Doll Hospital Journal

03/08/2019

The second part of our fifth and final issue is now here for you in hard copy form, with all sales going toward INQUEST and Trans Survivors Switchboard and we can’t wait for you to see it! 🥰

To celebrate our final issue for the forseeable future we have put together a very special roundtable titled ‘Survive the Night: An Endlessly Affirming Roundtable of Advice, Advocacy, Assertions and Aspirations for Storming Through Mental Health Struggles On Our Most Hopeless of Days’. And at 78 pages long, with 105 contributors, it turned out so big and beautiful that we had to release it as its own issue in and of itself! 📖

Plus as an extra thank you, we are throwing in a digital copy of the bumper issue of Doll Hospital Issue Five! That includes the main part of our fifth issue which is not included in this print launch. Plus a whole bunch of spotify mixes of good vibe sounds!

All orders are shipped in a timely manner from Bristol, U.K (so if you’re ordering from farther afield please allow it a little extra time to reach you!)

https://dollhospitaljournal.bigcartel.com/product/doll-hospital-journal-issue-five-roundtable-hard-copy

27/07/2019

The second part of our fifth and final issue is coming soon for you in hard copy form, Saturday the 3rd of August at 10am, UK time to be exact, and we can't wait for you to see it! 🥰

To celebrate our final issue for the forseeable future we have put together a very special roundtable titled 'Survive the Night: An Endlessly Affirming Roundtable of Advice, Advocacy, Assertions and Aspirations for Storming Through Mental Health Struggles On Our Most Hopeless of Days'. And at 78 pages long, with 105 contributors, it turned out so big and beautiful that we had to release it as its own issue in and of itself! 📖

Normally, all the profits from our print issues, and pay as you wish digital issues, would go straight back into making Doll Hospital Journal. You see, sales are our only income so previously any money raised went towards practical things like printing hard copies and posting out contributor's copies.
However, as this is our final issue for the forseeable future we don't have to worry about saving our pennies for our next print release. Not only is that a nice relief, I mean fundraising is stressful, it also means we can put the money we raise from this roundtable, as well as future sales of our pay as you wish digital copies, to good use with all profits going towards INQUEST UK and Trans Survivors Switchboard. 🌟

More info coming so watch this space! 🎊

04/02/2019

Good news! 🎊 A limited number of Doll Hospital Journal Issue 5 hard copies are now available for you on our store! 🌸 As with all our issues, this is a one time only print run so grab a copy of our fifth and final issue before they go! 🙀

Our fifth and final issue is now here for you to pre-order in print form-it's our biggest and most beautiful issue yet and we can't wait...

03/01/2019

Happy 2019! 🎊 This is just a quick message to say that DH5 is at the printers and will be with us next Friday (the 11th) We’ll then be having a very busy weekend of posting and parcelling so we can have them all shipped out to you the following week! 💌 For any of you that missed out on our pre-orders there will be a small number of copies available thru big cartel later this month so watch this space! As always thank you so much for both your patience and your support 💖

15/12/2018

Last weekend to get your pre-orders in and we don’t do reprints so be sure to get one before they go! ☺️

Our fifth and final issue is coming soon to pre-order in print form-it's our biggest and most beautiful issue yet and we can't wait for you...

01/12/2018

Some exciting news!! 🎉 Our fifth and FINAL issue is now available to pre-order in print form-it's our biggest and most beautiful issue yet and we can't wait for you to see it! 💗

Our sole income is from sales which goes entirely towards printing our issues (as well as posting out contributors copies!) so honestly every order helps make Doll Hospital a reality.

Featuring essays, artwork, interviews and more by awesome humans such as Seo Kim, IGGYLDN, Ambivalently Yours, Rudy Loewe, Ijeoma Umebinyuo, Ruby Etc, Khairani Barokka, Mya Carmichael, John Porcellino, MJ Robinson, Steve Haines, Sara Lautman and countless others! Lovingly designed in full colour this very special issue is jam packed with soothing illustrations, comic art, poetry, photography, cultural criticism and real talk. We think it is beautiful, we think it is necessary, and we hope you do too.

Pre-orders will run from 10am (UK time) on Saturday the 1st of December to 9pm on Sunday the 16th December. So that's a little over two weeks to get your orders in! Then our issue will go to print at the lovely folks at Ex Why Zed which will take around two weeks before being shipped out to you in the new year of 2019! ☺️

Plus as an extra thank you, we are throwing in a digital copy of the bumper issue of Doll Hospital Issue Five! That includes a bonus 100 page roundtable which is NOT included in the print launch. (But don't worry we're planning to release that in print form as a separate issue in the new year!)

