To mark mental health weeks, Réunion launched the very first Mad Pride this Wednesday. A parade bringing together nearly 500 people took place in the streets of Saint-Paul to denounce the stigmatization of psychological illnesses. Patients, families and institutions came to proclaim their desire to put an end to the figure of the “dangerous madman”.
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Mad Pride – literally pride of madness – is a concept of manifestation born in Canada in the 1990s. In Reunion, more than 32,400 people were treated for psychiatric disorders in 2021, according to the latest data from the ARS. Faced with this reality and to meet a need of the public concerned, it was the Balise Psy association which organized the very first Reunion edition.
“ We chose to organize a parade about pride in facing negative representations around psychological illnesses. Particularly conveyed by the media. No, we are not the person who cries all the time, nor the person who doesn’t want to do anything. We are the person we can be with our illness, and that is something everyone can be proud of. », explains the director of Balise Psy, Pascal Allard. It was after an experience in identifying the obstacles to access to the professional and social integration of people with mental disorders that he became convinced: we urgently need to deconstruct the prejudices and stigma surrounding mental health. .
Patients, families and professionals united to move forward better
Under the heat of the Saint-Paul sun, wearing yellow caps flocked with “Mad Pride 2024” and well-intentioned slogans, hundreds of people marched to the sound of batucadas and Reunionese kayambs. The event brought together patients, relatives, healthcare professionals and institutions.
Most braved a potential feeling of shame and paraded with their faces uncovered. Like Sabrina, epileptic and suffering from behavioral disorders. The young woman came to denounce the isolation and the rumors which led to her being sidelined. “ We want to say that we are not dangerous. We just want to adapt to a normal world. We did not choose to be born with this disease », she recalls.
Alongside him, Fabienne is an employee of Détak “ my first permanent contract, I am proud », says the woman who became a peer helper in this association dedicated to listening to people suffering from psychological disorders. For her, this Mad Pride allows us to become one: “ it motivates me this day, it allows me to pass on the information and to say to myself: today in Reunion, if I am not mentally well, I am not alone “. It encourages people to call on associations, which are sometimes available more quickly than traditional structures.
Also very present in the procession are the families of patients. Natacha and her husband came with their sons, who suffer from attention deficit disorder (ADHD). Faced with his son’s invisible illness, the father had to stop working for a year and a half to support him. They call above all not to isolate themselves but also to help, financially, the teams surrounding the patients.
Véronique, mother of two boys suffering from schizophrenia, describes how she suffered from being looked away from them, “ including in the family. “It’s hard “, says the woman who has since joined the National Union of Families and Friends of Sick and/or Mentally Disabled People in Reunion (Unafam). She hopes “ that it will allow people to see that the patients are not dangerous, they are humans like any other. “. And then she reminds him, medical stabilization is possible, her son, for example, has found his balance.
“ It’s not easy to cope with illness »
The team from the Flamboyants Est clinic, a psychotherapeutic care establishment with around a hundred places, managed to convince some of the users to participate. Aurélie, health executive, explains why it is necessary to put an end to the image of “ mad » : « This prejudice even prevents access to care for certain patients, who are also afraid of finding themselves locked up with crazy people. There are still a lot of prejudices “.
In Reunion, the role of beliefs and bad luck which are at the origin of mental health disorders still has a hard time. But this Wednesday, in a colorful and joyful crowd, everyone demonstrated their desire to transform false representations. “ It’s time to be proud. It’s not easy to deal with illness. But there, the dynamic was put in place to raise our heads in the hayloft and move forward », rejoices Pascal Allard.