i found what i think is the website for Rainhill Asylum.
i found what i think is the website for Rainhill Asylum.
Hi Alison,I couldn't find the site I mentioned? but here's something that might be of interest,posted by John,some tims ago.
http://www.wellbeingproject.co.uk/wbtimeteam.htm.
Just had a quick look at the site you've posted,and that's the one I mentioned!
While undoubtably people were locked away in mental hospitals for entirely inapproprate reasons there is still a case for them.
Perhaps not on such a grander scale as were but there are certainly people out there who it is not appropriate to have been put under Care in the Community.
The system just needed changing a bit.
And what case would that be now ?
Suffering from post natal depression ..
Suffering from depression related to what we now call PMT
Suffering anxiety.
Just being depressed in general ..
Having a nervous breakdown.
There are so many things i could list here , and NONE of them make a case for being interned into a lunatic asylum , that's what they were called back then ..
It still goes on Today , look at the Romanian Orphanages for instance , they give you a sneak preview of what these asylums were like .. I can't even begin to start on how i feel about such places as Romania right now ..
I can tell you from PERSONAL experience that there is still a huge lack f understanding in our society regarding mental health issues .
Let me try and explain further ..
When i was twenty three years old i became very depressed due to horrific circumstances in my life , I tried to take my own life , instead of being helped or listened to , i was asked if i would like to go somewhere for a 'rest' , not being in the right frame of mind to understand the implications of what i was agreeing to , i said yes ..
I was brought there by car , not really knowing where i was going , i was 'checked in' it was a mental hospital ....
I have never been so afraid or confused in my life , i was sat in a big dining room with all kinds of people , ranging from drug addicts to schizophrenics , to self harmers and alcoholics ... I didn't know what to do , i tried to explain to the doctors that i was not meant to be here , they were very patronising and gave me 'medication' one day i was in that dining room , and i threw my try of food at the wall , i made the other patients scared , i regret it now , for that little outburst i was sedated ... It took my Mum all she had to convince the doctors i was a young depressed person , and not a danger to anyone , i was released from there , but the scars are still with me ..
I now campaign to anyone who will listen for a facility or drop in centre for depressed women to be heard and not incarcerated like i was ..
Did you even bother reading my post?
I'm talking about the seriously ill people who are incapable of looking after themseves and end up murdering or seriously injuring people because they don't receive the mental care help they need and don't take their medication.
I said people were locked up for inappropriate reasons in my first sentance.
Yes, of course there are such people and we get to hear about them all the time, thanks to the tabloids - though the numbers of such murders and attacks are actually very low. I, and I think Debra, are concerned about the ones we never hear about, who are still on the receiving end of a barbaric system...
I have,and do, have personal experience of the mental health system,and in 20 or so years,the only people I have heard criticizing the the large hospitals,like Rainhill,were the ex-staff!?? Though I can sympathise with yourself,Penny,for a pretty frightening experience,the service-users I know,talk fairly positively of their experiences there,though of course,it was a "sentence" they didn't choose themselves! One thing they do emphasize,is the fact that they felt safe in that environment,at least till they walked out of the gates,where the "ripping off" in the local shops,etc commenced! Now,these places dont exist,and in their place is......chaos!Now,you only get locked up,after you've commited the act/offence,which is tough luck,if the victim is one of yours!!!
Sentance being a key word here Steve , and i do understand what you are saying to me about the chaos that now reigns ..
What can we do to make it better , who can we lobby for change ? I'll do it , just tell me who it is i need to speak to ..
Ahh, If only I knew! Many professionals seem happy to pay lip service to the current philosophy,taking a pragmatic approach,even when it's obviously not working! The human rights act, is difficult to argue against,which is probably why they dont/wont, offer much in the way of criticism,but I wonder how bad it's got to get,before there's any action!
A recent example was the guy who killed his mother,in Russian drive,
after previously killing his father,and who then went on to kill himself,the other week! If that's "care" in the community,why bother!!!
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