CRAZYWISE: YANA Screening & Discussion (In Person & Online)

Crazy...or wise? The traditional wisdom of indigenous cultures often contradicts modern views about a mental health crisis. Is it a ‘calling’ to grow or just a ‘broken brain’? The documentary CRAZYWISE explores what can be learned from people around the world who have turned their psychological crisis into a positive transformative experience.

This month, our discussion also will be held on Indigenous People's Day. Our featured panelist is Anna Smith (Lakota Sioux, enrolled member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe), will be moderating our discussion after the screening alongside several of our YANA panelists live from our screening location at COhatch in the Waterfront area of Pittsburgh.

COhatch Waterfront is located at 137 WEST BRIDGE ST, HOMESTEAD, PA 15120 in the heart of The Waterfront shopping center between Ethan Allen and Bath & Body Works. Parking is free throughout the shopping center.

$5 Donation Requested for regular admission, in person or on Zoom.

Speicail VIP tickets are available if you would like to reserve a recliner on site for the viewing, there is a fixed fee of $12.

If you require any special accomodations, please message us at: [email protected]

In these monthly conversations, YANA panelists share stories of their own personal journey, as well as provide resources and tools to help individuals reclaim their lives after trauma. We believe that sharing our personal stories of survival and holistic techniques can support you in the sacred process of reclaiming yourself in healing. You deserve to be respected and heard!

Panelists: Marilyn Carpenter, Deb Carter, Angela Failor, Gail Hunter, Laura Kustaborder, Mai Nguyen, Anna Smith, Leza Vivio.

The format of this event is a group panel that discusses and has conversations around different aspects of healing from trauma. We have anywhere between 4-9 people on the panel and are always open to anyone wanting to join the panel.

We set this event up as a Zoom webinar, not a meeting, to maintain anonymity of our attendees, so you will not be seen unless you request to be. There is a chat room, and you can ask questions and be invited to unmute yourself if you want. Your name will be displayed in the chat, so please feel free to change your name to protect your identity in any way that you see fit.

It is critical that our efforts strengthen, so we can begin to heal these invisible wounds. They are crucial in promoting the healthy development of children and adults and healthy behaviors in families, schools and communities, thereby reducing the likelihood of trauma.

*** If you feel you are in crisis, please contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, which offers free, 24/7 call, text and chat access to trained crisis counselors. Text or call 988 to be connected to a crisis center nearest to you. If you are in an emergency, call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room. OMA Center for Mind, Body, and Spirit does not offer crisis counseling or emergency services.***

What can we learn from those who have turned their psychological crisis into a positive transformative experience?

During a quarter-century documenting indigenous cultures, human-rights photographer and filmmaker Phil Borges often saw these cultures identify “psychotic” symptoms as an indicator of shamanic potential. He was intrigued by how differently psychosis is defined and treated in the West.

Through interviews with renowned mental health professionals including Gabor Mate, MD, Robert Whitaker, and Roshi Joan Halifax, PhD, Phil explores the growing severity of the mental health crisis in America dominated by biomedical psychiatry. He discovers a growing movement of professionals and psychiatric survivors who demand alternative treatments that focus on recovery, nurturing social connections, and finding meaning.

CRAZYWISE follows two young Americans diagnosed with “mental illness.” Adam, 27, suffers devastating side effects from medications before embracing meditation in hopes of recovery. Ekhaya, 32, survives childhood molestation and several suicide attempts before spiritual training to become a traditional South African healer gives her suffering meaning and brings a deeper purpose to her life.

CRAZYWISE doesn’t aim to over-romanticize indigenous wisdom, or completely condemn Western treatment. Not enery indigenous person who has a crisis becomes a shaman. And many individuals benefit from Western medications.

However, indigenous peoples’ acceptance of non-ordinary states of consciousness, along with rituals and metaphors that form deep connections to nature, to each other, and to ancestors, is something we can learn from.

CRAZYWISE adds a voice to the growing conversation that believes a psychological crisis can be an opportunity for growth and potentially transformational, not a disease with no cure.

Host or Publisher OMA Center for Mind, Body and Spirit