (walk my bare feet)
Je marche pieds nus (je marche pieds nus)
Down down valley deep (down, down valley deep)
Je m’enfonce dans la vallée (je m’enfonce dans la vallée)
Fi-fie-fo-fum (fi-fie-fo-fum)
Fi-fie-fo-fum (fi-fie-fo-fum)
My heart undone (my heart undone)
Mon cœur n’est pas détruit (mon cœur n’est pas détruit)

I went to war last night
Je suis allé à la guerre cette nuit
With an automatic weapon, don’t nobody call a medic
Avec une arme automatique, personne n’a appelé de médecin
I’ma do it till I get it right
Je le ferai jusqu’à ce que ça s’arrange
I went to war last night
Je suis allé à la guerre cette nuit
I’ve been dealing with depression ever since an adolescent
J’ai fleurté avec la dépression et c’est comme ça depuis l’adolescence
Duckin’ every other blessin’, I can never see the message
Aucune bénédiction, je n’en vois même pas la couleur
I could never take the lead, I could never bob and weave
Je ne pouvais jamais m’en sortir, je ne pouvais jamais esquiver
From negative and letting them annihilate me
Le malheur et je le laissais m’anéantir
And it’s evident I’m moving at a meteor speed
Et c’est évident, je bougeais à la vitesse d’un météore
Finna run into a building, lay my body in the street
Je finirai par me ruer dans un immeuble, ou par tomber dans la rue
Keep my money in the ceiling, let my mama know I’m free
Lancez l’argent au plafond, dites à ma mère que je suis libre
Give my story to the children and a lesson they can read
Racontez mon histoire aux enfants et faites-en une leçon
And the glory to the feeling of the holy unseen
Et racontez-leur la gloire que l’on rencontre quand on croit en Dieu
Seen enough, make a motherfucker scream, « I love myself ! »
J’en ai assez vu, je fais crier un mec, « Je m’aime ! »

I lost my head
J’ai perdu la tête
I must misread what the good book said
J’ai dû mal lire ce que le grand livre disait
Oh woes by me, it’s a jungle inside
Oh les malheurs me suivent, là-bas c’est la jungle
Give myself again till the well runs dry (i)
Je me livre encore jusqu’à ce que le puits s’assèche (moi)

Might madness be a strange form of wisdom?

Madness is understood as the opposite of reason. Yet as Van Gogh and Nietzsche attest, madness can also be an inexplicable source of insight. Might madness be a strange form of wisdom rather than its diseased opposite? Or is this to make light of a condition that requires treatment?

The Panel

Author of Madness Explained Richard Bentall, psychiatrist Patricia Casey and philosopher and author of Death Drive Robert-Rowland Smith dispute meaning and madness.