An international movement comes together for a meeting in Toronto, and raises establishment hackles
On May 7 and 8, 2010 over two hundred people gathered in Toronto for a conference focused on organizing resistance against psychiatry. PsychOUT’s stated purpose was to “provide a forum for psychiatric survivors, mad people, activists, scholars, students, radical professionals, and artists from around the world to come together and share experiences of organizing against psychiatry.”
People belonging to marginalized groups who are at greater risk of psychiatrization, such as women, radicalized people, queers, trans people, people with disabilities and homeless people and others living in poverty, were active participants. (more…)
The late Dr. Abram Hoffer MD, PhD, was a Canadian orthomolecular psychiatrist and researcher. Dr. Hoffer and his co-workers were instrumental in the discovery that megadoses of vitamin B3 (nicotinic acid/niacin) were therapeutic for schizophrenia and can be used to lower cholesterol levels. The discovery, which was published in 1955, is credited with the initiation of a new paradigm in nutritional medicine—the use of vitamins for treatment and not just for prevention of disease. 
Will Hall is a 43-year-old man who has been diagnosed with schizophrenia. Doctors have prescribed medication for him. “But Hall would rather value his mentally extreme states than try to suppress them, so he doesn’t take his meds. Instead, he practices yoga and avoids coffee and sugar.” Will is also a member of The Icarus Project—an Icarista—and is involved in Mad Pride activities.* He’s also hosted Madness Radio for three years. [*Source: Newsweek, “Listening to madness”]. 
Leef Evans, an author and artist, experienced a severe bout of depression six years ago that resulted in hospitalization and the loss of apartment, car, and virtually all connection with family and friends.
Concurrent disorders—the combination of a mental illness and substance use disorder—are much more widespread than many people realize. It is generally estimated that around half of people with an addiction or mental illness will also have the other. People with concurrent disorders often fall through the cracks of the health care system. [Source: BC Partners for Mental Health and Addictions Information] 