Recovery related resources on the blog

This page does not talk about recovery resources from all over the place, only those that are already available on this blog, so that one does not have to look up various corners in search for something. I repeatedly say that recovery is something most people can accomplish. But let me also say that most …

PhD- submission and onward

Thank goodness it is over and submitted (on 6th July 2020). The last bit was a bit tedious and unnecessarily prolonged by the university. Anyhow one needs a breather and I hope to get mine. Yesterday I also sent the hard copy to the university. I took less than four years to wind up the …

A Critique of CBT as Ideology (Part 1)

I am glad someone has written about this and how it really shows the undemocratic nature of psychology and its own epistemic ignorance about what it sets out to do, yet so ineffectively

Anti-psychotics and quality of life

This is a question which may occur to many people whether anti-psychotics improve the quality of life. So let me put it this way- anti-psychotics are NOT meant to improve the quality of life, but just reduce the symptoms of psychosis in the short run. Why do I say 'short run'? Nobody ordinarily can have …

6th Nov 1992

The date above will remain significant for long, until memory fades, if ever. I was 20 then. The footsteps of winter had begun to descend and it was the last year of college. Or nearly so! It turned out to be the day my life would be changed forever. I stood in the college auditorium …

Despite their dangers, pro-anorexia forums have much to teach us

In recent years, a cultural movement has emerged online that takes a positive attitude toward eating disorders. So-called pro-anorexia (or, more commonly, ‘pro-ana’) organisations differ widely. Whereas the majority claim to provide a non-judgmental environment for those diagnosed with anorexia, others go further, denying that eating disorders are mental illnesses and casting them instead as …

Mike Oliver

I have been reading the writing of Mike Oliver for at least a few years now. If there is anyone in disability whose work has had deep impact on me, it is him. Time and again I find myself going back to his writings and referring and using some of this principles and ideas in …

The idea of recovery in an interview

This is my first public interview, in which I spoke about recovery and why it is a justice issue, more than the right for people to get mental health treatment. It aired on the occasion of the World Mental Health Day, this year- 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIDYF6zF39I&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR3co6NOgcCRuCoEfHvYMZdXL8RdKNqnEWGLw3nnuctJ5y8ioFQxbT7gSLA My interview in Hindi, whose title is somewhat misleading for …

Journal of Ethics in Mental Health- some thoughts about the special issue

Finally the special issue of the Journal of Ethics in Mental Health (JEMH) is released by the McMaster University in Canada. The whole process has lasted over two years, for we began in April 2017- when I was still in the midst of collecting my empirical data- narratives of people with lived experiences of mental …

A radical legal ideology nurtured our era of economic inequality

This below is a republished piece from Aeon, via Creative Commons. The reason I am posting it here is for my PhD research, in which I am studying the role of law in mandating certain legal practices in mental health and how the laws are promulgated to carry them out. This article traces a link …