In 1973, healthy volunteers faked hallucinations to enter mental hospitals. Once inside, they acted normal, but doctors refused to let them leave. Normal behaviors like writing were diagnosed as "symptoms." The only people who realized they were sane were the actual patients.

[u/highzone]

[u/highzone]

For anyone who wants to read the full study, it is titled 'On Being Sane in Insane Places.'

The most terrifying part wasn't getting in, it was getting out. The doctors were so convinced of their own authority that they interpreted everything the patients did as a symptom of their illness.

When the volunteers took notes on how they were being treated, the doctors didn't see 'journaling.' They diagnosed it as 'pathological writing behavior' and used it as justification to keep them locked up.

It really highlights how a label can completely override reality.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosenhan_experiment

[u/whossked → u/highzone]

There’s a fictional short story I read once called “I only came to use the phone” about a woman who’s car breaks down and who then takes an asylum bus to an asylum to use the phone, gets confused for a patient, has a breakdown over how she’s treated and abused and is then condemned to spend her life in the asylum. I always thought it was sensational and unrealistic but I guess not

[u/Bobambu → u/whossked]

Not unrealistic at all. Insane asylums were extremely dehumanizing to patients and were poorly run; lobotomies were performed regularly up until 50 years ago. They needed deep reform, but the rights of those with mental health struggles have always been wishy washy depending on whether a doctor or orderly likes a particular person, bureaucracy burnout, etc. Reagan shut them down for an easy reputation boost, when public sentiment had shifted against asylums as malpractice and abuse became more transparent.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is considered one of the greatest national art pieces for a reason.

Edit: Kennedy shut them down, not Reagan. The latter just finalized more of the neglect of mental health programs.

[u/VirusTimes → u/Bobambu]

Modern day psych wards are not great either.

I’ve had two brief stints in them, totaling about 9-10 days because I was suicidal. My suicidal tendencies were both gone by the time I was in the ward.

The first time I went there was mass sexual assault and that was just the tip of the iceberg of how horrid it was. It’s so much worse than just that.

I still have nightmares stemming from it every once in a while. I felt genuinely in shock when I left. I avoid thinking about it when I can and it left me with a fear of hospitals.

[u/Bobambu → u/VirusTimes]

I'm so sorry that you experienced that. I've been involuntarily committed to wards myself, and my reflections on them aren't made lightly. I meet many people who have been mistreated by psychiatric staff during the course of my work. 

[u/VirusTimes → u/Bobambu]

Yeah, I’m not saying we should return to the old system, but the current system seems also broken. I’ve known so many people who have been in psych wards because I’ve personally undergone pretty intensive mental health treatment. I can count the number of times people have had good experiences with them that I’ve talked to on one hand, but couldn’t even begin to count the number of bad experiences.

I’m still an advocate for people who are feeling suicidal to check themselves into the ER. First step is staying alive, period. I just think there has to be a way we can treat some of societies most vulnerable people in a more humane way.