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Originally posted by WhisperingWinds
I have to say this is a thread that should be read by all ATSer's and showed to family and friends.
Thank you to all of you who have shared your stories.
I am in tears reading this thread, as well as angry.
If ever a thread was worthy of ATS it is this one !
To those of you who work within the psychiatric institution and do your best to expose the corruption..GOD BLESS YOU !!!!
To those of you who have suffered , my heart goes out to you, and I pray that somehow your life will find the healing it needs.
Originally posted by gentledissident
I studied psych at college. I got the feeling it was an insurance racket. I now work retail
That's the problem, with the system...these behaviors are defunct coping mechanisms that can be worked out. But, with drug reps walking through medical centers, like lobbyists in the back halls of Washington...real therapy rarely if ever happens.
Originally posted by otherpotato
reply to post by ValentineWiggin
Thank you for sharing - I don't consider it thread jacking at all. I truly did not expect to hear so many stories from others and I am SO glad that is what's happening. Really grateful.
The eating disorder part of my experience was a whole separate experience. I can remember going to meetings with the girls downstairs (first floor was for the eating disorder girls - I couldn't go there because I was too young, you had to be 18+). The meetings always became a competition: who threw up the most, who binged the most, who lost the most weight, who took the most laxatives, who punished themselves with the most bizarre exercise rituals, who exercised the longest...instead of helping me overcome the illness it just reinforced it more. Group therapy for eating disorders is the worst idea ever in my opinion.
Then there was the "dietitian" who stands out as the biggest piece of crap provider I had while I was there. The woman had the nerve to tell ME she was going independent and that our bill would be separate from the hospital. She tells me, not my mother. I had no idea what that meant. It took my mother years to pay off those bills...from a woman who offered me no help whatsoever.
I am actually not a big fan of Girl Interrupted, mainly because I'm super picky about movies, or maybe because I felt the story was overly sensationalized once Hollywood got its hands on it. Life was far more boring inside then they portrayed, the people were far less glamorous. I tend to prefer "One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest" even though it's not technically my story (and fiction to boot) because it feels more poignant and captures an essence about the situation that "Girl" failed to deliver.
And then there were the relationships forged there, like you said. I shared some of the most intense moments of my life with people I never saw again. They saw me at my ugliest, my rawest. They heard me scream and scream like an animal for over half an hour in the quiet room. I wonder sometimes what happened to them.
Oh the stories...I could just go on and on. That book is sounding more and more like a good idea.
Originally posted by WhisperingWinds
I have to say this is a thread that should be read by all ATSer's and showed to family and friends.
Thank you to all of you who have shared your stories.
I am in tears reading this thread, as well as angry.
If ever a thread was worthy of ATS it is this one !
To those of you who work within the psychiatric institution and do your best to expose the corruption..GOD BLESS YOU !!!!
To those of you who have suffered , my heart goes out to you, and I pray that somehow your life will find the healing it needs.
Bob has been a volunteer at the Community Emergency Assistance Program for the past eight years.
Robert Schauerhamer, Minnesota psychologist, convicted of criminal sexual conduct involving a 24-year-old mentally impaired man, was sentenced to 110 days jail August 16, 2001.
I'm glad it happened. I learned how to think my way out of a situation. It saved my life a few years later.