STRESS

STRESS

This article highlights the consequences of ignoring mental health. Many people have suffered during lockdown. Pressures have increased for many people - financial worries, not being allowed to meet with friends or having sport as a release can have a big impact.

My name is Chloe Halliday and I was sectioned at the age of 21. Before this, my only ever experience of psychiatric hospitals had been through the media, and specifically through films. From what I had seen depicted on screens I was terrified, and rightfully so. When you first think of a psychiatric hospital what do you think? Dark, murky corridors filled with patients closer to monsters than people?

Films that portray mental health institutions are often horror or thriller films, such as One flew over the cuckoos nest or Shutter island. This creates a preconceived notion that these places are somehow evil or awful, and these films can often spread misconceptions about mental illness in general.

Longreach House - Redruth, Cornwall

One film that I had watched prior to getting sectioned was Shutter Island. It made me worried that the other patients would be scary and unpredictable. To be honest, this was one of the factors that turned out to be true in certain cases. Yes, some patients can be violent, and shockingly I was too at some points. I am usually a very gentle and well-mannered person.

I found it specifically difficult thinking back on the way I acted towards some of the staff members. It is hard to describe what it is like to not know what is going on around you, the paranoia and the feeling of not being able to trust anyone. At the beginning of my stay I felt scared of the other patients, but the more you get to know the people that are in the hospital, the more you realise that they are similar to you in many ways. During my almost months stay I met a variety of people, and as I started to level out with my medication, I became more comfortable talking to the other patients.

Reminiscing on my time in Longreach House, there were some rather funny moments too. I was in a mixed gender ward, and one of the women there had no family or friends visit her the entire duration I was sectioned for. I felt sorry for her as she definitely did not have the same support I was offered by my family and friends. However, I noticed during my stay in Longreach House in Redruth, Cornwall that this lady had been stealing my pants of all things! Thinking back now, it makes me feel a wave of amusement and sadness, as I remember her saying she just wanted some comfortable underwear to wear.

I also noticed that in films psychiatric wards and hospitals are often likened to prisons. Trust me, initially it did feel a bit like prison (not that I would know as

I have never been incarcerated!). It is difficult being restricted in a secure ward, but there were ways that the brilliant staff tried to keep us entertained. Classes were on a weekly schedule, with daily activities such as cooking, baking, singing, arts and crafts.

You can wear whatever you want, and unlike the films, no you are not given scrubs or a creepylooking uniform! Wear whatever feels comfortable and for me whilst I stayed at Longreach I mostly donned pjs. It is a good idea to pack lots of comfy cosy clothes that will remind you of home, along with plenty to do to keep you from getting bored. Films such as One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s nest don’t really portray the staff in a particularly good light, however in my case this was rather the opposite. The staff were very humane, well trained and as my stay progressed, I realised how lovely they were. At the beginning of my stay I was too unwell to realise that I needed to be in a psychiatric ward to protect myself, and hence took out my feelings on the staff.

What I did notice about the films portraying institutions was that they were mostly all horror films. This, in my opinion, creates an unconscious stereotype. I feel there needs to be more films portraying these places as the helpful lifesaving venues that they actually are.