(woman's voice) You know, 
I consider myself
a psychiatric survivor,
a human rights activist,
trauma survivor, I'm also a 
breast cancer survivor.
You know, I'm a- 
a lot of surviving in my life. 
What has helped me
in my recovery
is finding the consumer/
survivor/ex-patient movement.
I kinda knew 
when I was in...
locked up in a hospital, 
taking a lot of drugs...
well, I was given 
a lot of drugs that ah, 
there was something more 
than this, something more.
I got to meet some 
really cool people.
I met Judi Chamberlain,
I met, ah,
 Howie the Harp,
I met ah... Ed Knight.
I met all these people.
I was just blown away by them,
you know, and I said 
to Judi, I said,
who's allowing you 
to be doing alternatives?
And she laughed!
Because... I think people
need to understand
in mental health we're not really
allowed to do anything,
they tell you what it is 
that they want you to do,
and here she's doing what 
she feels is good for her,
and her spirit, and and 
her activism. 
And I was just blown away.
And I came back home,
and I just...
st- was in the movement
at that time,
and I was starting to
spread the message
of self-help, 'cause at that time, 
there was self-help,
and advocacy. Language 
has changed through
ah, the years. 
Um, so... before, 
you know,
are you- you're consumer, 
you're survivor,
now you're human rights 
activist (laughs)
so um, peer-advocate, 
you know, different, 
different ah, terms...
But I really believe that
people can recover
and people have a
story to tell,
and people can...
support each other by 
listening to the story.
And you know, just listening
helps people feel like 
they're not alone,
and I feel when 
I'm talking to 
someone in the movement, 
or a friend,
or... a family member,
and they really are validating 
me and my experience,
it's like I'm on top of the world,
and I think that's
what's missing for people, 
is connection.
And, ah...
I think if we have connection,
all the other issues
life, the mental health system,
you know, you can
get through it.
And I think, celebrating
you know, some of our leaders
from the past
and learn from them,
is...
helps us get through
the different stages
and the new experiences 
ah, that we're going to 
experience in human rights.
So to me, you know,
we have all these problems
with mental health,
and... ah,
forced electroshock.
All of those things are there,
But if you have the 
people together,
working on it, 
fighting for change,
social change, 
then you're not alone.
Um, you know Mind Freedom
I think is,
Um, has really helped people
come together, 
and not just survivors
of the system, 
but all people
who want to fight 
human rights.
I just think, we all should be
working together,
and I think the 
message is now
we have been talking to 
each other for a long time,
and now it's time to talk to
people in the public
about what these 
issues are, because
someone in my family could 
be dealing with mental health,
you know, my son, 
I mean, you know,
it's not a separate issue, 
mental health over here,
mental illness over here,
it's everywhere.
And so we have to address it.
And we have to let people know
there are alternatives,
and people that are there 
to connect with you. 
You don't have to be afraid.
And I- but I do think 
the label is stigmatizing.
You know, whatever people
want to call themselves,
you know, bipolar, 
schizophrenia, whatever,
you're a person first.
And I think that's missing, 
and so I think some
of the stigma campaigns 
have not been that successful.
You're not a disease,
you're a person.
I struggle with that, 
with the label.
Am I somebody's daughter?
Am I somebody's mother?
I think that's what's missing,
and that's why it's so hard
for people to really connect,
with "mental health", 
you know? So,
I think that, over the years
I have taught my family, 
for one,
that you have to support 
people where they're at,
and it's not about drugs. 
It's about all different kinds
of approaches.
And I have, ah,
for me to stay well
I have done meditation,
I'm a Reiki two practitioner, 
and I'm very happy about it
because that's what 
keeps me together.
Now this is just me, 
other people have other
ways that they heal. 
But I need to do that,
I need to breathe more,
exercise. I choose to
not have my mind clouded. 
I choose to just feel
whatever it is.
Depression, 
you know, sadness,
loneliness, all those feelings,
and cope with it.
People struggle with
the messages
that you'll never get well.
I was told I would never get
married, I'd never go to school,
I'd never be a mother,
and I, I've gone to college.
I have a son. I'm married.
So imagine someone
telling you that
and you internalize that
and then you don't do
you don't- you don't 
become your best self
because someone has said
you can't do those things
based on a psychiatric disability.
You know, you get down on
what the public is thinking,
I don't think they've 
caught up to recovery,
and human rights,
and mutual support,
and peer support, ah
trauma-informed, 
all these things.
I- I don't think that they 
caught up to that.
You know, when they 
look at someone who's
labelled with a 
mental illness, they said, 
well, maybe they're violent,
maybe they'll act up,
or you know, um
so they don't see us as people
and they need to, 
so they have to catch up to us.
To be a survivor of psychiatry
is you survived the 
mental health system,
you survived forced electroshock,
you survived taking drugs,
or being forced to take drugs.
I think Mind Freedom... 
you know
you can have a choice,
you know,
if you want to take 
psychiatric drugs,
but when you're forced to,
we're against that.
And we will fight with you
to stop that.
We're not- everything should be
your choice, informed,
ah, decision making.
Ah, when the system...
imposes that because
you have a diagnosis
that you must take drugs,
oh by the way, we feel 
you need to have electroshock
without your consent, 
that's just wrong.
And that's, um...
that's what we've been 
fighting for, a very long time.
There's not a quick fix,
it's not, a pill and that's
going to solve my whole life.
When you go into the system
and you're stripped of 
your dignity and your rights,
that's traumatic.
