Who else has been to the nut house?

[s21r12]

I just got out a few days ago. Was my fifth time. LOL  So glad to be back to Neopets.

[jellysundae]

HA, clearly no-one knows what to say in response here So very typical that MY brain is like, "let's talk to this guy"

Hi, so, no internet access in the ol' nut house then? Dunno why, I mean they have it in the White House...(totally NOT making some political comment there, nope, not at all)

I wonder who decided that something not functioning normally with a brain was "nuts", I mean...why? Is it because walnuts look like teeny tiny little brains?

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[ladycanary]

My grandfather worked in a nut house named Pennhurst. I'm training to be a high school teacher, so I like to say I'm following in his footsteps

Jokes aside, it was a terrible place. Back in the old days, people who had children with down syndrome and autism would occasionally ship them off to these hospitals. A lot of the blame went to the parents as to why their child had a disability (ex. Mothers who had autistic children were told that they hadn't loved their child enough), so they found it easier to "get rid" of them. There was actually a doctor at Pennhurst who would give painful injections to patients who acted out. I'm glad these institutions are long gone! Hopefully your extended stay was somewhat pleasant?

[jellysundae]

The things that used to be done in asylums, not all that long ago, is stomach-churningly horrifying, isn't it. There was one in the nearest city to me, St. John's Hospital, (oh my look, not just a "lunatic asylum" (what a truly HORRIBLE name that is) but one for paupers too, so appalling treatment for all...) this place is partially converted into flats now...

While I very strongly believe that a building that's had all kind of horrible things done in it needs cleansing by being turned into something nice and being filled with love and happiness, well...there's no way I'd EVER want to live in it myself.

So I too hope where the OP has had to stay is pleasant, we can but hope!

[charelan]

Our local "nuthouse" was very sadly closed several years back. It was terrible - many people had nowhere to go. Now we just have a wing in the hospital or some such - it really isn't enough. 

Anyway, glad you are back!

[jellysundae]

23 minutes ago, charelan said:

Our local "nuthouse" was very sadly closed several years back. It was terrible - many people had nowhere to go. Now we just have a wing in the hospital or some such - it really isn't enough. 

Anyway, glad you are back!

Yeah that's the flip-side of the coin, isn't it, there's WAY more knowledge about mental illness now, but not the funds to care for everyone who needs it.

Or rather, there are/were the funds, but people in power would rather appropriate them for weapons to shoot at the Russians aliens etc. than pay for mental health care. 

[acmerasta]

People generally treat mental illness as if it's taboo.... they either want to ignore it, are ashamed of it or don't think it really exists or its demon possession  . Thus, less money is allocated towards treatment and facilities, people treat persons with mental illness cruelly and we just make a mess of it. One day I wish humans would treat each other with respect and dignity equally.

[sipenjualaiskrim]

been there, used to be one of my childhood "playground". my mum worked there and it was near to our home so i occasionally went there to explore places. that place was not that awful. maybe because i didn't manage to explore where murderers and other criminals were being placed. 

i've been slapped by a patient before when i was 6. like, i was reading a book in the pantry while waiting for my mother and suddenly a patient came into the room and slap my face. it was fun.

[babayaga67]

I have a step sister with schizophrenia. My mother remarried after I moved out of her house, and her new man has a daughter that they are taking care of. She has several other problems besides schizophrenia, and has been in and out of a few hospitals. She tried many different meds, and some days are better than others. She has improved quite a bit in the last few years.

When my first child was born, I went to visit my mother so that she could meet him. I was going to be there for three days, and I told my mother that I was not bringing my son into that house if my sister was there. My mom and her man kept insisting that she was all better, she hadn't had an episode in almost six months, and that I should visit with my sister in the house. My son was only five months old, going to strange places and seeing (to him) strange people. I didn't want my screaming baby to set my sister off while I was in the bathroom or doing something else. They were hurt when I said no, but my mom wanted to see me so bad (it had been almost four years) that they relented and sent my sister to her grandmother's.

Not even a week after I went back home, my step sister snapped and stabbed my mom in the arm with a fork.

She is doing better again, and I do love her, but I am not going to let my kids be test subjects to see if she can handle herself. There is no cure for her mental illnesses, just treatments.

