"Mental health stigma"

Last year I was admitted to hospital after having a seizure following a very painful injury to my coxys (which is the bottom of the spine.) In the hospital people were fantastic and helped keep me safe when I was fitting. I was given lots of medications and sent home from the triage ward after24 hours. Feeling very ill I had another seizure in the foyer outside the chemist. People were fantastic and I was taken back to the same ward. Then moved to another ward were I had another seizure whilst lying in bed after been given the same medication as before. Unfortunately, whilst on ward I felt like I was treated by some staff with disgusting behavior after been called an imposter! And it was suggested by one that I had a panic attack and that I was a nut.

It felt to me that, numerous jokes were played on me for their entertainment. One nurse spilt a jug of water over my dinner. One took my blankets away. On one occasion I was not served any lunch and then given a sandwich that was placed on a radiator. I was told by one person to clean the bathroom after somebody had been ill in there and I felt like I had numerous innuendos and remarks made to me.

After all this, what distressed me the most was to see the very elderly lady in the bed opposite to me after asking a nurse to crush her tablets as she could not swallow them, I watched the nurse swiftly glance around then crush the tablet in the palm of her hand before giving it to the lady. Surely this can’t be healthy?

The ward was very clean the nurses were lovely but just those few in particular I felt made my recovery longer and very distressing.

The irony is these people called me a nutter and I felt discriminated against me. If these people think they can diagnose mental health illnesses, then I think maybe they could first learn how to respect people who suffer with it.