"The Politics of Rationality: Psychiatric Survivors' Challenge to Psychiatry," Gabriella Coleman's chapter in the Tactical Biopolitics: Art, Activism, and Technoscience book, examines the history of psychiatric survivor movement to assess its radical political position in the face of changing conditions, notably the growing legitimacy of a neurochemical model of illness and a pervasive culture of seeking, prescribing, and taking drugs.

Paula Caplan: 'If you wanted to make someone feel helpless, hopeless, even crazy, one good way to do it would be this: ...give them a pill that may calm them down or pep them up but will have a good chance of increasing their weight. This has been the fate of women in untold numbers but certainly in the millions, and women’s position in American society makes them more likely than men to feel ashamed for their part in what is being called this country’s obesity epidemic."

Alex Samets wrote this strategy and vision essay as part of the In The Middle Of A Whirlwind journal:

TIP works to bring a discussion of mental health into community spaces and to make narratives of internal struggle part of narratives of collective struggle. As an organization, we are mindfully creating our own narratives, authoring the documents that build our histories, and crafting future realities from our desires.

South African graduate psychology student Niyati Evers research paper on shamanism and schizophrenia, including an interview with a Botswana sangoma - spirit healer - and discussion of process-oriented psychology.

Steven Morgan's excellent deconstruction of the scientific myths and politics that go into mental health diagnosis and treatment, including a detailed resource section.

Download a copy of Jessica Max Stein's new 'zine Mad Love.

I've struggled with melancholy since early youth-ranging from suicidal crisis-to blanketing sorrow-to months of numb depression. Sometimes sadness comes when I see a styrofoam cup and think about the environmental damage our society is causing; when I think about rape and war; or when I think about a friend in an abusive relationship. Sometimes I'm sad for no clear reason. Feeling sad about the world, and tending toward depression in general, has been a major motivating force for my activism, yet conversely, that same sensitivity can have a paralyzing effect which prevents me from being the non-stop activist I idealize. Learning to work with my depression, rather than against it has been necessary. I learn to try to flow with my moods, fighting the sorrow less, accepting the melancholy into my life as a teacher who keeps me in touch with the destruction of the planet.