Just a few months ago my room mate picked herself up a new boyfriend. About two months into their relationship they got into a fight and he pulled a loaded gun on her, then on himself, while my kids and I were in the next room. He didn't shoot it, but he threatened to. I knew that he had depression, but I didn't know until the next morning that she knew that he has a history of schizophrenia. My room mate said that she didn't tell me because he wasn't schizophrenic anymore, so "it's not like he was a danger to your kids or anything, he isn't like that anymore."

I feel horribly guilty for not seeing the signs sooner. I didn't see him that much, or talk to him, but looking back I can remember one or two instances where he acted 'off.' I feel like I should have done something different to keep my kids safe, but it's really hard to just pack up and move out of the blue. Especially with two kids under two, a husband with a brown recluse bite on his foot preventing him from walking and being five months pregnant. The good thing is that judges are on your side in times like these, and court orders are very helpful.

He is gone now and I no longer live with that person.

I do believe that people should be treated with respect (unless you're a chomo, then I'll punch you in the face), but I am a bitka when it comes to my kids, and I don't ever want to put them in a situation like that again. 

[midnight_spell360]

I was scared about the name given to a hospital/asylum/or in the case of my "real"/biological grandfather who has been in out of asylums for the criminally insane. When I first read the title, I was really hoping it was a TDN buddy just making a joke about how crazy Chadley's score of 1047 was playing Barf Boat on DD. But, it takes a lot of courage to speak out and bc of my genes (what I could have potentially inherited) -I do worry from time to time if schizophrenia will show up in me.

It was kind of fuzzy when my one sister started college in Chicago 4 years ago, (I was only 11 then), but after her second semester -she had a "breakdown" (not sure exactly) but was forcibly taken to a hospital where they took her belt and shoes away. My dad got on a plane immediately to Chicago and spent a week convincing the doctors and the hospital that she wasn't going to be a danger to herself or anyone, that she said some irrational things and she shouldn't have to stay in a hospital and actually needed to be around others to heal. He had her roommates and any friends that he could find (in one week's time, and this guy is very shy-not outgoing) to come visit her in the hospital to show the doctors and staff that she does have a support system and friends. Finally, they let her go (without her shoes & belt, my dad had to take her to get shoes immediately after she was released) and she seems to have recovered.

So, I still am fuzzy on the details of what exactly happened and what made those doctors feel that she was a danger to herself and others. But I do know that if something like that were to happen to me, at least I know my parents have got my back and will do whatever it takes to make sure that I would get out and that I would be okay.

Thank you for being brave enough to share your experiences and your total support for people who suffer from mental problems or diseases. It's nice that we have a place like TDN to let these things out when we need to-not for a pity party but to feel accepted and can feel hope that people can overcome or learn to deal with whatever set backs were dealt with! Thanks everyone!

[weezieb3]

The 80's were hard for me. I don't recall how many institutions i frequented but I think it's more than 5, less than 10? Lol, I can't count higher than that since I ran out of fingers! ?

[ladycanary]

5 hours ago, jellysundae said:

The things that used to be done in asylums, not all that long ago, is stomach-churningly horrifying, isn't it. There was one in the nearest city to me, St. John's Hospital, (oh my look, not just a "lunatic asylum" (what a truly HORRIBLE name that is) but one for paupers too, so appalling treatment for all...) this place is partially converted into flats now...

While I very strongly believe that a building that's had all kind of horrible things done in it needs cleansing by being turned into something nice and being filled with love and happiness, well...there's no way I'd EVER want to live in it myself.

So I too hope where the OP has had to stay is pleasant, we can but hope!

Pennhurst was turned into a horror attraction. Absolutely terrible.

[jellysundae]

33 minutes ago, ladycanary said:

Pennhurst was turned into a horror attraction. Absolutely terrible.

...

That's so repellent I just don't know what to say O.O

Humans can be SO dusgusting.

[alexinwonderland]

My mom has delusional disorder and in 1996, my older sister forced her to check herself in to the mental hospital by threatening to have me taken away from her. Not a very happy time all around. I fell into a deep dression and started having suicidal thoughts. My shrink at the time wanted me to go to St. Vincents (which doesn't exist anymore) but we managed to convince him to keep me out. Good thing because it was a bunch of super violent kids. People were getting hurt in there all the time. I still suffer from depression, anxiety, OCD and Bipolar 2 but I'm on a good combo of drugs that keep me mostly in check.

