I left off yesterday with my going down to the locked unit. It was an eye opener completely different from the open co-ed unit. Here there was no windows, a couple of private rooms and a large common bedroom that held 10 girls, and the TV area.The dinning room was in another part of the place, you had to go through the tunnels to get to it.
The biggest difference was there was no privacy. I was watch 24/7 by a MHW (mental health worker). I had to ask to go to the bathroom or go to another part of the unit. They keep trying to get you to talk about anything and report everything you say or do. I mostly could ignore her and do my crafts I had a latch hook kit I was working on. Or I wrote in my journal -we were encouraged to keep one. After about a week I started asking how long she was going to keep following me and wasn't she bored? I asked when she was going to tell my doctor I no longer needed this as I was never going to hurt myself in the first place. I wanted to go back to the other unit. The girls here were extremely not well and I was scared for my health from a couple of them. Bu,t she said it wasn't up to her. I asked who it was up to and she said the Unit Nurse. So I asked to talk to her and she told me that she was busy but would let her know.
During that week there was one girl that was really out of it, all she did was watch TV all day. and she watch even when it had nothing on it but the white noise screen. Well after about 3 days she finally noticed I was on the unit, she took one look at me and started screaming that I was the devil and a witch. I looked at my worker because I wasn't sure what to do and she told me to ignore her and not to look at her. Well while I was trying to do that a heavy set girl came in the room and walked up to her and slapped her across the face which got her to calm down. No one said a word about the fact that she hit her, but it worked so I guess it was okay. Then she walked over to me and said hi, told me her name and said that if I had anymore trouble with the girl to let her know and welcome to the unit. I didn't know how to respond to that so just said I would thank you.
I asked her what was wrong with the other girl and if there was anything I could do so she wouldn't freak out around me. She said just be calm and speak slowly, maybe make her a gift to show her your a friend. So I made her a bracelet at our next craft time. When I went up to her to give it to her she froze and I talked softly and told her I wasn't going to hurt her just wanted to be friends and I made something for her. Her eyes got really big and she took it put it on, then hugged me like she had never been hugged before. I ended up with another friend. We made sure she ate and got to bed on time and I also gave her one of my stuff animals to sleep with. It turned out her family put her in here and then just never came to visit or find out how she was.
I was still trying to get off being followed around it had been almost a week and 1/2 that I finally talked to the head nurse and she said it was up to my doctor but she was gone for the weekend. That pissed me off. Now, I do have a temper, it is slow but when it hits I see red, so I did something stupid, I walk up to my worker and told her I was going to my room and she didn't need to come with me. I would prefer it if she would just leave me alone. Then I marched into my room and slammed the room closed and move the chair up against the door so it couldn't be open and sat on my bed to calm down.
Trigger Warning -slight violence in this next part. Mental health places didn't have to many laws back then.
Well, that might have worked at home but being in a place like I was it wasn't the smartest thing to do. The next thing I knew there was banging on my door, which I told them to go away I was calming myself down. Then I heard a bell go off and the next thing I knew there was 3 really big muscle men in my room picking me up and carrying me to another room. There was a table in the room and the put me on it and held me down and they started taking my clothes off (all of my clothes). Then they started wrapping me in cold wet sheets to where I couldn't move. It is called being wet packed. I'm sure there is a clinical name for it but that is what they called it. After I was wrapped the men left and a female worker stayed with me, They monitor you BP and Pulse during it, because it shocks your body into calming down. I actually fell asleep and felt really calm when I woke up before dinner. So I realized I was in there for at least 4 hours.
It changed my whole thought process of being in that place. I now knew that they could and would over power me whenever they wanted to. I had the bruises to prove it.That's when I realized it wasn't really like a boarding school which was what the open unit was mostly. This place could really hurt you if your not careful and no one would stop them. They could drug you, wrap you in wet sheets for hours, etc. I was only 16 and being there reinforced the being a good girl and follow the rules. I just wanted out, I wanted to go home.
More later.
Love and Huggs your family often.
Huggs,
Cleary (Cie)
I'm done