[MUSIC] Throughout history, there have been many strong voices that have spoken about mental health. Some of these voices belong to people who worked for the mental health system. Louder and sometimes uninformed voices spoke through the media. People who actually experience mental health issues have traditionally had no voice. Then things began to change. People who have been diagnosed mentally ill began to come together and form their own communities, and build a combined voice that would demand to be heard. Consumer communities fight for a fairer society that embraces and celebrates the diversity of human experiences. Including the eccentricities that we associate with mental illness. Consumer communities feel that is not them who is sick, but society who is sick. They that society erects barriers that prevent them from living contributing and fulfilling lives. And this has to change. Consumer communities fight against human experiences being categorized and medicalized. You will hear them use different language to describe their experiences. They describe themselves as experiencing extreme states of consciousness, or has having the gift of emotional sensitivity. Consumer communities also strive to open the eyes of the wider community to the marginalization and disempowerment of people who have been labeled mentally ill. They want the public to know what it's like in a psychiatric hospital. How it feels to be treated against your will. And what it is like to be stigmatized. Consumer communities seize the slurs that are used against them, like mad, nutter, and psycho, and reclaim them to be used with pride. Consumer communities have taken inspiration from other groups who have been marginalized by society. Groups who have successfully fought stigma and oppression such as the black pride and gay pride movements. In 1993, consumers in Toronto, Canada, organized a MAD pride march to protest against treatment in all aspects of their lives. Now, Mad Pride events are held around the world in the month of July, including in Australia. These days, Mad Pride events are much more than a protest match, they are month long celebrations of Mad culture, the music, poetry and art created by Mad people. A popular feature at the celebration is the bed push, when people lying in hospital beds are pushed through the streets to highlight the use of force in psychiatric hospitals. In 2005, a new voice hit FM radio, Madness Radio. Since then, Madness Radio has played an important role in furthering the goals of consumer communities. Challenging misconceptions about mental illness, and the society that creates them. Madness Radio presents interviews and lectures that educate, illuminate, and celebrate madness. What started as one hour broadcast, produced in the US, is now played on FM radio stations around the world, and is a much loved podcast. Around the same time, Australia formed it's own consumer community, called Our Consumer Place. Our Consumer Place is run by consumers, for consumers. It is a space where diverse consumer perspectives are shared and respected. Our Consumer Place highlights the historical struggle of people who are labelled mentally ill. Instead of sensationalizing mental health issues, members share stories that show that strength and bravery of people who live with extreme distress, so as to strengthen consumers and change the world. Our Consumer Place uses humor to challenge the mental health system and stigma. Community members have developed a wickedly funny dictionary that redefines words, labels and phrases that are commonly used by mental health practitioners. And take the sting out of the tail of words that have previously harmed them. Our Consumer Place strengthens the consumer community by offering guidance to people who live with mental distress. This includes advice on how he share their stories, challenge stigma, become involved in committees, start consumer groups and provide meaningful emotional support to each other. One consumer group has caused significant controversy in the wider community. They are known as the Icarus Project. This community links itself to the mythical figure of Icarus, who is given the gift of flight, but flies too close to the sun and crashes to his death. The members of this community say that their emotional sensitivity, insight and creativity are not an illness. Instead, they see these as dangerous gifts that allow them to fly but also put them at peril. They believe that the gift of mental illness should be cultivated and honored, not eradicated with medication. It is a very different message and it has not always been welcomed. The New York Times has described the Icarus Project as a resource for those who do not want to get better. If you visit the Icarus Project's website, you will see that this community is very much focus on getting better. Members post artworks, poetry, prose, and other creative work that explores their experiences of mental distress. They say that this brings healing and balance to their lives and enables them to use their gifts to change the world. I've only mentioned a few consumer communities. There are many more. Particularly at a local level and they're all having a huge impact on their members and on society. Real changes are happening. Communities like the MAD pride movement, Madness Radio, Our Consumer Place, and the Icarus Project, show that people diagnosed as mentally ill are actually strong and insightful. They show that when mad people join together, we are a force to be reckoned with. [MUSIC]
