#psychpunk

One of the subterms we saw though made me think about how many of our system members experience ailments exclusive to headspace that wouldn't even make sense to translate to the meatspace bodymind. Maybe similar in concept to how many alterhumans get phantom pains from limbs that never existed on the physical body, but more complex? Idk, I wonder if there's any worth to identifying ailments experienced solely or near-solely intra-plurally. We wouldn't want to fall into the same rigid formation as the current psychiatric system.

There are definitely people out there who continue to partake in harmful behaviors, and who perpetuate their own patterns of self-sabotage. There are people who refuse to reach out for help, that much is absolutely true.

But I think what we hate about the term is the way its used to police how other people go about their recovery. The way its used as a form of lateral aggression by disabled people to perpetuate ableism against other disabled people. The way its used as form of social control.

Maybe its just the way we've seen the phrase used is almost always in the context of trying to uphold hegemonic structures of mental and physical health. Honestly, even the idea that you need to or should want to recover from your disability and/or disorder is so utterly rooted in White Christian Hegemony. The idea that there's a "correct" way to be that is the default, and all other ways of being are an anomaly that needs to be fixed. That "recovery" from your defect is always what you should strive for, and that you have to do in an a socially approved manner.

Call me radical, but if someone simply wants to live as a disabled or disordered person, without trying to "fix" it, then they should have the right to do that without being ostracized from their community.

Now don't get me wrong. I understand that when people say "anti-recovery" they are often referring to things such as the way extreme self-loathing is so normalized and socially acceptable (even encouraged).

But honestly, there's better ways to go about naming it. Maybe its just a personal preference, but the phrase anti-recovery is far too steeped in ableism and sanism for us to feel comfortable with it. It could just be our personal experience with the way we've seen it used. I mean hell, we've seen people say that not wanting to take anti-psychotics because of the side effects is "anti-recovery". That supporting fictives in your system is "anti-recovery". And all sorts of other absurd and nasty things.

We don’t give a fuck if someone is “anti-recovery”, they still deserve autonomy and basic respect. 

Recovery looks different for anybody. Withholding support until someone performatively demonstrates that they’re making an effort towards some arbitrary standards is not support. That is coercion. 

“Romanticizing your mental illness is anti-recovery”. I don’t care. People are allowed to find the light in their existence, mental illness and all. I’m not going to self-flagellate about how miserable my existence is for you. We have nothing to prove. 

You do not owe your recovery to anyone else. Your recovery is your business. Nobody has the right to dictate what that looks like for you. 

And if you’re not “trying” to recover? We still support you. You have the right to exist as you are, full stop. No conditions. No “as long as you’re trying to get better” bullshit.