Hospital is not a dirty word
Sometimes we associate visits to the hospital with fear and unease. Read how one young woman changed her attitude towards medical help.
In hospital you have help, support and people around you all the time.
I went to the hospital for mental health issues. If I was to tell some people this they might think that I was 'crazy', 'insane' or other really unhelpful stereotypes. The reason I got admitted was that my mental and emotional health became worse and unmanageable on my own.
A good friend of mine took me to hospital in a taxi and helped me talk to the people at the emergency front desk. At this moment my mind had racing thoughts and wasn't making much sense. She stayed with me and tried to help me stay calm.
The process
I didn't have to wait long to see someone and I had to answer a lot of questions and try to explain to them what was happening. I saw four people including a doctor and they decided that I needed to stay in hospital. I wasn't sure about hospital; I had never been admitted before and was worried.
In hospital you have help, support and people around you all the time. If I needed to take medication I never forgot to take it because the nurse brought it around to me every time I was meant to take it. People came to visit a lot which was good because it showed they cared, but also became exhausting. The nurse always checked if I wanted to see visitors and they only had certain hours where they were allowed to come in to visit.
The way people treated me
When I was in hospital there were some negatives like not being allowed out, feeling unwell and out of control, getting tests done, the noisy environment, feeling bored and people treating me differently.
Some people don't like to talk about mental health or hospitals and some people don't treat you the same if they know you're mentally not well and in hospital. Some people avoided visiting me and I think that it's because they didn't know what to say. I just had to focus on getting well and keeping supportive people around me.
I'm now feeling a lot better and I have hope for my recovery and a happy future. If I ever need hospital help again I'm not going to be so worried about it because I know that it is safe and they can help.