Advertising sign: Psycho Asylum Haunted House $2.50 per person – family fun -October 3 31Ku Klux Klan member: Hey friend, can I get a light?Caption: Discrimination Comes In Many Forms

Disenfranchised, I really think, maybe that’s the emotional feeling I have right now…Disillusioned! I care so much about the discrimination and the stigmatization of People living with serious mental health issues that it sickens me–it’s ALWAYS associated with Halloween. It is the worst holiday ever conceived! In fact, it’s the one holiday that anyone living with or caring for someone with a mental illness should boycott and not celebrate whatsoever! Why? Not because it’s a Celtic and Anglo-Saxon ritualistic festival that honors Samhain, the Celtic lord of the dead or any other false religious idea concerning this holiday. No, the only reason you and I need is how Halloween is more associated with crazy, blood-lusting, psychopaths than any other holiday that I know of which is celebrated.  Forget the day of the dead, it’s now the day of the stigma.

In this cartoon above, I try to convey two thoughts. One viewing on racial discrimination (racism), and the second on the discrimination conveyed towards people with mental illness. Both, hands down are wrong but when you throw it into a holiday with some tasty/nice candy, goodies that makes it okay?!… GO CRAZY, in good, Wholesome family fun making stigmatizing the mentally ill. When you put it that why then I guess, it’s okay to create a haunted house/mental health psychotic asylum.

You may look at this from a different point of view than mine. Thinking well, it’s all in good fun, this haunted house for Halloween even though the background is a “psycho asylum.” Sure– it’s stigmatic, sure– it’s discriminatory, sure– it’s scary, and by rights, it should be…right? EVERYONE wants to live next to people with mental illness?

Halloween conveys a stigmatic, disgusting idea that people with mental illness are nothing more than Psychopathic killers and murderers only worthy of being …

News Reporter: Mr. Great Pumpkin how do you reply to reports that you advocate cutting and Self-injury???Caption: News Flash: Pumpkin Cutting on the Rise

Each year the The Peanuts gang would make fun of Linus as he wasted time in the pumpkin patch waiting for the great pumpkin. I really think there is a lot we can learn from Linus and his patiently waiting year-in and year-out for the great pumpkin to appear. I believe, we can make the analogy of anyone of us who live with a serious mental illness like depression, bipolar disorder, or schizophrenia who are waiting for our great pumpkin that will bring us back our reality or everything that we have lost in the process of our recovery. Whether Linus knew it or not, he was really setting an example that we can emulate…have faith and patience and never stop hoping and dreaming for a better future.

Secondly, I would like to raise the issue of the great pumpkin and his inability to stop this self- injury and cutting. I believe this is my second cartoon dealing with self- injury. It’s kind of funny to me that the last cartoon was Mrs. potato head and this cartoon is a pumpkin. I’m not sure if that is done subconsciously or not, but it does not escape my notice and it cracks “me” up.

It was March of 2008 that right after a hospital visit I last had a bout with self-injury. I progressed from cutting to burning and branding and this March will be five years that I last used self-injury to deal with my emotional distress. It also marks five years of mental health recovery…This last time that I was in the crisis intervention unit was the same time that I stopped my self- injury issues.

March of 2008 was when I started drawing the mental health humor cartoons. I give the …

Bird: >>>poop<<<<Dog: >>>Pee’ed<<<Sign: >>>Pointing every where – RECOVERY????<<<<Flower: >>> HAPPY <<<Caption: Just another Bipolar Day

I’m going to let the cartoon speak for me in this post…  It drew it as art therapy. I think it is self explanatory. Ever  have one of “those” days. Today is that day for me…. Well, misery loves company, so tell me about one of your Bipolar Days.

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Friend me on Facebook @chato B Stewart.

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Originally Posted on http://blogs.psychcentral.com/humor YOU need permission use ©2011

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Mental Health Humor Cartoons

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