Have you ever thought you were going mad? Ever questioned your sanity? Hated yourself so much that you wanted to end it all? Felt your life crippled by panic? Lost control over your own mind?

This ground-breaking book addresses many people's unspoken concerns about mental illness, and the associated stigma. It questions the mainstream arguments, instead placing consciousness, thoughts, emotions and experiences as the creators of psychological distress and dis-ease states.

The authors demystify the psychiatric labels, presenting them as understandable responses that are experienced as a result of traumatic or difficult life situations. Their case studies, drawn from their clinical experience, vividly describe the journey into madness, clearly documenting what happens and what doesn't in states such as schizophrenia, mania, obsessive-compulsive disorder, depression and panic attacks.

Their aim is to make madness understandable and inseparable from the experience of being human. This vital view firmly puts the lifeforce and soul back into the healing process where it belongs.