Category Archives: History of mental health

Some people find psychiatry helpful… and that’s OK

Posted on July 31, 2017 by purplepersuasion

I grew up very close to a Victorian asylum. It began to close in the late 1980s, when I was in my teens, but even as a child I was aware that some of the people I saw wandering the … Continue reading →

Posted in Antipsychiatry, Diagnosis, History of mental health, Hospital, Inpatient care, Medication, Mental health, mental health debate, Mental health services, NHS services, Psychiatry, psychology, Treatment planning, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Some people find psychiatry helpful… and that’s OK

This is what a mental patient looks like

Posted on October 31, 2013 by purplepersuasion

Yesterday I spent a while with a group of service users and their supporters hanging around the gates of Thorpe Park. Only Katie Sutton, initiator of the online petition “Thorpe Park – close down the stigma”, was allowed on the … Continue reading →

Posted in Activism, History of mental health, Mental health, Stigma and discrimination | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Dear Thorpe Park: re shockingly insensitive “Asylum” event

Posted on October 18, 2013 by purplepersuasion

Dear Guest Services, I understand that you plan to plan to run a Fright NIght event entitled “The Asylum.” Your website promises “a chaotic environment of noise, light and like action” where guests must “watch [their] back as [they] encounter … Continue reading →

Posted in History of mental health, Mental health, Stigma and discrimination | Tagged , , , , , , | 31 Comments

Guest post: Some history of bipolar disorder in the UK (part 2)

Posted on June 17, 2013 by purplepersuasion

I am very pleased to introduce the second part of this wonderful guest post reflecting on how professionals understood and responded to bipolar (or manic depression) in the mid-20th century. I met many others who had this same label of … Continue reading →

Posted in History of mental health, Mental health, Stigma and discrimination | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Guest post: Some history of bipolar disorder in the UK (part 1)

Posted on June 3, 2013 by purplepersuasion

This week I am delighted to introduce a guest post, part one of a two part series of reflections on how professionals understood and responded to bipolar (or manic depression) in the mid-20th century. This piece is © Anne Wade. When … Continue reading →

Posted in History of mental health, Mental health, Stigma and discrimination | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments