4 Comments Posted by redwarrior

The rooms I was put in were more like seclusion rooms...the walls were of a hard plasticy stuff, but softer than concrete. That plus a dose of adavan was usually enough to calm me down. Even at the time I was thankful that the hospital had such places, though, because I never really wanted to hurt anyone and even though I would have more than willingly hurt myself at the time, I would have regretted it later. I felt safer in one of these rooms than I did out in the dayroom with so many distractions to irritate me, like sandpaper on my soul...in there it was quiet and I could calm.

As a sufferer of mental illness, I actually also find it sad that these places were just shut down rather than being cleaned up and reformed. I've been inpatient in several of the small hospital wings that are now used and pretty much all they were able to do with people was patch them up so that they were not an immediate danger to themselves or others and then toss them back out. As for longer term care...it was up to family and friends to try to convince the patient to keep up with their appointments and medications...not always the easiest thing to do.

I often wished there was someplace people with serious mental illness could go for longer periods, either until they became completely stable or longer if that wasn't possible. Group homes are out there, but they are tough to get into and they are hit or miss as to the quality of care. There just isn't a safety net out there.

These places were far from perfect in many cases, but at least there was something. I can imagine that they might have been improved rather than closed and a great emphasis placed on rehabilitation rather than institutionalization and we would all be better off now...and have fewer homeless and prison inmates.

Thank goodness I finally got stable on my meds!

I am out in the world, working on a successful career and family because people like Lynne cared for me and about me and helped me conquer my own illness. I'll never be free of it, but they gave me the confidence and the skills to know that I don't have to let it define who I am or limit who I can be.

I've had ECT used on me several times. I have schizoaffective disorder and it was the only thing that could pull me out of a very deep depressive episode and worked much more reliably and quickly than any medication.

I do have some memory loss from that time, but it was done with anethesia and the worst side effects I ever suffered were just some mild jaw pain or headaches. The side effects of my depressions were far worse.

It also was a lot safer treatment for my depressive episodes when I was pregnant, when I had it done 2 or 3 times with intubation to help prevent any aspiration due to a weaker stomach.

Yes, it used to be a torture, but now it has come back as a lifesaving treatment for those who simply don't respond that well to medications.