Mad Pride

I had stumbled across one of the organizations mentioned in this article and was reluctant to embrace the term Mad Pride, because the organization itself was anti-medication. I’m not claiming that I’m not conflicted on about the way medication is used to treat mental illness, nor about the lack of frank discussions of side effects. However, I’m wary of embracing illnesses of the mind and proclaiming that mental disorders are simply another sign of genius. However, this statement from a New York Times article sums up my fears eloquently, and the rest of the piece does a nice job laying out a lot of what’s going on in the whole community:
While psychiatrists generally support the mad pride movement’s desire to speak openly, some have cautioned that a “pro choice” attitude toward medicine can have dire consequences.