There is a perception that patients in mental hospitals are dangerous, but most often they are not, says Ellie O’Neill, a young woman with bipolar disorder. We’ve already got rid of a lot of stigmas – race, gender, class – and that’s great. But there are still many superstitions about the mentally ill.
When Ellie was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, she started using Twitter to help people find out more about the condition. She intended to wear different clothes every day for a year and post her photos online. The 24-year-old fashion fan Poppy Dinsey, whose fashion blog became a hit on the Internet in the first half of this year, had a similar idea earlier. But halfway through the project, which was supposed to be light entertainment for Ellie, everything changed: the girl’s bipolar disorder made itself felt with dramatic symptoms. First she became physically sick – she fainted, sweated, lost blood – and then she became mentally ill. Eventually she began to get depressed. Her Twitter page became a journal of desperation, and her blog gave a poignant insight into the life of a person suffering from bipolar disorder. However, she still spoke consistently about herself, even from the hospital bed of the emergency department. “When I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder after a series of recurrent depressive states shortly after the age of 20, I didn’t know much about it,” said 27-year-old Ellie of Market Harborough, Leicestershire. “I was initially told I had Type II bipolar disorder – its milder form. But then things took a turn for the worse, I heard that it was type I after all. It is a disease with a very individual course. We all see celebrities like Kerry Katona suffer, and that’s how we imagine it. But the situation is different for each person with such a diagnosis. Currently, I am back on my feet again. I’m working again and I feel really good. Ellie, an employee of the local newspaper, experienced her first bout of depression at the age of 19 while attending Manchester University. She dropped out of college and went home to Market Harborough, but returned to college a year later. She was diagnosed only in October 2009. She had to take two types of medication – anti-depressants and mood-balancing drugs. It was enough to get her back on balance, but in September of last year, after breaking up with her boyfriend and some nasty quarrels with her family, Ellie’s condition spiraled out of control, her old moods returned to Kettering General Hospital. She was sent home but passed out when she got there. An ambulance was called and Ellie returned to the emergency department.
She found solace on her cell phone, updating her Twitter account, and sending despairing messages to her friends. She even tweeted Sara Brown because former Prime Minister Gordon’s wife is in contact with the mental health charity MIND. Sarah wrote in response that she was following her fate.
Ellie had been transferred from the Emergency Department to another one she only remembered from desperately trying to escape. She spent long hours in the hospital chapel, hiding from doctors and nurses and trying to escape from herself.
Doctors eventually found her medical records and discovered that she had had mental health problems before. She was taken by ambulance to the specialist branch of the Brandon Unit at Leicester General Hospital. She was here before, but only as an outpatient. “I really thought it was a dream, but one that I can’t wake up from.” It never occurred to me that I could be a threat to myself or to others – he says. But the doctors disagreed, and Ellie was locked up in the mental ward. Describing it, the girl compared patients to people in every other ward, but noted: “The difference is that they are mentally ill, not physically. It doesn’t change much. “
“That’s partly why I wanted this article to be written – to make people realize that ordinary people have mental problems,” he explains. – I think there is a perception that patients in such wards are dangerous. But that’s not true. But we don’t talk about it, we don’t discuss it as a society. This problem is hiding in the closet. We’ve already got rid of a lot of stigmas – race, gender, class – and that’s great. But there are still many superstitions about the mentally ill. Ellie tried to commit suicide at her worst and urges everyone in similar states to turn to for help. On her blog, she admitted to suicidal thoughts, describing them with the letter “s”. “This morning I woke up with one thought,” she once wrote. – Bring it all to an end.
Ellie contacted her psychiatrist, lawyer, and GP. A council was held to determine if he could be safely released. She was discharged from the hospital. Her relationship with her boyfriend has returned to normal and Ellie is working again. – I wanted to tell you about everything – he explains – so that people can get away from stereotypes. I wanted to show that you can have mental problems and at the same time play a full role in society. We can keep the job. We can be with relationships. We can do whatever “normal” people can. Our disease does not define us, any more than a physical disease does not define those who suffer from it.
I still feel shocked at the thought of spending three months in the mental health ward. Even now I am worried when I read my Twitter entries. I thought it would be fun after all, but the disease took over and I lost control of my life.
Bridget O’Connell, head of information at MIND, explains:
– Common symptoms of bipolar disorder are the transition from overactive, excited behavior called mania to periods of severe depression. About 1% of people suffer from this disease. people, including celebrities such as Stephen Fry, Kerry Katona and Catherine Zeta-Jones.
Medicines like a mood stabilizer can help stop symptoms. Psychotherapy can also be effective. Regular exercise, a healthy diet, and sleep at night also help.
There are still many misconceptions about bipolar disorder. Patients often do not want to talk about their mental problems for fear of discrimination. However, they are not a cause for shame, and it is high time we lifted the stigma of the sick.
Text: Lynsey Haywood