My Psychedelic Healing Experience by Rust Cohle

I had a serious nervous breakdown and a diagnosis of clinical depression and PTSD following a near death experience in a road traffic accident a couple of years ago. Thankfully my brother escaped and we both survived. But unfortunately, I was trapped in the wreckage of the car for an hour and a half with a head injury and a fractured femur before being cut out of the mangled shell by the fire service and taken to the nearest hospital by helicopter. Read more

Asylum 26.3 – Autumn 2019

At the heart of this issue is a special feature on Whittingham Lives, a two year arts and heritage project that honours the histories of those who lived at the Whittingham Asylum in Preston.

‘Wonder, Intensity, Magic’: Psychosis; an antidote to paranoia and mental distress? by James Walker

I have undergone several episodes of acute psychosis. I have lost touch with reality and started living in a supernatural world where magic, angels, demons and higher powers have circled around me. Some might say that experiencing the world in this way is a clear sign of a ‘malignant disease’,‘illness’ or ‘madness’. Read more

Asylum out and about – Summer 2019

Asylum has been busy over the summer. In May the Asylum magazine readers’ group met in Lancaster to discuss Asylum 26.1 (email ccramhp@gmail.com to join the mailing list).

A Brief Experience of Multiplicity by Sharon Cretsinger

Sharon Cretsinger reflects on her experience of coming out as persons of plural identities.

Asylum Magazine (Volume 26 No 2) Summer 2019

Asylum magazine strives to link the politics of mental health to broader progressive political struggles, social movements and campaigns. For example, Extinction Rebellion has been calling attention to the devastating impact of climate change. It has already had significant transformational impact, at least on public consciousness, not dissimilar to that of the #MeToo campaign in raising awareness of sexual violence.