Source: Marija Zaric/Unsplash
Yes, I am a mental health advocate and I use the word “crazy.” And that?
Crazy. It is a word, for the most part, that is considered pejorative. I use it in the titles of all my works, this blog, and even the name of my company. “Crazy for life.” “That’s just crazy.” “It’s funny that you don’t seem crazy.”
Me careerin a nutshell (pun definitely intended), it is to raise awareness, decrease discriminationand reduce the stigma of mental illness. So you can rightly question how I reconcile myself using the word “crazy”.
It is a form of empowerment; a means to reclaim my power. Well, actually to find out completely. It is a word that has been used to shame me, ostracize and marginalize me. Like the LGBTQ2+ community that brought back the word “queer” and has “gay pride,” those of us with mental illness can have “crazy pride” and appropriate “crazy” as our own. To be clear, not everyone with mental health issues wants to use the word crazy or embrace crazy pride. But for me, it creates a feeling of self-efficacy and sovereignty.
It’s also a way of making fun of something that controlled me for so long. the humor it is not intended to minimize the pain of others throughout the process of recovery from mental illness. In no way is it intended to offend.
But Laughter It is my medicine, a medicine that is as important, if not more so, than the psychiatric medicine Took. It’s a tool I use to manage my illness, help keep me well, and yes, empower myself.
I have a philosophy: If you have a psychiatric condition, it’s your choice to make jokes about it. If you don’t have one, it’s prohibited.
Not everyone who lives with a mental illness wants to make fun of it. I get it. I respect that. But it should be our choice, not the political correctness police.
Now, in the name of empowering myself, here are some jokes (mostly moans) that I hope will make you laugh out loud, at least a little.
- I ran naked down the street because I was in a psychotic episode. I was also a nude model. I have no excuse for that.
- I had a conversation with this guy about mental health. I shared that I had Bipolar disorder Y anxiety. He asked me if it was fixed yet. I said, “no, I still want to have children.”
- I love fashion, which makes taking my meds really hard. Most of the time my pills don’t match my outfit.
- To be fair, I have these beautiful peacock blue pills. They are very pretty. Some days I can’t decide whether to swallow them or turn them into earrings.
- I loved watching reruns of “Cheers.” But don’t look at her when you’re paranoid. That theme song, “Where Everybody Knows Your Name,” will definitely make things worse.
- I wish having a mental illness was like having a mountain bike you wanted to sell. I could put it on e-bay and auction it off to the highest bidder. I would make money and get rid of everything at the same time.
- Once through airport security, they asked me, “Do you have anything in my pockets?” I said, “No, except for antipsychotic medication.” Trust me: don’t say that.
- my mom is like that resilient. I don’t know anyone who can be so anxious for so long and survive. It’s like a hummingbird on cocaine.
- I wanted to get rid of an annoying party guest. When they asked me what I did during the holidays, I told them: “I went camping, I went swimming and I became psychotic. And you?” They went to get another drink and never came back.
