Mental Health Memories: Exploring the Memories of Those with Mental Health Experiences

Event Center BC

This project was developed to fill a void in resources available that represent the mentally ill within historical discourse. The stories of individuals with mental health experiences have been captured in oral history projects with little to no other resources being used to document their personal histories. As a history based project the goal of the archive is to document participant contributions and stories. There is a negative stigma which surrounds those with mental illnesses. One way to fight back against the perpetuation of these negative stereotypes is by those with mental illness telling their stories of everyday life and in some cases treatment. This multidimensional approach can individually contribute to the collective story. In order to understand any portion of their lives it is of the utmost importance to hear their stories on their own terms. By allowing participants to share not only oral histories, but also visual and material culture, it is my hope that we will gain a more profound and heterogeneous understanding of individuals’ experiences and new resources can become available for contemplation.