Welcome to this themed edition of Asylum magazine. The Spiritual Crisis Network (SCN) is delighted to present it, and we hope to be able to introduce the concept of spiritual crisis and to give an idea of who we are and what we do. The first article, by our founder, Catherine Lucas, explains in more detail who we are. Read more
It is one hundred years since an eminent psychiatrist published a book which announced an alarming kind of mental disorder – SCHIZOPHRENIA. This idea – the ‘split mind’ – brilliantly evoked the enigma of all those frightful psychoses which lack any apparent organic cause yet seem suddenly to afflict people in the prime of life. Read more
Welcome to the Mad Pride edition. This is organised by the Mad Hatters of Bath but we had contributions from nutters all over the country, and beyond. When we started organising this edition we didn’t know what material we would get. We just asked people to write about what Mad Pride means to them. Read more
Readers may know that in 2008, due to the sudden death of its Editor, Asylum magazine went into crisis and stopped publication. The re-launch was last March. However, people still kept sending in material and so this issue is made up of submissions from the last few years. Readers have sent in lots of great stuff – thanks very much for that. We always welcome contributions. Read more
This is the third issue since the relaunch last March. The first two issues focussed on particular topics – paranoia and medication, respectively. These were packed with information and were well-received by those who saw them. And if you didn’t see them, order them now! In contrast, this issue touches a variety of bases. Read more
Modern societies are highly medicated. You have a health problem? Pop a pill. While ever-inflating health budgets may sometimes benefit patients, they always benefit the drug companies. Since the Second World War, pharmaceuticals have proved even more profitable than the arms industry, the next highest performing sector in the economy. Read more
