Sponsored by the Roundout Valley Holistic Health Community
7:15 pm | 1h 22min | Documentary

Crazy…or wise? The traditional wisdom of indigenous cultures often contradicts modern views about a mental health crisis. Is it a ‘calling’ to grow or just a ‘broken brain’? The documentary CRAZYWISE explores what can be learned from people around the world who have turned their psychological crisis into a positive transformative experience.

What can we learn from those who have turned their psychological crisis into a positive transformative experience?

During a quarter-century documenting indigenous cultures, human-rights photographer and filmmaker Phil Borges often saw these cultures identify “psychotic” symptoms as an indicator of shamanic potential. He was intrigued by how differently psychosis is defined and treated in the West.

Through interviews with renowned mental health professionals including Gabor Mate, MD, Robert Whitaker, and Roshi Joan Halifax, PhD, Phil explores the growing severity of the mental health crisis in America dominated by biomedical psychiatry. He discovers a growing movement of professionals and psychiatric survivors who demand alternative treatments that focus on recovery, nurturing social connections, and finding meaning.

CRAZYWISE follows two young Americans diagnosed with “mental illness.” Adam, 27, suffers devastating side effects from medications before embracing meditation in hopes of recovery. Ekhaya, 32, survives childhood molestation and several suicide attempts before spiritual training to become a traditional South African healer gives her suffering meaning and brings a deeper purpose to her life.

CRAZYWISE doesn’t aim to over-romanticize indigenous wisdom, or completely condemn Western treatment. Not enery indigenous person who has a crisis becomes a shaman. And many individuals benefit from Western medications.

However, indigenous peoples’ acceptance of non-ordinary states of consciousness, along with rituals and metaphors that form deep connections to nature, to each other, and to ancestors, is something we can learn from.

CRAZYWISE adds a voice to the growing conversation that believes a psychological crisis can be an opportunity for growth and potentially transformational, not a disease with no cure.

CRAZYWISE website
https://crazywisefilm.com/

CRAZYWISE Discussion Guide
http://www.rosendaletheatre.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/CRAZYWISE-Discussion-Guide-1.pdf

RESOURCES AND INFORMATION
http://www.rosendaletheatre.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/CRAZYWISE-ResourceList_Handout-1.pdf
Navigating mental health resources for yourself or someone you care about
can be daunting and confusing, especially when seeking help during a crisis oracute psychological experience. One size does not fit all when it comes to mental health treatment. CRAZYWISE can not advise on a particular treatment and is not affiliated with any of the services below. These are community and peer focused resources that we came across during the making of the film. This list of resources is accessible online from anywhere. For more local resources, search the directories below or consider working with a peer or therapist to figure out what resources are available in your community.