Plus an 8 tracks mix of good vibe sounds (lovingly put together by our pal Claire Biddles!)

All orders are shipped in a timely manner from Bristol, U.K (so if you're ordering from farther afield please allow it a little extra time to reach you!)

Eee can’t wait!🌟

Our fifth and final issue is coming soon to pre-order in print form-it's our biggest and most beautiful issue yet and we can't wait for you...

23/11/2018

Some exciting news!! 🎉 Our fifth and final issue is coming soon to pre-order in print form-it's our biggest and most beautiful issue yet and we can't wait for you to see it! 💗

Pre-orders will run from 10am (UK time) on Saturday the 1st of December (that’s a little over a week from now!) to 9pm on Sunday the 16th December. So that's a little over two weeks to get your orders in! Then our issue will go to print at the lovely folks at Ex Why Zed which will take around two weeks before being shipped out to you in the new year of 2019! ☺️ Featuring essays, artwork, interviews and more by awesome humans such as Seo Kim, IGGYLDN, Ambivalently Yours, Rudy Loewe, Ijeoma Umebinyuo, Ruby Etc, Khairani Barokka, Mya Carmichael, John Porcellino, MJ Robinson, Steve Haines, Sara Lautman and countless others! Lovingly designed in full colour this very special issue is jam packed with soothing illustrations, comic art, poetry, photography, cultural criticism and real talk. We think it is beautiful, we think it is necessary, and we hope you do too.

Plus as an extra thank you, we are throwing in a digital copy of the bumper issue of Doll Hospital Issue Five! That includes a bonus 100 page roundtable which is not included in the print launch. (But don't worry we're planning to release that in print form as a separate issue in the new year!) Plus an 8 tracks mix of good vibe sounds (lovingly put together by our pal Claire Biddles!) All orders are shipped in a timely manner from Bristol, U.K (so if you're ordering from farther afield please allow it a little extra time to reach you!) Eee can’t wait!🌟

22/10/2018

Dear trans, nonbinary, and intersex people:
You are loved.
You are valid.
You are perfect.
We will not let you be erased.

“I have news for Donald Trump. I do exist. Trans men and women exist. Genderq***r people exist. We have been part of this country for hundreds of years — since before the Revolution, in fact. Redefining us won’t make us go away,” writes Jennifer Finney Boylan for the The New York Times.

15/10/2018

cw: grief, death of a parent

"Grief should not come with a timer that just keeps ticking and telling you to move on. When you lose someone close to your heart, you will keep missing them, and that is not a problem, nor is it your fault. However, it does help to have someone to help you process your emotions, and to learn how you can help yourself when you’re alone. There are also ways to build a support system beyond that trusted individual. Here’s what’s helped me, and I hope it helps you, too."

"There are people and outlets to help you carry that weight, but you have to be the one to find them before it gets too heavy."

15/10/2018

"The Gender Recognition Act 2004 (GRA) was one of the leading pieces of LGBT equality legislation in the world when it was first passed. Now, however, it is not fit for purpose.

Under the GRA, trans people have to go through a lengthy and medicalised process to "prove" that they are trans enough. This involves psychiatric interviews, medical assessments and a £140 application fee. It also requires them to hand over two years of proof that they have lived as their "acquired gender".

A panel of clinicians – who have never met the applicant – have the power to approve or deny them based on this evidence. The whole process can take years. If you're married, you need the permission of your spouse to apply – and there are other things which the Act doesn’t even take into consideration. Non-binary people, for instance, aren’t recognised by the law at all.

It is wrong that a trans person is required to submit to a psychiatric assessment or answer a stranger's questions about ge***al surgery in order to have documents which reflect their lived identity and provide them with privacy.

We are calling on everyone who cares about LGBTQI rights to submit their views to the government as part of its public consultation on how best to reform the GRA, before it closes on Friday the 19th of October.

The consultation form only takes 10 minutes to fill out, and anyone can respond, regardless of their gender identity. It’s important for the government to see that support for reforming the GRA comes from all sectors of society."

-Are you based in the UK and wish to speak out in support of trans rights? Then pop over to Stonewall to share you solidarity in their quick 10 minute questionnaire. We're currently in a particularly hateful time of anti-trans rhetoric in the UK so it's incredible important to show up and share your support. Oh don't forget that the deadline is THIS FRIDAY so put in your answers before it closes!

