As a coach with 30 years of experience, I knew of many, many people who have recovered from all kinds of mental health difficulties. Despite being told that they had a ‘chemical imbalance’ or that it was genetic and that they would need to be on psychiatric drugs and possibly disabled for the rest of their lives, these people are free of drugs, not needing further treatment, and living beautifully.
What if I collected their stories?
What an inspiration that would be to the thousands of people still suffering!
In my new book, Beyond Diagnosis, I have collected over 45 personal stories of how people have recovered from everything from the experiences we call psychosis to bulimia, from what is called OCD to ADHD. They have all recovered because they saw the truth of how experience is created. They were guided to slow down and see that we all have innate health and that when they understood how their minds worked, their minds calmed down, no longer tortured by their own thoughts.
Each section of the book is accompanied by interviews with insightful mental health professionals working outside the traditional model who share their clinical experience of how we innocently misunderstand our psychological nature and suffer needlessly. By pointing their clients back to their own wellbeing and wisdom, they show us how anyone can find transformational recovery no matter what they have been through.
Beyond Diagnosis” is a very welcome addition to the critical discourse around ‘mental health’. Chana calls out the mainstream ‘mental illness’ narrative with its endless list of labels and cookie-cutter treatments and encourages us to consider other ways of understanding and responding to emotional distress. It’s a hopeful breath of fresh air!
– Jo Watson; Founder of A Disorder for Everyone.
Had that phrase “beyond diagnosis” bouncing around in my head for years. I look forward to reading this take on it.