Pink Death Zine: What has been your story? The beginning, the present, and the future?
Craig Lewis: Truth be told, my story from birth to 2015, was a life in a prison.
From an early age, I was given drugs to suppress my true self from blossoming.
My only chance to be me I was born to be, was to get off those pills and that is what
I did. My story was one of absolute oppression; I am grateful to be free.
In the present; I live. Existence is cool. It is very interesting experiencing to be known
by many, one way, from the outside, yet to exist and be, in remarkably different ways
on the inside. My present is every moment; getting better with every choice
I make that is grounded in beauty, acceptance, kindness, forgiveness and
unconditional love.
The future is completely unknown, however, this moment is glorious and my actions,
words and thoughts can help cultivate more of what I want and need.
Ultimately, after four decades of living a forcefully repressed life;
I am blessed with this wisdom that I have the power to be happy and to thrive in
any given moment.
PDZ: What has been your biggest motivation to get to " Better Days"?
CL: At this point in time, I forced my life and reality to live “Better Days”.
It has taken five years to become a better version of what I was before the first
Better Days workbook was published. I feel compelled and without the option,
in order to have the success my books deserve, and that I deserve, to walk my talk…
Gratefully, this is working out quite beautifully for me, and for those who believe in me
, trust in me and most importantly; love me.
PDZ: What keeps you going?
CL: I have a responsibility to Max the Cat. I adopted him and gave him his forever
home. Now that we have temporarily lost our home; I must ensure that all his needs
are met for the rest of his life, no matter what is happening with or to me.
I have a responsibility to those who truly care about me, to transcend every
possible situation I face so that their investment in me is not in vain.
I have a responsibility to the survivor community; to not allow myself to
succumb to the trauma and abuse that makes me one of them, and especially,
as a publicly known Survivor of Psychiatric abuse, to never allow my family-of-origin,
Big Pharma, Psychiatry and anyone else so deluded into believing that ingesting known
toxins and poisons is an acceptable method of “treating” trauma survivors.
toxins and poisons is an acceptable method of “treating” trauma survivors.
I have a responsibility to anyone impacted by my craziness as I learned the hard
way to become the man I am today.
I have a responsibility to myself; to live life to its fullest, despite and/or in spite
of anything and anyone.
Most importantly, my spiritual understanding of why I was forced to endure a
lifetime of abuse is to learn these invaluable lessons, about the human condition
and the need for liberation; thus, it is my job, my responsibility, to thrive and be a
healthy and happy example of life after Psychiatry.
The impact of three decades of toxins, somehow given to me, ostensibly, to help me,
has left me riddled with pain that I cannot talk about… Thankfully, I love life too much
and this takes the option of no longer being among the living, off the table.
Without question, it is an honor, that drives me toward being the best version of me possible. I cannot be any other way.
PDZ: What does " Better days" mean to you?
CL: “Better Days”, for me, means that I have the power within me to choose
to create a better life, a better moment, a better me; the moment I decide to claim
my inborn power to do so.
PDZ: What does it mean to struggle with mental health?
CL: To struggle with mental health is something that does not exist. What is real is
struggling, like any human being will, from being hurt, being traumatized, being raped,
being abused, being humiliated, being starved and being abandoned.
The word struggle means to put in extra time and effort to transcend pain, a challenge,
a requirement, etc… These struggles can affect how a person copes with life and
what happens in life, yet for most humans, in minimal ways, is this struggle a
“problem” unless there is a way for someone else to make money off defining very
“normal” human responses as a “problem” or an “illness”.
A problem is a solution waiting to be discovered.
PDZ: What do you think of our current state of affairs addressing mental health in
our school, work, public health systems?
CL: The words dangerous, abusive, misinformed, careless, repressive, authoritarian,
propagandized, dishonest, violating and deadly, are a few words that come to mind
when considering this question.
PDZ: You grew up in the punk scene; what bands did you identify with & why?
CL: My favorite bands from when I was growing up included a various array of
underground genres.
I always was quite keen on WARGASM. I remember one time my family went to
a restaurant in the suburb WARGASM lived in and the band members were enjoying
dinner, I was 15; that was cool.
I must also share that large parts of my memory have been affected throughout the
many years of being drugged, and lots of specific memories are surfacing,
with clarity, as I continue to heal.
PDZ: What stigma's you do think are still a current a problem in the punk rock
community?
CL: Openly talking about making yourself and your life better and talking
with your friends about doing the same.
PDZ: What motivated you to self-publish your book?
CL: Self-Publishing was and is the DIY option and when compared to trying to
work with a publisher, considering my then lack of experience plus numerous
other factors; being in charge was the most ideal choice for me.
Contact: punx.in.recovery@gmail.com (New website soon)
All books available directly.
