12 Principles of Indigenous Healing

May 29, 2021 by

When I first became interested in Indigenous healing a number of years ago, I did a great deal of reading about the healing of trauma and intergenerational trauma. I summarised what I considered to be 12 principles of healing, which are relevant to Aboriginal people here in Australia and other Indigenous peoples around the world. I first posted about these principles on Sharing Culture in 2014 and then on The Carrolup Story in 2018.

1. The Human Rights of Indigenous Peoples must be recognised and respected
Recognition of, and respect for, the Human Rights of Indigenous peoples is fundamental to improving their health and wellbeing. Society must ensure that Indigenous peoples have full and effective participation in decisions that directly or indirectly affect their lives.

Read More ➔

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

‘Healing Trauma: What We Are Doing Wrong… and What We Need To Do To Get It Right’ by Bessel van der Kolk

March 2, 2015 by

338059More from Bessel van der Kolk’s wonderful book. If you want to know more about trauma and its healing, this is an essential buy.

‘We are fundamentally social creatures – our brains are wired to foster working and playing together.

Trauma devastates the social-engagement system and interferes with cooperation, nurturing, and the ability to function as a productive member of the clan.

In this book, we have seen how many mental health problems, from drug addiction to self-injurious behavior, start off as attempts to cope with emotions that become unbearable because of a lack of adequate human contact and support.

Yet institutions that deal with traumatized children and adults are all too often bypass the emotional-engagement system that is the foundation of who we are and instead focus narrowly on correcting “faulty thinking” and on suppressing unpleasant emotions and troublesome behaviors.

Read More ➔

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

‘Is Depression Who I Am or What I Have?’ by Douglas Bloch

February 23, 2015 by

In this video, author and depression counselor Douglas Bloch talks about separating your feelings about being depressed from your sense of self worth.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: , , , , ,

‘One Gutsy Woman’ by Daisy Anderson

February 3, 2015 by

dandersonAn inspiring, beautifully-written story from Mad in America about being drugged by the biological psychiatry industry and a courageous battle through drug withdrawal to recovery. I first posted this story on Recovery Stories in early 2015.

‘Part One: Becoming Psychiatric: Easy as 1-2-3
Living with a mental illness is hard work. I know because I lived as a psychiatric patient for over thirty-seven years. Working to become well turned out to be even harder. I know because it took everything I had to recover. Even though eighteen psychiatrists treated me, my health only got worse. I recovered completely after hiring a private psychologist. Now, I take no psychiatric drugs and see no psychiatrists.

My almost-completed book, which I call The Daisy Project, tells the story of how I first became a patient in my home province of British Columbia, Canada, why I was sick for so long, and the hurdles I went through to fully recover. This blog provides a brief overview of my journey.

Read More ➔

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

“Transcend Depression Through Serving Others” by Douglas Bloch

January 30, 2015 by

“It is one of the most beautiful compensations of this life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

Douglas Bloch’s YouTube channel on healing depression is an excellent self-care resource, as are his website and book Healing Depression.

‘In this video, author and depression counselor Douglas Bloch talks about how giving of your time to help others can draw you out of depression and transcend the “prison of self.”‘

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: , , , , , ,

I Am Not Anonymous: Lauren’s Story, ‘Will To Bear Discomfort’

January 5, 2015 by

LaurenText-1024x682(pp_w1000_h666)I’m starting 2015 with some powerful writing from the I Am Not Anonymous website.

‘When I walked into the door to rehab in early 2008 at the age of 29, I was given a lengthy input questionnaire. I decided it was time to be honest for once.

There was just one question I had to leave blank. I pondered it for the better part of a day and kept returning to it with no decent answer.

What is spirituality? I didn’t have a clue. I reluctantly left it blank. By the time I left rehab almost three months later to return to the life I had left, I had a much better understanding of what spirituality was and how it could help me.

Read More ➔

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

‘How People-Pleasing Destroys Your Authentic Self’ by Shahida Arabi

September 3, 2014 by

stringsI like this piece of writing from the Self-Care Haven, a website developed by a graduate student at Columbia University in the States.

This article is one for your self-care collection. It’s easy to start people pleasing in recovery, particularly when you are worried about stigma in society.

