The Recovery Position
This is an extract of Peters story is taken from an article by Adam James, published on the Psychminded website. To see the full article click here.
Peter Bullimore has a story which might both send a chill down your spine and inspire you.
In 1991 he was a family man and successful businessman handling turnovers of £1m. By 1992 he was an overweight, self-confessed down-and-out psychiatric patient. For the next eight years he became a revolving door patient. Diagnosed with schizophrenia, he said he was once threatened with life in a secure unit.
But Bullimore found a path to recovery. It was not via a new wave neuroleptic, but a basic – albeit painful – re-appraisal of his life initiated by contact with those he met through the Hearing Voices Network, perhaps the most influential self-help organisation for people diagnosed with psychosis.
Bullimore’s no longer a schizophrenic. He’s a voice-hearer, dedicating his time working for three organisations. He is chair of Sheffield’s Hearing Voices Network, business manager for Asylum, a magazine for democratic psychiatry, and co-founder of the Sheffield-based Paranoia Network, a self-help organisation for people experiencing extreme paranoia, aka delusions.
