NISA launches The Dictionary of Madness on Bell Let's Talk Day

Today, January 29, is the 10th anniversary of Bell Let's Talk Day, an occasion to join the conversation to help create positive change for people living with mental health issues.

This year's theme is Mental Health: Every Action Counts, to highlight actions that can create positive change in schools, communities and workplaces.

In Sudbury, the Northern Initiative for Social Action — or NISA — is taking action today by launching The Dictionary of Madness. It's a book of made-up words and art that illustrate real experiences and emotions related to mental health.

Ella Jane Myers is the editor and publisher of Open Minds Quarterly, NISA's literary journal that welcomes writing and art from people with lived experience of mental health challenges.

Myers says people use a lot of different words to describe their experiences of what is commonly called mental health. At the same time, words like "crazy" are also used.

 "We decided to make up a bunch of words that reclaim some of those more hurtful words and also invent some new ones that more accurately describe the experiences we have," she said.

Myers added that words like "mental illness" or "mental health" don't accurately capture the diverse range of experiences and opinions.

To come up with the words, NISA ran workshops during its weekly Writers' Circle and there was also a digital round for people who couldn't attend in person. "Ultimately, we compiled this list and I edited them to be a big more dictionary-ish," said Myers.

She says there are 200 different words from A to Z in The Dictionary of Madness. She says there are serious made-up words like "dishame" to deny and release shame, and fun ones such as "sobisfaction" for the feeling of a really good cry. The book also features roughly 20 different pieces of art to reflect the made-up words.

Myers says a lot of laughter went into the production of the dictionary. "There were times when we started coming up with some [words] that were just so silly and we all just were in tears laughing at them," she said. "I think part of it is the bittersweet laughter where you relate and it isn't necessarily a funny thing but it's funny because so many of you have been through it and you're able to relate," she added. 

Myers believes that the process of creating The Dictionary of Madness has taken away some of the hurt caused by words that other people use. "There's a lot of power in using a word that someone has used against you," she explained.

No two experiences are alike.- Ella Jane Myers

"We hope people will understand a bit better how diverse other people's experiences of madness, mental health challenges, mental illness or neurodiversity are — that no two experiences are exactly alike," said Myers. She also hopes that it just makes people laugh.

NISA is launching The Dictionary of Madness January 29 at 5 p.m. at Kuppajo on Larch Street in downtown Sudbury. 

The book sells for $20.