Living with mental health challenges: Call for personal stories of recovery

Narrative Inquiry in Bioethics, a journal researching current issues in bioethics, is inviting people living with mental health challenges to submit their personal stories of recovery. Stories from Europe are sought in particular. The aim is to support people who have been most directly affected by healthcare policies and practices to share their experiences to promote greater social justice and human rights in health care. 

The journal will publish a collection of personal stories from individuals who live with serious mental health challenges that are sometimes diagnosed as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, or other conditions. Serious mental health challenges are frequently approached as life-long medical conditions, given a diagnosis, and treated with medications. However, some pursue non-medical treatments, peer support, use diet and exercise to promote wellness, and embrace models of recovery. Approaches often differ across nations, depending upon their resources and philosophy of mental health challenges.

In writing your story, please consider these questions:

• What sort of mental health challenges have you experienced, and how have they affected your life?
• How have you approached living with or recovering from mental health challenges? What has worked well for you? What has not worked well?
• Have you experienced stigma or bias due to your mental health challenges? How has this affected your well-being?
• What advice would you give to someone who is experiencing serious mental health challenges for the first time in their life? What advice would you give to their family, friends, and healthcare providers?

You do not need to address each of these questions—write on the issues that you think are most important to share with others. If you are not a writer, tell your story in your own words and the journal’s editorial staff will help you.

If you are interested in submitting a story, please submit a 300-word proposal—a short description of the story you want to tell. Inquiries or proposals should be sent to the editorial office via email: narrativebioethics@gmail.com. Preference will be given to proposals received by March 17th, 2021. If your story is invited, you will be asked to submit it within 6 weeks of the invitation. Final stories are 4 – 10 double-spaced pages or 800 – 2000 words.