Draft:Jim Flannery

Jim Flannery is an American artist known for his outspoken views on mental health. Born in Hartford, Connecticut, Flannery started out as a startup technology entrepreneur before a series of involuntary psychiatric incarcerations led him to pursue stand-up comedy and activism. He is best known for his comedic performances that blend humorous storytelling with critiques of the mental health system, particularly its use of involuntary treatments.

Early Life

Flannery grew up in Wethersfield, Connecticut and attended Wethersfield High School as well as the Greater Hartford Academy of Math and Science...

Flannery enrolled at Boston University where he earned a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering in May 2008.  During his final year at BU, he co-founded a biotechnology startup company, A&J Biomedics LLC, that focused on innovative biomedical research – initially working on using light to catalyze cellulase enzyme activity​ .  Flannery then co-founded an LED lighting finance company, American Relight .  Following their acquisition of MSi Solid State Lighting LLC in 2013, Flannery was removed from the company resulting in Flannery later filing a lawsuit, Flannery vs. MSi Lighting Inc, where a jury awarded Flannery $612,500 in damages.

Following his departure from the LED lighting industry, Flannery briefly taught high school physics in Chicopee, Massachusetts. .

Mental health

After raising funds to launch A&J Biomedics, LLC, Flannery was involuntarily hospitalized in September 2008 at Hartford Hospital’s Institute of Living, where he received a diagnosis of bipolar disorder I .  During a testimony for the Whiting Forensic Task Force, Flannery wrote that during this hospitalization, he was “locked up, isolated, tied down and injected with chemical restraints.”  He would later be involuntarily hospitalized in San Diego, California, Las Vegas, Nevada, and Westerly, Massachusetts .

Flannery was arrested in July 2009 for driving under the influence in Atlantic City, New Jersey .  He alleges to have quit drinking in 2010 .

While Flannery has since received psychiatric diagnoses of both bipolar disorder and schizoaffective disorder, he maintained in his YouTube case study “How I Got Off Psychiatric Drugs” that there is “nothing wrong with [my] brain,” attributing his initial hospitalization to cannabis use and those that followed to political activist stunts.

Flannery also claims to hear voices, though he has never been diagnosed with schizophrenia.

Career

In March 2013, Flannery took to the stage as a professional stand-up comedian at Winston’s Beach Club in Ocean Beach, California .  Soon after, he returned to New England and continued honing his craft — now adopting the moniker “flim jannery” — while performing throughout Western Massachusetts .

Flannery began integrating his comedy with his passion for education with the development of a physics sketch comedy show, “What the FisX,” in 2014 .  This led to him launching the “‘Mission: Physics’ peer-to-peer teaching competition” where he invited high school students to create entertaining educational videos for cash prizes.  Upon the success of the competition, Flannery launched an online platform, Open Source High, where students entered video competitions covering subjects such as math, history, science, and art . Flannery shut down the platform stating, “Open Source High devolved into something that closely resembled school.”   With the help of the Valley Venture Mentors program in Springfield, Massachusetts, Flannery then published “LEAVE SCHOOL: what teachers can’t tell you” and launched the Peer Unschooling Network, a community devoted to self-directed learning

In 2018, Flannery spoke at a protest of the American Psychiatric Association in New York City .  This marked a turning point in Flannery’s comedic performances as well, where he began speaking out in objection to the mental health system’s use of force and misrepresentation of neurochemical imbalances being the cause of mental illness .

Flannery was then asked by MindFreedom International to produce the documentary, “Voices for Choices,” which features members of the psychiatric survivor movement speaking out about their experiences with involuntary psychiatry, alternative treatments, and successful strategies for organizing and activism

Unexpectedly, Flannery turned to hip-hop as a creative outlet to express his views, releasing “Sorry It’s Not Funny” in October 2022 .  In speaking on the MadInAmerica podcast about his shift away from comedy, Flannery stated, “… there’s something that absolutely sucks about knowing people’s feelings are being hurt by the jokes I make. I don’t mean to sound like I’m trying to cancel comedy. I’m not trying to do any of that. It’s my own work, my own words, my own stuff. I guess you could say, I cancelled myself, I just didn’t want to hurt people anymore.”

Flannery went on to pursue clownwork, running a 2024 U.S. Presidential campaign for “Jim Flannerys” that featured satirical press releases highlighting the ongoing buffoonery supporting his campaign. Though press coverage was limited, Flannery’s direct action activism at Middletown, Connecticut’s Buttonwood Performing Arts Center led to his psychiatric incarceration before a live audience. MindFreedom International issued a Shield Alert to pressure Middlesex Health to release him, which garnered attention from a number of parties

The “Flannerys for President” campaign appeared to halt in late 2023, though Jimmy Flannery asserted in a 2025 Reddit comment that Jim Flannerys believes he was victorious in the election.

Connecticut Shock Data

In September 2025, Flannery obtained data from the Connecticut Probate Court Administrator demonstrating forced electroshock treatment occurring at mental health facilities throughout the state. Inside Investigator, CCHR National, and CT Examiner expanded on the story, still underway.

Filmography:

2014	flim’s first show
2015	Number Two
2019	YTF

Discography:

2022	Sorry It’s Not Funny
2023	2024 4 13 + 25
2024	One Sunny Day

Publications:

2022	LEAVE SCHOOL: what teachers can’t tell you
2023	Deprescription Process from Multiple Psychiatric Drugs: An Individual Case Study
2023	Autobiography of a JEDI