In the past, when there was poor understanding of mental health, a variety of terms were tossed around to describe people with mental health issues which were vague, unhelpful and discriminatory. One such word was “mad.”

Fortunately, the stigma and judgement around mental health has eased considerably. In Canada, in 1993, the “Mad Pride” movement was formed in response to local community prejudices towards people with a psychiatric history living in the Parkdale area of Toronto, Canada. As a result, people with lived experience reclaimed the word “mad’ and the term has even started taking on positive connotations (e.g. “That was a mad weekend!”)

We call our weekly newsletter the “Mad Monday Memo,” to defuse negative uses of the word “mad” and to stake a claim for the positive contribution that people living with mental health issues make to modern society.

2024