Today, VICE and Stonewall launch Recognise Me, a new campaign calling on anyone who cares about LGBTQI rights to demand vital improvements to the GRA.

15/10/2018

cw: su***de

"How many times have we heard that it’s important to talk about mental health issues? While stigma absolutely exists when it comes to mental illness, it seems to be the main focus of the discourse – and that’s spreading a mistaken belief that simply talking about mental illness will solve the issue."

Talk is cheap, and don't we know it.

15/10/2018

cw: su***de

"Many taxi drivers are under incredible stress, but Mr. Ochisor’s story shows how difficult it can be to convince those with severe depression to talk about it. Life behind the wheel of a taxi can be solitary and the job tends to attract independent-minded people who might not feel comfortable talking about emotions that can carry a stigma."

After six professional drivers committed su***de in New York, taxi drivers are talking more openly about depression.

15/10/2018

cw: police brutality

Gracie Bradley, the policy and campaigns manager at the human rights organisation Liberty, said: “Given the pain, distress and serious health consequences electro-shock weapons can cause, it’s difficult to see how using them on vulnerable people seeking treatment in mental health hospitals could ever be appropriate or justified.

“[Stun guns] can and do kill, which is why they were initially restricted to use by fi****ms officers – but mission creep has seen them deployed well beyond that.”

Electronic weapons also used on under-18s, UK data shows, but many forces fail to respond to FoI request

15/10/2018

"Though the public face of Alzheimer’s is often an elderly white male, the fastest-growing group affected is Black women. Blacks and Latinx people are also developing the disease at increasing rates; no one is certain why, even as researchers search for a cure. In America, researchers receive paltry levels of support and work against continuing silence about and stigmatization of those with the disease."

Until a cure is found for Alzheimer’s, African Americans must break the silence in our communities.

15/10/2018

"There are just too many issues, too many pressures, and too many traumas we are individually working on internally.

There are some specific Muslim traumas that we need to work through, like Islamophobia, and while talking about it with our Muslim peers is therapeutic in itself, we should be able to speak through it with a healthcare professional who can advise and guide us in a way that therapists are trained to do. But unfortunately, the system fails us."

There are just too many issues, too many pressures, and too many traumas we are individually working on internally. There are some specific Muslim traumas that we need to work through, like Islamophobia, and while talking about it with our Muslim peers is therapeutic in itself, we should be able to....

15/10/2018

"Our communities need to realise that these are our conversations. Sometimes the mental health conversations they see are very white and don’t seem like our conversations to have. You don’t have to have them out there if you don’t want to. You can have them within your safe space, in your community, where your language won’t be misinterpreted. We need people to realise that this isn’t just about them labelling us, though there is an aspect of that that you can’t ignore. We go through a lot as people of colour living in the UK and it has an effect on our mental health. That needs to be acknowledged and talked about and hopefully the shame will dwindle away. Shame is so powerful. You need a whole community to tackle it."
- Dr Samara Linton

Kiri Kankhwende talks to the editors of a groundbreaking new anthology about BAME mental health

15/10/2018

cw: torture, su***de, detention centres

"Su***de attempts have become more frequent in British deportation detention centres, with on average about two attempts every day this summer, according to a freedom of information request response passed to the Guardian.

On Wednesday, the Guardian reported that from a sample of almost 200 migrants held in detention centres, more than half were suicidal, seriously ill or victims of torture."

FoI response reveals 22% rise in number trying to kill themselves in ‘inhumane’ detention

10/09/2018

cw: incarceration

"It’s true that the hospitals have mostly disappeared: between 1950 and 2000 the number of people with serious mental illness living in psychiatric institutions dropped from almost half a million people to about 50,000. But none of the rest of it has gone away, not the cruelty, the filth, the bad food or the brutality. Nor, most importantly, has the large population of people with mental illness, like Rodriguez, who are kept largely out of sight, their poor treatment invisible to most ordinary Americans.

The only real difference between Kesey’s time and our own is that the mistreatment of people with mental illness now happens in jails and prisons. Today, the country’s largest providers of psychiatric care are not hospitals at all, but rather the jails in Chicago, Los Angeles and New York City."

In America, jails and prisons have become the nation’s de facto mental healthcare providers – and the results are chilling

10/09/2018

"We need to be careful about the way we talk about self-care, because when we use words like ‘indulge’ and ‘treat’, it makes us feel like looking after ourselves is, well, an indulgent treat – which it isn’t. When we use self-care as a way to sell stuff, we hold up products as the magical keys to make us all feel better. And when you’re in the pit of depression, anxiety, or any other mental illness that makes you feel rubbish, this can be dangerous."

