My treatment in an NHS psychiatric ward was crucial. But why was I there so long? | Jen McPherson
Institutionalised care, with its loss of freedom and autonomy, should not be the only choice in a mental health crisis
Three years, seven months, and 19 days. This is the length of time I spent incarcerated inside the psychiatric system. I look back on my years living on inpatient wards with a mixture of grief and sorrow. And I still wonder: is institutionalised care really the only option for the most critical cases?
When I was 27, I had a psychotic episode. Psychosis is merciless. It preyed upon everything I knew about myself and left behind a dark void of a person. I was sectioned under the Mental Health Act and detained against my will in hospital.
Jen McPherson is a student and freelance journalist
Discussion disabled.
Category: Mental Health