OUR MISSION:
The Icarus Project envisions a new culture and language that resonates with our actual experiences of 'mental illness' rather than trying to fit our lives into a conventional framework. We are a network of people living with experiences that are commonly labeled as bipolar or other psychiatric conditions. We believe we have mad gifts to be cultivated and taken care of, rather than diseases or disorders to be suppressed or eliminated. By joining together as individuals and as a community, the intertwined threads of madness and creativity can inspire hope and transformation in an oppressive and damaged world. Our participation in The Icarus Project helps us overcome alienation and tap into the true potential that lies between brilliance and madness.

OUR VISION:
Together, we call for new space and freedom for extreme states of consciousness, and alternatives to the medical model and the traumatic legacy of psychiatric abuse. We recognize that we live in a crazy world, and insist that our sensitivities, visions, and inspirations are not necessarily symptoms of illness. Sometimes breakdown can be the entrance to breakthrough. We call for more options in understanding and treating emotional distress, and we believe that everyone, regardless of income, should have access to these choices. Consistent with the Icarus vision, we respect diversity and embrace harm reduction and self-determination around treatment decisions: everyone is welcome, whether you take psychiatric drugs or not and whether you describe yourself with diagnostic categories or not. To ensure we remain honest and untamed, we do not accept funding from pharmaceutical companies. We invite anyone who shares the Icarus vision to join us, and choose "Icarus Project" or any other name for the independent efforts that inspire them.

OUR WORK:
The Icarus Project is a collaborative, participatory adventure fueled by inspiration and mutual aid. We bring the Icarus vision to reality through a national staff collective and a grassroots network of autonomous local groups. The Icarus staff supports the Icarus vision and serves and nourishes local groups by: facilitating a website community, distributing publications, educating the public, offering tools, sharing skills, creating art, engaging in advocacy, enhancing community capacities, offering technical assistance, providing inspiration and solidarity, and taking care of national housekeeping tasks. The grassroots network of local groups gathers people locally for listening, education, support, mutual aid, art, activism, access to alternatives, and any creative ventures they can dream up.

OUR PRINCIPLES:

Beyond the medical model. While we respect whatever treatment decisions people make, we do not define ourselves as essentially diseased, disordered, broken, faulty, and existing within the bounds of DSM-IV diagnosis. We are exploring unknown territory and don't steer by the default maps outlined by docs and pharma companies. We're making new maps.

Non judgmental and respecting diversity. We welcome people who take psych drugs and people who do not, as well as people who use diagnostic labels like "bipolar" to describe themselves and people who do not identify with these terms. We do not exclude people on the basis of politics, lifestyle choice, recreational drug use, "criminal" behavior, or other outsider identities. We all have a lot to learn from each other, so we respect each others' choices. While the current social system and medical model have the tendency to divide us, we want our experiences of madness - as we understand them - to unite us.

Educating ourselves about alternatives. A lot of what the media, medical establishment, and institutions tell us about "mental illness," psych drugs, and how we have to live our lives is just not true. We educate ourselves and each other. We question what we hear on TV and read in doctor's office brochures. We explore holistic and spiritual approaches to handling our extreme states of consciousness. We learn as much as we can about any medical treatments we are using, and encourage each other to make informed choices. Icarus is a sanctuary for people thinking outside the mainstream and creating their own definitions of health.

Non hierarchy / anti-oppression. Local groups need to be anti-authoritarian, inclusive, and working against racism/classism/sexism/homophobia and other oppressions. We're a radical mental health support network; affiliated groups create safe and challenging spaces where oppressive behavior is not tolerated.

Balancing wellness and action. Icarus is a place to support each other in practicing real self-care: making sure we don't neglect our personal basics like food, rest, exercise, and community; encouraging each other to commit to the amount of work we can actually do, and not pushing ourselves past our limits; challenging ourselves to find daily routines and projects that help us live out our dreams and have enough structure to get by.

Access. We don't need more alternatives that only rich people can afford. All Icarus gatherings follow the policy that 'no one is turned away for lack of funds.' We work to create options and choices that are available to all.

Nonviolence. We believe that we will bring about lasting change in the world through dialogue, compassionate listening, mutual aid, and grassroots networks of support, which may in time form a viable alternative to the current system of government, bureaucracy, domination, and corporate culture.

Transparency. We believe in public access to information about how we are making decisions, spending money, distributing responsibility, and otherwise delegating the work of organizing together.