Who are the experts?

The art of healing has been my saving grace.Being labeled as mentally ill  ( bipolar) by those who are anything but experts when it comes to ones mental health ,has been a heavy burden.

The psychiatrists and other so called professionals pushed their snake oil of a bio medical model, elixirs of pyschotropic poison, and a narrow understanding of mental health to the point of death.

After years of struggling with their   philosophy of what was wrong with me and how to correct it,I have come full circle. A liberation of mind, body,and soul began with my art. The beginning of a more holistic approach to my well being.

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM IV) is in itself flawed and dangerous.The theory that mental illness is but a chemical imbalance of the brain,corrected by pills is again flawed. There is no scientific proof to this theory or a test that can prove this theory.Pychiatry in itself is not a science,in it's 150 year history, the evolution of this narrow view has been transformed in most part from the financial backing of the pharmaceutical corporatons.A bio medical approach to mental health has, and continues to be the crux of pain,misery, and the death of countless people. This pychotropic panacea is poison, to the mind,body,and soul.
 A more holistic approach to well being is the path I have chosen. To have come to the realization that what ailed me was not segmented into, the brain,without including the body and spirit has been an amazing transformation. That I am the culmination of all my life experiences is in itself the answer to many of the struggles I endured. A bio,pyscho,social,spiritual philosophy is the new age lingo.A gift from the indigenous people I have come to respect and admire.
My art was the beginning of my long journey back.While inside several pychiatric facilities across this land,the only thing that allowed me to hold onto life was my abilty to express in artform. To allow the anger,pain,fear,and madness to evolve on canvas was and is my saving grace.With the mental health delivery system entrenched in our society, art was not encouraged in most communities.Just take your pills Wallace,life is better Wallace, the meds do not affect your creativity Wallace, the only thing that will help Wallace is more pills...BULLSHIT!
A need to be in charge of my wellness did not come easily.There are many wonderful,amazing people in the helping profession.Albeit that most are misdirected and misinformed is quite evident in how the lack of non-medical services are implemented in assisting those that struggle with mental health issues.
I have worked hard the last several years to use not only my art,but horticultural, cognitive behavourial, and many other forms of therapy to bring about change in my life
That I had to seek these alternative approaches to my wellness is one of the reasons I write this.To have the empowerment of deciding the direction I follow has been a difficult and most rewarding journey.I have not progressed without the help and encouragement of many in my life.That most did not understand why I chose to be so proactive in my well being did not sway me from my goal of a quality of life. Most believed that all I needed was to find the right medication and all would be well.
I have proven otherwise to myself and to those who worship the medical model. The shrinks that said I would have to take meds the rest of my life,and that I would have to live in a semi-independant environment could not have been more wrong.
I had for years struggled with medications,some were so horrific,paralyzing, the side effects worse than the illness.So two years ago I discontinued my meds,and began using other means for my wellness.It has been a truly amazing transformation,at times so difficult, with many still wanting me to fail,to be put back on meds,even to be once again committed under the mental health act. Well,again, I have proven them wrong.
I do not encourage people to quit their medications.I do strongly encourage them to be well informed,and to have a say in how they are treated by both professionals, family and loved ones. To have not only a voice,but agency in our community.I encourage others to question the status quo,to question the validity of the school of pychiatry, to question whether the meds are the answer,or a small part of having a quality of life.
Some individuals are helped by medications,yet the majority are misled in what their options are. or that  the meds are more harmful than helpful.
I speak from not only experience,but with some knowledge of how the general public continues  being directed in an understanding of menatl health. A misunderstanding that is perpetuated by the same people who profess to be not only helpful,but experts.If one looks up the definition of expert,it means of experience.Well I do not see much life experience in those that teach,work, and inplement mental health services in our community.
That it has been proven time and again that having people with life experience as part of the solution, it is still being denied,or at best used haphazardly .
So I will continue my journey with a little help from my friends.I will create,express, evolve and put forth a different perspective to "Mental Illness."
Many will be upset with my approach and delivery,yet just as many will agree.So, I have come from a darkness that many do not fathom,where I again and again  tried to take my own life,to a place of wonderous joy.Where I embrace life and encourage others to do so.Art is my medicine, my passion, my vehicle of movement forward. 
A liberation of mnd,body,& spirit.
Be well my friends.
Wallace