Please stop telling me I need to drop £30 on a candle to get in on self-care.

10/09/2018

"They [the protagonists in YA illness novels] are unmarked by their illnesses, so there’s no physical difference to bar identification between healthy reader and ill character. The covers, then render illness invisible while simultaneously reinforcing our cultural imagination of tragically beautiful illness as the province of vulnerable white female bodies."

Cure, remission, and rehabilitation provide the happy ending and death the sad one.

10/09/2018

"I joke that my bed, heaped with cushions, is my office, my world headquarters. I lie it in thinking of all my other crip poet friends who spend most of their days in bed too. Draped in pillows, red and plum sheets, surrounded by good art to look at, curtained by plum sari fabric. this is my place of power, the fulcrum, place everything emerges from."

Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha, 'So much time spent in bed: Gloria Anzaldua, chronic illness, Coatlicue and disability', 12/15/2010

another fibromyalgic q***r coloredgirl morning Dear Gloria, Dawn. Sun rise floats through the window slats of my shack, the little EI-safe house in the back of the q***r collective house I inhabit....

10/09/2018

"It's said that the disabled are the largest stigmatized population of which any person can become a member at any time. This frequently comes to mind when I see people on social media speak with a certain amount of pride about hustling so hard that they haven't slept more than a few hours in a week. When I see women that I admire scoff at the idea of self-care, I shrink because I'm often reading their words on my phone while lying in bed, engaging in the most intense self-care that I can manage."

"In a society that holds productivity as unequivocally good, to do less feels like a moral failing."

03/09/2018

cw: detailed descriptions of trich and other body focussed repetitive behavious

"We develop incredibly deep compassion. Why? Because we know what it's like to suffer. We know what it's like to be different. And we can see that in other people."

Whether hair pulling, skin picking or cheek biting, body-focused repetitive behaviors blight many people's lives. How can science help us understand and treat these distressing conditions better?

03/09/2018

"Apologizing is so tough because it is, essentially, admitting that we were wrong, that we did something bad, and that we are not—no matter how much we want to be—perfect. "

"When you've hurt someone, acknowledge it."

03/09/2018

"Remembering happy times and using your past achievements as inspiration is a good thing, but holding on to memories and using them to torment yourself with is another thing entirely."

Why it's time to let go of the past and move on.

03/09/2018

"Newspaper reports, well-meaning advice, punditry of all sorts. At some deep level, we seem to want people to be wrong for choosing to take antidepressants. Every now and then columnists circle like vultures over each new story about how doctors hand out antidepressants “like sweeties”, or that side-effects might turn you into a monster, or that the drugs don’t in fact work at all. Some 64.7m items of antidepressants were dispensed in England in 2016. Surely, people ask, you should try everything else first? Have you thought about jogging? Eating kale? Not being in poverty or danger or not having a history of terrible things being done to you?"

A new mega-analysis has found in favour of SSRIs. Time to give people who take them a break, says mental health expert Mark Brown

03/09/2018

cw: incarceration, forced medication

"Many states set a clear limit on the amount of time they hold people with mental health issues in jails and forensic psychiatric hospitals who have not been found competent to stand trial. But in some states, including New York, authorities can keep attempting to restore a defendant’s mental capacity until the person has served two-thirds of the maximum sentence he or she would receive if eventually found guilty. Ramos’s maximum sentence is life in prison, and so he sits trapped in Rikers, serving out two-thirds of his life, an unofficial sentence with no verdict and no certain end point."

A New York City man has been shuffled between Rikers Island and mental hospitals for 32 years.

03/09/2018

cw: anti-indigenous racism, medical abuse

"When so many of our elders die early, we cannot learn and pass down our traditions. We become only a shadow of our former selves. I lose a little more of myself every time I have to educate, stand up, and fight for myself and my communities, and file formal complaints in the medical system. These are battles that I shouldn’t have to fight. But since the U.S. government was designed to kill us, literally and metaphorically, the medical industry is continuing that mission."

I am choosing to fight.

20/07/2018

"People are eager to find a way to help their friends who may be dealing with suicidal thoughts and all kinds of mental health issues. But telling people to "get help" on its own isn't that helpful. And, it turns out, there's so much more you can do that will have a bigger impact."
-A really great piece starring the amazing Stefanie of Project LETS

There's a lot more you can do.