[Edwynn]

I was actually in a mental ward of a hospital for about four days back in October of 2015. It... well, it wasn't like horrifying, like the horror stories of being pinned down and injected if you so much as spoke a tone they didn't like. But it still felt so dehumanizing, so constrictive to be there.

First, we weren't allowed any electronics. All of ours had to be kept with a safe system, no matter if the electronics were a person's main form of coping (Such as me with my laptop.) No handhelds, no phones, not even something small like a tamagotchi. They said it was to prevent stuff from being damaged, which I can believe to an extent, but as time passed, it felt more like they were punishing you. Making you not be able to contact or enjoy your time.

Second, only one long-distance call a day, and it could only be five minutes long at most. People would be allowed to call you, and if the number was within the area, you could call them whenever, but you had to use these horrible payphones that barely worked to communicate. I remember one flat out couldn't be understood because the static was so bad, and another was so quiet that even on max volume, you couldn't decipher much of anything. There were only two phones.

Third, the only true entertainment was a television, and it had to be turned off by no later than 11 at night. Constant arguments over what to watch was no unusual. People yelling to shut up because the TV also was barely loud enough. Insomnia was punished, as you weren't allowed to leave your room, even if something was wrong like pain or a panic attack. There were constant checks, and if you weren't asleep, you were scolded.

Pretty much the only thing you could really do was try and survive the boredom. Hygiene was always a battle, as the showers were designed to turn off after a few seconds, and you were only allowed an extremely small cupful of soap to bathe with. Like, this cup was about tip of the thumb sized, it wasn't enough to clean you if you had really long or thick hair, and yet it was expected to clean your body and wash your hands with, as well. There was no way to request another cup.

The nurses either didn't care or held some malevolence behind a kind facade. I remember on my day of departure, one nurse that had been so nice to me, said that I would go places from here, that this was only a stop to help recuperate, talk about how we were nothing but mental cases. Some nurses flat out yelled at you if you didn't react as soon as possible, some nurses punished you for the smallest of mistakes. I remember my roommate was pregnant at the time, and whenever she talked about pain, she had to wait over an hour to finally get medication, if not longer.

Men and women were separated, you weren't allowed to go past a certain point in the halls. Be even slightly over the invisible border, and prepare to be yelled at. It didn't matter what you identified as, such as identifying as a trans man; as long as you looked like the gender you was assigned at birth, you had to be on that side. Then again, why would you admit you were trans in a place like this, when they'd probably consider that a form of delusion?

There was a quiet room, a place where people throwing fits were supposed to go. One lady always occupied it. You would hear her scream all day. Whenever it opened, the smell was so overwhelming, it was hard not to gag. Once they put her in a normal room when she was sedated. When she woke up, she opened doors and threatened people that she saw. Never a quiet moment.

When it was time for me to go, they tried their best to try and make me stay. I told the doctors at the point, I wasn't sure what I would do. They took that as a sign of me saying "I wasn't ready to go." I had to stress numerous times that wasn't the case, I was more than ready to get out of dodge. It took hours for me to be discharged, much longer than anticipated.

In a lot of ways, we've come far from what mental health used to be. It wasn't long ago you'd hear of buildings packed with mentally ill or disabled people, treated no better than livestock for the slaughter. But when you find yourself in a beautiful hospital, only to discover your stay is in the oldest, most decrepit part... it reminds you, we still have a long way to go.

I would never go back to a mental ward, even if I truly needed it, now that I've experienced it. I went at first because of constant depression and suicidal thoughts. I left knowing that I'd rather feel like dying while having a way to escape, than be trapped in walls with no way to break free.

There's no reason to be dehumanized like this.

[jellysundae]

@Edwynn What you've just told us is everything that's wrong with healthcare, isn't it  Some of that treatment is budget-driven (not that that makes it acceptable), but a lot of it is the people, the apparent care-givers, are completely unsuitable for the job. You say nurses though and that frightens me, no actual nurse should be like that. It's bad enough when it's minimum wage care-workers who hate the job and are only doing it because there are no other jobs, but a trained nurse...

ALL people who go into professions where they will be responsible for anyone vulnerable should HAVE to have psyche evaluations...but that costs money so that will never happen...

