The Icarus Project envisions a new culture and language that resonates with our actual experiences of 'mental illness' rather than trying to fit our lives into a conventional framework.

We are a network of people living with and/or affected by experiences that are commonly diagnosed and labeled as psychiatric conditions. We believe these experiences are mad gifts needing cultivation and care, rather than diseases or disorders. By joining together as individuals and as a community, the intertwined threads of madness, creativity, and collaboration can inspire hope and transformation in an oppressive and damaged world. Participation in The Icarus Project helps us overcome alienation and tap into the true potential that lies between brilliance and madness.

The Icarus Project is a collaborative, participatory adventure fueled by inspiration and mutual aid. We bring the Icarus vision to reality through an Icarus national staff collective and a grassroots network of autonomous local support groups and Campus Icarus groups across the US and beyond.

To read more about our mission, vision, and work, check out the full text of our mission statement. We're non-profit and donation driven; please consider making a donation if you can, even $10 helps keep us going.

For latest news, click here to read the Icarus Coordinators blog.

How To Use This Site

Guides and info on using the Icarus website, including how-tos on contributing and editing content, events calendar, etc.

RSS Feeds

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Info on Icarus content through rss feeds.

Skillshares, Trainings, and Speaking Engagements

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Icarus staff have done public speaking across the US and even in Europe, we've organized skillshares, and we ar developing trainings for organizers and peer counselors. We work on an ability-to-pay basis: if you might want to set something up in your community, contact us!

Link to Icarus!

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Code to copy and paste for an Icarus button/badge/banner on your site or blog, as well as the Icarus news and photo feeds.

Wellness Policy for Volunteers, Interns, and Staff

Our national office policy governing wellness and sustainability in how we work together and accomodation for experiences and conditions labeled as mental illnesses. We encourage local groups to develop similar policies and practices to prevent burnout and promote sustainabilty.

Grievances and Ethical Concerns

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A key aspect of radical mental health is voicing grievances, airing differences, and opening up healing discussions about how oppression in our own movement affects our work.

Dandelion Visions and Windborne Seeds

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Bare ground does not stay bare. Tenacious plants called pioneer species find ways to spread and extend roots deep into the soil, providing homes for all kinds of other creatures and enriching the soil over their cycles of life and death. Many of the most common pioneer plants are the ones we are trained to see as weeds; plants like the dandelion whose strong taproot extends far below the depleted topsoil to the deep layers of subsoil that hold hidden minerals far underground. The dandelion pulls these up and incorporates them into its leaves and flowers; when it dies all the nutrients that were locked underground join the upper layers of soil and make them available to the next generations of plants.

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