Leaving today’s #ExpertsByExperience conference with conflicted feelings .. anger, disappointment and a deep sense of sadness (with sprinkles of hope and connection). I feel like the joining of philosophy to survivor expertise has potentual - but it appears to req. big steps back
In many ways today felt like something arranged with great intentions but limited awareness of the important & inescapable politics and what constitutes expertise thru experience
Some great contributions and points, but my akathisia hated being stuck for long periods of time in tight rows in a small room. My survivor self felt epistemic violence from the naivety philosophers who spoke as if my dx was valid
I felt the inadvertent vacuum created by a lack of acknowledgement of the collective survivor knowledge(s) that are developed in spaces excluded from mainstream academic and clinical discourses
I felt my personal knowledge squished into uncomfortable boxes ... survivor, practitioner, researcher - really craving a deeper conversation about the knowledges generated by each, and how these impact on each other and the way I see, experience, act & move thru the world
And at times I wanted to speak up and name the experiences that left me uncomfortable - but finding space wasn’t so easy, and then I just stayed quiet and waited to leave (wanting to see my daughter before she sleeps)
One unexpected highlight was a brief but connective conversation with an organiser ... someone trying their best to navigate these complex worlds. Hoping to link with them again, as I do believe philosophy has an important place in all this - but there’s a huge catch up needed
Now, having left early, I’m stuck standing on a train - squeezed into the aisles like a sardine as it’s half it’s usual size. I’ll fitting for anyone, horrible for someone who struggles with being hemmed in (in all kinds of ways). Dammit. I should have brought my stress-kitty
#TwitterOffsetting Hoping I get to see Thea before she goes to bed 💖 
