Personal Narrative: Overbrook Asylum

Entering therapy, then, was a terrifying prospect for Mercy, filled with an infinite potential for exposure and shame. The differences between us were palpable from the start; binaries of black and white, African and American, anti-establishment and more conventionally-minded filled the room with questions of compatibility, divergent values and the weight of our disparate social identities. Though a perfunctory investigation of any feelings she had about the differences between us was quickly dismissed, the starkness of our dissimilarities haunted our interactions from the start.

During the 1800s, treating individuals with psychological issues was a problematic and disturbing issue. Society didn’t understand mental illness very well, so the mentally ill individuals were sent to asylums primarily to get them off the streets. Patients in asylums were usually subjected to conditions that today we would consider horrific and inhumane due to the lack of knowledge on mental illnesses.

The conditions of the prisons and asylums of the 1800’s were archaic even for that era but by today's standards are criminal in themselves. The march 26th, 1880 edition of The New York Times ran a story titled Out of an Insane Asylum, which described one patient's first hand treatment. According to the story that The New York Times ran this particular patient was beaten on several occasions seemingly at the whim of the people in charge (The New York

Wright, D. (1997). Getting out of the asylum: understanding the confinement of the insane in the nineteenth century. Social History of Medicine, 10, 13

The road, or more appropriately, the path leading the town of Opal essentially consisted of dirt and jagged pebbles. Needless to say it wasn’t the most favored road amongst the neighbors, especially those with wagons as the wheels consisting of flimsier spokes would often break or create a hitch. I didn’t so much have an issue with taking the path, aside from the semi-agonizing distance, as I was wearing my work boots, but it was honestly still an eyesore. However, I enjoyed the views of both the left and right side of the path. They were both rolling hills coated with lush oceans of green, despite the recent frigid weather as they defied the norm associated with the winter season. It was truly transitioning into a beautiful day, allowing the

My Glass Castle essay is a flashback to the beginning of my adventures in Honors English. As such, it is the most suitable candidate for revision, as I will be able to observe my hopefully positive progression made over the course of the entire school year.

Despite the intended purpose of mental institutions helping patients, some hospitals may do the exact opposite. In the novels Poppy Shakespeare by Clare Allan and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey the protagonists’ journey and conflict creates the notion that mental institutions are ineffective and detrimental to patients’ well-being. The beginning of each protagonist’s story demonstrates the ineffectiveness of the mental institutions, then reaching a pivotal moment, McMurphy faces a downfall, whereas N’s benefits her, and in the end both conflicts resolve to display the unproductive and harmful effects. These novels also portray other characters who the mental institutions affect negatively, including Dawn, Ellis and Poppy.

Upon arrived to TALA, I was greeted by an astonishing monumental architecture. The symmetry of the building was elegant and well complimented by its weathered look. It is difficult to imagine that this very building had once housed the mentally ill. I had never seen such a facility before and thus expected something less remarkable. As I stood admiring the building, I noticed the multitude of windows it contained. Upon further examination, I noticed the bars surrounding them and suddenly realized that the illusion of paradise was in reality a prison for those who dwelled here. I was surprised to learn how many people were housed in this building and likewise shocked to discover what passed as mentally insane during the 19th century. The criteria used to determine mental illness were nonexistent and arbitrary. I was extremely concerned when the tour guide mentioned kids being born and raised in TALA. It was also distressing to learn that people who didn’t quality as having mental problems were also placed into such a facility. In contrast, it was interesting to learn that the community had openly embraced TALA as part of their home to the extent that a high school prom was held inside the building. This helped me to recognize that TALA was more than just an insane asylum, it was truly home to those living inside and outside its walls. As I progressed through the tour, I discovered that I was unaware of the many practices of insane asylums, especially the methods used in

I’ve just arrived in Washington D.C and departed from the Addison Road. Now I’m making my way towards the bus stop, then from there I’m on my way to the airport. The sun was shining much brighter outside of the train; however, the luminosity of the sky did not reflect well the temperature. Walking, what should have only taken 5 minutes, felt like an eternity. Once you’ve been traveling for long enough, you start to pick up on some things. For starters, the bus drivers start to get getting uglier, and uglier the farther you descend south. Also the activities you do to pass the time differ depending on the mode of transportation. I’d say your mental state of mind has more to do with how fast time flies than anything. You don’t expect to be on

When I was given a tour of the Psych-Med-Unit (PMU) at Saint Mary’s Hospital, I was slightly uncomfortable and thought the hallway was dark. But I quickly realized that the dim light was designed to create a calm and healing environment for psych patients occupying the unit. Bright light may push schizophrenia patients into manic episode, for example. As I walked in the hallway, I was surprised to see how comfortable the staff were with their surroundings. The scene opposed my previous personal and professional belief about psych patients. I have always believed that psych patients are combative and are challenging to manage. This notion came from way back when my clinical teacher told me to always place one hand in the front of my throat when

A variety of treatment techniques were present in the mental facility. We will examine those of McMurphy, Nurse Ratchett, and the head doctor. Nurse Ratchett and the head

Would you choose a psychiatric hospital or hard labor? For Randle Patrick McMurphy, in One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, the choice was obvious: an Oregon psychiatric hospital. McMurphy had managed to fake insanity to bypass a sentence of prison for time in the Nurse Ratched’s psych ward. His facade raised the questions on the authenticness of mental illness, challenging how a psychiatrist must trust his/her patient. David Rosenhan demonstrates the possibility of incorrect diagnoses in his Rosenhan experiment. However, while beneficial in that the experiment exposed faults in the psychiatric diagnostic process, it proved mental illness could be faked adding the growing stigma mental diseases’ have.

The day I went back to the center I had I very engaging conversation with a young participant, I’ve always thought that he was funny but in this one conversation, he had me laughing the entire time. He shared with me his experiences working as a security guard for a parking garage, he explained that he has been shot at by a man that was drunk. The funniest thing he’s told me was about him and his ex-wife, he said that when they walked down the street they looked like the number ten. He said the number ten because he was tall and skinny which made him the one and she was short and bigger which made her the zero, he laughed so hard at his own joke which made it even funnier. On a more serious note, he asked me what my major was and I told him

Walking into this hell hole I knew this was a place not suitable for anyone to live in. It was well known in all of America though. People… No, the “Patients” were sent here for multiple different reasons. A “holding place” is the usual way you could wind up here. So many have gone missing lately… Working for the newspaper, my boss demands the juicy stuff. What’s better than this place? Silence is very important here. If we talk once outside of our rooms, they will not feed us our lunch. Sometimes, if we are bad enough, even our dinner. They will only give us food through our room doors.

One time, I noted Jack’s anxiety of becoming homeless because of the lack of appropriate after-care programs. One day, I noticed Jacob’s gloominess because of his hopeless perspective of perceiving that people stopped being ingenuous and compassionate. One evening, I detected James’s helplessness because of his fear of the stigma of being labeled as mentally ill. At McLean Hospital, I learned numerous concerns of patients’ from different walks of life. At times, I sensed their suffering and agony because I once had these concerns.