‘ARE YOU A PEOPLE-PLEASER?
Symptoms include but are not limited to: saying yes when you really mean no, allowing people to trample all over your boundaries on a weekly basis without asserting yourself, and “performing” character traits or behaviors that do not speak to your authentic self.

Can cause high blood pressure and stewing resentment that festers for years until the “last straw,” at which point, sounds of an explosion erupt. You’re so tired of being Jekyll all the time you become the worst version of Hyde possible to let out all the steam that was simmering within all along.

Read More ➔

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

My Favourite Blogs: ‘Recovery and the Conspiracy of Hope’ by Pat Deegan

February 15, 2014 by

2007_0116walpole0154Here is a classic presentation made by Pat Deegan at “There’s a Person In Here”, The Sixth Annual Mental Health Services Conference of Australia and New Zealand. Brisbane, Australia.

Beautiful writing, a must-read. I’ll whet your appetite:

‘I love the word conspiracy. It comes from the Latin “conspirare” which means to breath the spirit together. What is the spirit we are breathing together here today?

It is a spirit of hope. Both individually and collectively we have refused to succumb to the images of despair that so often are associated with mental illness.

Read More ➔

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

My Favourite Blogs – ‘Loneliness: a call to generosity’ by Pat Deegan

February 8, 2014 by

100_0690Here is a wonderful blog from US recovery advocate Pat Deegan:

‘Like many people, I experienced periods of intense loneliness during my recovery after being diagnosed with schizophrenia. Over time, I learned that my loneliness was a call for me to be more generous and to give of myself. Here’s what I mean:

Loneliness and being alone are two different things. In my early recovery, being alone was an important self-care strategy for me.

Read More ➔

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

‘My Truth – On Relapse, Recovery and Getting Out of My Own Way’ by Ellie Schoenberger

January 13, 2014 by

Unknown-1Those of you who read my last blog, focusing on her interview by Courtney Webster, will know what I feel about Ellie Schoenberger. Here is Ellie’s latest addition to her One Crafty Mother blog:

For many, if not most, of the people in my day-to-day life I am the only alcoholic – at least self-admitted alcoholic – they know.

Or, perhaps more accurately, I am the only alcoholic in recovery they know. Over half the population in the United States has been directly or indirectly impacted by addiction, and many people are familiar only with the ugly, destructive face of alcoholism; the one that rips apart families, destroys childhoods and brings so much sorrow and fear.

Read More ➔

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Highly Recommended Blog: Beyond Meds

December 28, 2013 by

monica-christmas-84-e1367944392197Beyond Meds from Monica Cassani is one of my favourite blogs, packed full of content… and I mean packed full! You’ll be seeing a lot more from Monica on Recovery Stories in the future.

Here is what Monica has to say about her blog:

‘BEYOND MEDS – ALTERNATIVES TO PSYCHIATRY – A RESOURCE

This blog documents and shares many natural methods of self-care for finding and sustaining health in body, mind and spirit.

My own experience as both (now – ex) patient and a mental health professional allows for some interesting and sometimes uncomfortable insights into the mental health system in the United States.

Read More ➔

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

‘Psych drugs can strip folks of caring about hygiene & home environment’ by Monica Cassani

December 4, 2013 by

adlI really like Monica Cassani’s blog Beyond Meds. Monica say: ‘This blog documents and shares many natural methods of self-care for finding and sustaining health in body, mind and spirit. My own experience as both (now – ex) patient and a mental health professional allows for some interesting and sometimes uncomfortable insights into the mental health system in the United States.’

In the world of social services they refer to them as your ADLs. Activities of daily living. ADLs encompass more than care of self and home but I’m referring to those two things here as they are the most common and visible dysfunction quite often.

If you’ve been part of the mental health system you’ll know that mental health professionals quite often check in with you to see how well you’re functioning by asking about your ADLs. And people who’ve been highly psychiatrized quite often know the acronym. ADL.

Read More ➔

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Loneliness: a call to generosity

May 31, 2013 by

100_0690Here is a wonderful blog from US recovery advocate Pat Deegan:

‘Like many people, I experienced periods of intense loneliness during my recovery after being diagnosed with schizophrenia. Over time, I learned that my loneliness was a call for me to be more generous and to give of myself. Here’s what I mean:

Loneliness and being alone are two different things. In my early recovery, being alone was an important self-care strategy for me.

Read More ➔

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,