MadNOTBad was set up in 2003 as my attempt to provide a safe space for those affected by mental ill health to come together and share their experience, opinions and creative talent. Being diagnosed with schzoaffective disorder at the time (a mixture of bipolar & schizophrenia - the highs, lows & psychosis), I had first hand experience of the silence and stigma surrounding mental distress and wanted to find a way of challenging it.

Over 5 years later, this site has continued to grow and develop as more and more people have jumped on board. As of 2009 the site contains over 300 pages, and it's still going strong.

It was my intention that the MadNOTBad would function a bit like a Hearing Voices Group - somewhere where people can feel free to express themselves without fear of judgement or stigma. Somewhere that everyone's personal experiences are valued. I'd like to think that this is what we've created here, together. After all - without you guys MadNOTBad would just be a collection of stories about me. Whilst that might be fairly interesting, what we have now is so much better.

So, why did I call it MadNOTBad?

That's a complicated one. The name works on a number of levels. Firstly, there's this idea in society that once you're labelled with a diagnosis of mental ill health (schizophrenia) that your life is over. I, and many other people who have survived this diagnosis are living proof that this is not true. I beleive that everyone experiences distress in some form of other, whether it's as intense as my own personal madness or not.

Despite steps forward in society, those experiencing mental distress (or madness) are still one of the most discrimintated against sections of society. So Mad NOT Bad serves to emphasise that just because i'm seen as mad, it doesn't mean that i'm an axe weilding maniac who's frothing at the mouth. In truth, i'm just a rather ordinary looking woman who travels to her work in London on the train looking all too normal.

A note on terminology & language: Whilst I call my experienced 'madness', I do no expect others to necessarily view their experiences in this way. It's important that we are all able to find our own ways of understanding, and naming, our experiences - whether we see it as part of a special sensitivity, an illness, a response to trauma or a gift. It's all individual, and that's the way it should be.