[charelan]

16 hours ago, ladycanary said:

Pennhurst was turned into a horror attraction. Absolutely terrible.

Do you mean that literally? This previous institution was turned into an 'attraction' where people go to have fun?? Not just take historical tours or some such? Wow... just wow. I don't know why things always surprise me so much. 

[ladycanary]

1 hour ago, charelan said:

Do you mean that literally? This previous institution was turned into an 'attraction' where people go to have fun?? Not just take historical tours or some such? Wow... just wow. I don't know why things always surprise me so much. 

I mean it literally. Google Pennhurst and it's the first thing that comes up. PennHurst Haunted Asylum- Pennsylvania Haunted House, is Pennhurst's new name. Its actual name is Pennhurst State School and Hospital, and you'll find a wikipedia article on it explaining all of the atrocities.... right after an ad for the attraction. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennhurst_State_School_and_Hospital

From the article: "As of 2010, the administration building has been partially renovated and reopened as the Pennhurst Asylum Haunted House. The attraction has been successful, though controversial among locals and those previously affiliated with Pennhurst."

If you're further interested, there's a documentary filmed when Pennhurst was still open appropriately titled "Suffer the Little Children" on youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YG33HvIKOgQ

 

[cottontailcat]

I was!! A couple times in 2013 and 2014 as a teenager. Finally walked away with diagnoses of depression, generalized anxiety disorder, Borderline Personality Disorder, later came out as transgender and therefore "gender dysphoria" diagnosis as well. Treated like shit the entire time, received "treatment" that is now illegal (in "holding bed", aka solitary in a white room with only a bed, no activities or things to pass the time, bathroom access only on request, no visitors or phone calls, only leave the room for therapy, for 4 full days at the age of 16) and feel traumatized by the experience. My holding bed punishment - I mean treatment - was chosen because I "came back too many times." My parents kept bringing me back because I was having a delusional breakdown. The hospital didn't want me to come back. Didn't really care about wellness, just wanted their "success levels" to appear high. Disgusting places, some of them. Glad you're doing better!

[firaplays]

My dad was hospitalized for depression when I was younger. He hid it from me at first, but he did eventually tell me about it. He'd been getting EST for weeks without telling me, it was a really weird time. In the end, I guess I'm proud of him for telling me about it. He's been really careful about hiding the extent of his depression from me. I think he's trying to protect me. I'm glad we have a more open dialogue about that stuff now.

I came really myself close a couple of times. I went on forced medical leave for my anxiety during my sophomore year of college. I woke up one morning with a panic attack that didn't go away. I was having basically one continuous panic attack all day every day, it was just horrible. The whole ordeal lasted for a couple of weeks, but it felt like forever. We thought I might have to be hospitalized if things continued the way they were going, but I got lucky and found a dose of medication that got me under control. My parents and my doctor had a heck of a time figuring out what was wrong with me, though. My parents thought I might be bipolar, but in the end it just turned out to be really bad panic disorder. I had a really important research paper due around then, and despite the forced medical leave and me basically being a non-functioning blob for a few weeks, I wasn't given an extension. I got a B- on that thing, danggit XD  I'm way more under control now, but I did have another breakdown a few years after college was over. Again, a shift in medication fixed me, but I kinda live in constant fear of going back to that mental place.

As a side note, I hate it when people say that medications are unnatural and bad for you and big pharma is just trying to get you hooked on them so you buy more. Medications are keeping me alive. If I didn't have my anxiety meds, I don't know how I'd handle myself. I don't know IF I'd handle myself.

[xoxlexox01]

I was in the Homewood twice in the last 2 years.

Having to not to play Neopet's for 2 weeks twice,is very hard :(.

So glad for free WiFi at Tim Hortons !.

[Naamah D.]

I was hospitalized back in 2010 in a mental health unit. The people were actually really helpful and took time to get to know me. My mom was allowed to bring me my clothes from home, pictures of my cat and even my bedding and some of my stuffed animals. 

While I was hospitalized my mom even bought me new video games to play when I got home. We had a N64 in the entertainment room and we had Kirby, Pokemon Snap and Wave Race that me and the other patients who were in my age group shared. 

So...it while it was a bad time in my life, it helped me. I got my life back on track.