Radio Times: The Voices in My Head
What’s it like to battle with a dozen people talking inside your head? Rachel Waddingham tells her remarkable story. By Moya Sarner, published in Radio Times Rachel Waddingham sits cross-legged on the sofa and, with the enthusiasm of a children’s TV presenter, talks about travelling the world, the Masters degree she’s doing in psychology and […]
They Heard Voices: Screening and discussion
An independent documentary by Jonathan Balazs looking at the Hearing Voices movement & the schizophrenia label On Thursday 27th April from 6.30pm at Kennedy Lecture Theatre (UCL Institute of Child Health), I’ll be joining a panel to discuss a screening of ‘They Heard Voices’ … a documentary I contributed to. This screening is hosted by Mind in Camden, […]
Symptom or Experience: Does Language Matter?
Whenever we talk about ourselves we tell stories. Without these stories, our experiences would sit – unconnected – like a thousand tiny beads. Telling our story helps us to weave connections between these beads, linking them together with different threads to create a tapestry full of meaning. This is a fluid and continually evolving process. […]
The Schizophrenia Commission: A personal perspective
As someone who has lived experience of being diagnosed with schizophrenia (amongst other things) the release of the ‘Schizophrenia’ Commission Report has left me with very mixed feelings. First and foremost, I applaud the hard work of the members of the commission and all those who gave evidence and contributed to it. During the evidence-gathering […]
Sunday Telegraph Article – Challenging Stigma
A few months ago, I was interviewed for Stella (the Sunday Telegraph’s Magazine). Here is the result. Mental illness at work: the last taboo Mental illness – be it schizophrenia, depression, autism or OCD – needn’t be the end of a career. Far from it, say these women. By Bridget Freer www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-life/9651933/Mental-illness-at-work-the-last-taboo.html When four MPs […]
ISPS votes to ditch the ‘Schizophrenia’ label
We have joined other organisations around the world in deciding to stop using an unscientific and highly stigmatising label which, because of its connotations of an irreversible illness (‘brain disease’), has damaged millions of people for a century John Read, ISPS, March 2012 This month I feel overwhelmingly proud to be a member of ISPS […]
Challenging Stigma on the Jeremy Vine Show
Whilst I really appreciated the chance to challenge popular stereotypes about people diagnosed with ‘schizophrenia’ in The Sun, I felt a little disappointed that I did not have the opportunity to show that the difficulties labelled at ‘psychotic’ make sense in the context of someone’s life experiences. So, when Jeremy Vine’s producer contacted me through […]
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