Posted by Snuffy on April 13, 2001, at 14:10:28
In reply to Re: Feeling safe in hospital, posted by Cecilia on April 10, 2001, at 4:18:16
> Are there really people who feel safe in a hospital? I`ve been depressed since childhood but never been hospitalized (except for surgery, plenty terrifying enough) but the idea of feeling safe in a psychiatric hospital seems approximately like feeling safe while skydiving into a war zone. Just the idea of sleeping behind unlocked doors with a bunch of strangers, some of whom most likely are psychotic, is scary enough, add to that staff basically having total power over you.
> There was a woman at the university-affiliated psychiatric unit in my city a few years ago who was raped by a staff member while in restraints for being suicidal, I`ve often wondered how many other women he raped before being caught and if he`s out of jail now and working in some other psychiatric hospital too short staffed to check references. (And of course being in restraints even if you weren`t raped sounds terrifying). Not to mention psychological safety-having everything you say written down , having to "share" your feelings in group therapy, etc. Keeping my mask on and pretending to be normal feels a lot safer to me!Wow can I identify with what you are saying. My greatest fear is having people see the real me. If I lower my mask I will hurt the people I love. I suffer from low self esteem anyway and if people *found out*, I couldn't bare to be with myself. I am taking meds and am able to control my depression, anxiety and paranoia somewhat but I couldn't stand the extra burden of people knowing the real me.
poster:Snuffy
thread:5489
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20010404/msgs/5646.html