As a young girl, I always loved the amazing story of Alice in Wonderland. The white rabbit in a petticoat, the always smiling Cheshire cat and of course the iconically mad Mad Hatter. Back then the famous line that stuck out to my ever-blossoming imagination was, “We’re all mad here”. Madness seemed to me an eternal party of absurdity and humour. It should be of no one’s surprise then that at the age of 22 I received my official invitation to the rager that is mental instability. And what a party it has been! Even if it is a solo dance party at this time, I’m determined to recruit more to my ecstatic truth: Insanity will free you.
There is a normal and proliferated narrative of mental illness that when you are diagnosed you are sentenced to a life of darkness. You are meant to hide the fact that you are failing to adjust to the impossible standards of society (the capitalist consumerist and corporate grind). Just take your pills, cry in the bathroom between meetings and get back to work. Well, I reject that narrative and instead want to let you in on a little secret; there is something wondrously beautiful about insanity. I’ve been diagnosed as bipolar schizophrenic which I suppose makes me an expert in all things mentally ill. I have discovered that being neurotypical is severely overrated. After all, we are all a little crazy, a little mad, a little unhinged and pretending to be well-adjusted in a broken society is an exhausting and meaningless pursuit.
By embracing my mental illness diagnosis, I’ve found more peace. I am not expected to meet anyone’s expectations but my own. I found that this freedom has enhanced my creativity and my happiness. I am no longer a cog in the machine. I am free to express myself, create art, be in nature, and meditate. You can be free in your own type of madness. Do anything to disrupt the expected routine. Start a conversation with a stranger, dance when you hear your favourite song no matter where you are or maybe gaze at the clouds and see what your imagination comes up with. Whatever it is, madness gives you the excuse to live your life to the fullest and not just be a proper employee with duties and responsibilities.
I feel like our current culture is on a dangerous course. We are losing our spark for life and our desire to play. So I hope this little reflection inspires you my dear reader to be silly, alive, free and a little insane in this upside-down wonderland we find ourselves in.
(This is just my voice. Mental health is a spectrum and each has its own narrative. All mental health experiences are valid. This quick reflection is meant to encourage self-love and fight the stigma that keeps us isolated and without a community.)
