Wrongful Involuntary Commitment
I want to share my deeply personal story with you all. It’s a story of resilience, misunderstanding, and ultimately, healing. I hope that by sharing my experience, I can shed light on a situation that no one should ever have to go through.
Wrongfully committed to a Psyche Ward
I found myself admitted to a psychiatric ward, and let me be clear, I was a completely sane individual. It was a nightmare that I wouldn’t wish upon my worst enemy. But how did I end up there, you ask? It all began with a battle against a mysterious illness, one that left me feeling alone and misunderstood.
A Nightmare Begins
My journey started when I fell ill with what seemed like a viral infection in February 2020. I knew something was off; it wasn’t just your typical flu. I felt a strange sensation in my brain, and I desperately wanted to recover because of the looming threat of COVID-19. Little did I know that my life was about to take a dramatic turn.
The Symptoms and Struggles
After that viral infection, I never really got better. Instead, my health spiraled into a whirlwind of symptoms that I couldn’t explain. I was having strokes almost every night, and my days were filled with confusion, memory lapses, and numbness in my tongue. My foot even started to drop for weeks at a time. It felt like my body was betraying me, and I was barely holding on. The strangest of all was my extreme sensitivity to sunlight – Photosensitivity.
A Desperate Search for Answers
I started researching my symptoms, trying to connect the dots. And that’s when I stumbled upon the term “Long COVID” or “Long Haulers.” Finally, I found others who were experiencing the same bizarre symptoms as me. It was both comforting and disheartening to know I wasn’t alone.
The Frustration of Misdiagnosis
I reached out to multiple doctors, trying to convey the gravity of my situation. Unfortunately, many couldn’t grasp the complexity of my illnesses. Some even laughed when I mentioned that acupuncture had helped me. It seemed that skepticism and ignorance were barriers I had to overcome at every step.
I am not the first person in the world this happened to. Sadly, I won’t be the last either.
The Psychiatric Ward: A Nightmare
But the worst was yet to come. My friends and family, unable to comprehend the enigmatic nature of my illness, decided to take drastic action. They admitted me to a psychiatric ward because they believed I was delusional and possibly schizophrenic. I remember the sheer terror I felt when I realized where I was headed.
The Psychiatric Ward Experience
The psychiatric ward was a place I never imagined I would find myself. I was surrounded by people with severe mental health issues, and I couldn’t help but wonder if I truly belonged there. I struggled with the decision of whether to comply with their treatment plan or fight for my own sanity.
After days of emotional turmoil and isolation, I finally managed to convince them to release me. Medications had temporarily alleviated some of my symptoms, making me more “manageable.” It was a bittersweet victory because I knew that my journey to healing was far from over.
My journey from a psychiatric ward to healing has been a rollercoaster ride. I want to emphasize that there are countless individuals like me who suffer from misunderstood and dismissed illnesses. My hope is that by sharing my story, we can raise awareness and foster a better understanding of these conditions within the medical community.
Because I found it so incredible that the experts couldn’t understand what was going on, I wrote a children’s book about this chronic illness.
