The 30 Wishes Challenge

To celebrate hitting 30,000 views on here, I decided to set myself a challenge. I wanted to see if I could come up with 30 wishes for my future. It was a real challenge coming up with 30, but I managed it. Once I'd done it, I wondered if other people would be able to do the same. So to you, reader, have a look at my 30 wishes and see if you can come up with 30 of your own!

Sometimes to Move Forwards, You Have to Take a Step Back

Last week, I had two hours of unescorted leave and there was talk of me getting off my section today. This week, I've been given two hours of escorted leave and am staying on my section. (Unescorted means going out by myself; escorted means having to have a member of staff with me.) At first glance, this seems really unfair. However, I requested these two changes myself.

A Psych Ward Update

I thought I'd write a blog post about how things have been and currently are for any who aren't on Twitter.

Things seem to be looking up at long last. This last week, I've been allowed two hours of unescorted leave to the local town. To be honest, I've found the full two hours to be extremely stressful so I've only been taking about an hour of it. It's been good though, being allowed to leave the ward without a member of staff with me but at the same time, I found the escorted leave to be less stressful! It's also good that they allow me to walk freely around the unit. A few weeks ago, when I walked anywhere near the doors of the ward, someone would watch where I was going. Now, I not only walk near the doors, but walk through them and around the unit without being watched. So that's good.

The Worst Things in Psych Wards

Psych wards are daunting places to say the least and it can take several days or even weeks to settle in. But once you do settle in, you start noticing that as well as noisy patients and intimidating staff, there are other stranger 'worst things' of psych wards. Like the loss of freedom, the boredom, the loneliness and the uncomfortable beds!

How to Survive Psych Wards

I know I'm writing a lot about life in psych wards at the minute but it's a topic that's close to my heart right now. Probably because I'm in a psych ward myself at the moment! But I'm remembering my first time in a psych ward a lot recently. I remember how scared I was, how confused I felt by the rules and how bewildered my loved ones were at me being in a psych ward. So I thought I'd write a blog post to try and help those who are in a psych ward, followed by a short bit to try and help those who have a loved one in.

Facing up to Triggers

As the title suggests, I will be talking about triggers in this post. So here's the warning to leave this blog post now if you don't feel strong enough.

When I got out of hospital in 2011 after the 17-month stay, it took me a fair while to get used to living in the 'real world' again. I had spent all but about a month on section 3s so I was used to being restricted by them and having to be at a certain place at a certain time everyday. However, once I got used to living in the real world, my thoughts changed to, "I can't ever go back to a psych ward."

What's it like to be Held Down and Injected?

This post is going to be one long potential trigger from start to finish, so please don't read any further if this topic is likely to upset you.

A lot of people with no personal experience of psych wards will have seen a person being held down and injected on the television. It could have been in a humorous situation, such as in the film Airplane! or it could have been in a more serious situation such as in the film Gothika. I've seen several fictional films and television shows where a person is held down and injected and none of them properly convey just what it's like to go through this ordeal. Yes, ordeal.

What's it like to be Sectioned?

With all three of my psych ward stays, I've been brought in on a section. I've been brought in on a section 2 (28-day hold) twice, and a section 3 (six-month hold) once; this occasion I was brought in on a section 2 but it was changed to a section 3 after five days.

So having been sectioned three times, what does it feel like?

Three Weeks In

So it's been three weeks since I was brought in here. To be honest, not much has changed, aside from the medication I have been put on. I don't really want to go into details as to why I think I'm here, but those things haven't changed. I've had two antipsychotic injections since coming in, one yesterday, one on Tuesday, and both times I panicked and had to be held down. It's weird, I kind of feel the need to go into what happened with regards to the injections in writing, but I don't want to tell anyone about it. I may just type it up and leave it alone.

The Thing About Psych Ward Patients

The first time I was on a psych ward was in 2008 when I was 20. If I'm honest, I was petrified. In my mind, the other patients were going to murder me in my sleep or I'd have to protect myself from brutal people wanting to beat me up.

The Least Appropriate Songs in Psych Wards

In honour of a request by Bexatron: @DuckBeaki (RIP), plus I'm really bored in here, this is my list of the least appropriate songs to play on a psych ward.