I think that we should give attention to any movement, effort or initiative that functions to improve the experience of those who fall ill with mental illness and of those in their support structure. Whether it is achieved through building a sense of community, generating awareness, tackling stigma or coaching consumers through the medical system, it is a great thing.
This 'recovery movement' seems to be doing a good job of helping consumers process and overcome their diagnoses, as well as providing a launching pad for their recovery. Talking about it more will only help to create more awareness for both the movement itself and why it started in the first place.
My efforts to volunteer as a speaker for AMI-Quebec and to contribute to Mikesstory.com are entirely for this purpose. I believe that the strongest voices available to advocate for mental illness are (and must continue to be) consumers who are living well in recovery. Those who have been down the dark path of depression, who have experienced the extremes of mania, the confusion and frustration of schizophrenia and the shock of stigma, have a deeper understanding of what living with mental illness truly means.
I would argue that we also have a clearer sense of what changes, in the health-care system and indeed in society, must take place before we will feel the same level of care and respect as our friends and family members who fall ill to a more ‘acceptable’ illness, like cancer.

Be well,
Jason Finucan