Kas✨
@_kasthomas
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MSc psychology & education grad 📚 inpatient w/ bipolar disorder. tweets about patient advocacy, trauma, iatrogenic harm #MadTwitter 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️🇰🇷
they/she/mad | on s3 somewhere
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And now for a positive(!!!) psych ward story: a friend and I asked the staff if we could paint the windows rainbow and hold a Pride party and they said yes 🏳️🌈🧵(1/4)
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Genuinely curious— does anyone ever refer to patients with physical health issues “dependent on services”? Why is needing help to manage serious mental illness often seen as a moral failure of the patient, that they should’ve tried harder on their own?
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Does anyone else dislike the term “compliant with meds”? I’m reviewing my care plan and the phrase doesn’t sit well with me (b/c implied power imbalance). I was thinking either “consistent w/ meds” or “will take as prescribed”
If anyone has suggestions please let me know!☺️
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@GillianKeegan
@sajidjavid
if the Conservatives are so dedicated to funding the NHS and MH care, why am I sectioned on an inappropriate medical ward that cannot meet my needs because there are no available mental health inpatient beds in the entire country?
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Was unsure whether to post BUT… celebrating my EUPD misdiagnosis finally being acknowledged on paper for what I knew it was all along — ASD! 🥳 This feels like the biggest step so far in healing from
#IatrogenicHarm
🤍
#AutismNotPD
#TraumaNotPD
#HarmedByPDLabel
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“Moving is good for our mental health. So what’s stopping us?”
I am sectioned under the Mental Health Act. I can’t leave the ward unaccompanied. Muting
#MentalHealthAwarenessWeek
for my own sanity, because the public conversation on mental health keeps excluding mental illness
Despite knowing that movement is important for our mental health, many of us aren’t moving enough. Well, according to our new research, this is because we’re too cold, tired, and busy.
Read our new report:
#MomentsForMovement
#MentalHealthAwarenessWeek
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Didn’t realise how many clinicians hold contempt for people they label as ‘EUPD’ until I was neglected & emotionally abused for a whole month at a private hospital. I thought that experience was an anomaly, and that it was just me. Turns out it’s systemic & bigger than any of us
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On today’s episode of “Kas complains about the mental hospital”, for some reason whoever is in charge decided to spend money on… this. Which doesn’t feel dystopian or patronising or like a waste of money at all
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also this is the state of activities on a mental health ward for adult women. i know primary school teachers who wouldn’t give these to their pupils but let’s have ✨gratitude✨
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How to cope with 2 years in hospital: make a cake about it, obviously! 🎂💖
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Genuine question: how are psychiatric inpatients informed of their right to vote, or helped to arrange a postal or proxy vote? We have as much rights to vote as everyone else, even if sectioned. Just aware that there are probably many, many disenfranchised psych patients
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I’ve been in hospital a while so nothing usually surprises me but….
Patient: please can I have a toilet roll?
Cleaner: no I’m clocking off in 5 minutes
Patient: so what do I do??
Cleaner: you’ll get one in the morning
Everyone who heard this: ….what?!
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my heart is genuinely aching it never gets any easier. how many of us have to die before there’s change? none of us should. asking for help shouldn’t be a death sentence, we all deserve life and help to live that life well and without this pain
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possibly hindering my chances of ever working in clinical psych by shouting about my bipolar and the broken system, but aren’t honesty, critical thinking, and passion what the profession needs? forgive me for not knowing the original source, but “the psychological is political”✊
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I’ve not had any trauma therapy in the 20 months I’ve been sectioned yet they have the audacity to put ‘trauma informed’ PTMF bullshit in the communal area🤣 Psychosis is not a way of coping! And asking “what happened to you” doesn’t work when there is no psychologist to listen.
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genuine question for people who work on inpatient wards (nurses, hca’s, etc etc): what are you doing in the office when you’re not interacting with patients because surely typing on a computer shouldn’t take up 95% of your time?
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me and the girls made a cake to “celebrate” 500 days of inpatient (or, alternatively, 500 extra days of being alive?)
“mental cakedown” felt appropriate
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Being inpatient on a psych ward is a difficult experience, so it makes a huge difference when staff listen to us and go the extra mile to make our stay comfortable💜
Happy late/early Pride, and thank you to the HCPs here who made it happen 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️ (4/4)
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I’d been holding off about tweeting around this as I wanted to look ‘professional’, but fuck that. If you don’t speak up, you’re complicit. This isn’t going on behind closed doors. It’s right in front of us. Repeat: we deserve better. We deserve care. We deserve life.
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Still sectioned on a med ward and still really low — no s17 leave so not been outside for fresh air in a little over 2 weeks.
A small request: if anyone has photos they’ve taken outside recently, please can you share?
Here is my last photo before my admission
#GetTheFckOutside
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actual photo of me, a psych patient, sitting at the MDT with 2 psychiatrists, 3 core trainees, 1 physician associate, a secretary, my care-co on Teams, and a nursing student sat directly behind me (colourised)
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this isn’t a specific subtweet but just a general one:
-why do some psych hospitals not have psychologists, even just for brief interventions
-why do most psych hospitals not have ward rounds on weekends/bank holidays
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I mean, I marked 1 year in the psych ward with bipolar disorder by making a cake that literally said “congrats on the mental illness”, so I think we’re free to cope with our diagnoses however we want because it’s not hurting other people
Reddit - ''Autism is a serious problem and not some quirky thing to celebrate with cake??. I'm sure if you got diagnosed with any other medical condition you'd also make a celebration cake right? How about "Congrats on your Schizophrenia".
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update on new hospital: it’s a new build so much, much, much better. and i’m in shock about the staffing levels. 14 staff for 18 women instead of 6 staff for 20. plus i’m in my hometown and i have a desk and there’s a bath… just gotta pray the doctors like me LOL
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Finally seen my notes RE: EUPD misdiagnosis and I need this on a t shirt: “HAVING A HISTORY OF SELF-HARMING DOES NOT AUTOMATICALLY MAKE SOMEONE HAVE A PERSONALITY DISORDER”
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In early 2020 when I was in hospital, the ward’s clinical psychologist and I developed some affirmations. She wrote and laminated them for me, and I’ve had them on my wall ever since.
2 years on, this admission is different but I have painted a canvas with the same words💖
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Good news!!! I’ve finally been transferred to an actual psychiatric unit, not too far from home, under my current NHS trust so there will be continuity of care. Obviously being sectioned isn’t ideal, but I’m so glad
#PsychBedWait
is over so I can begin to work on healing☺️✨
Since I first tweeted this I’ve realised that my
#PsychBedWait
is probably taking this long b/c I have ‘complex’ needs in terms of appropriate placements. But even then, it shouldn’t take 3+ weeks to get admitted to your trust’s local mh hospital???? While high risk under s2????
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taking a twitter break, heart is too heavy for words.
#madtwitter
family, please hold each other close and continue to uplift yourselves with love 🩷🩷🩷
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s17 leave approved for the whole of tomorrow and friday… GUESS WHO’S GOING TO THEIR GRADUATION🤩🎓
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things on my psych ward that ✨Just Make Sense✨
Risperdal branded ruler, anyone?
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I just had my first
#GetTheFckOutside
, not just to a garden area, 48 days after coming into hospital. Looks like a small win, but it’s an absolutely huge win for me 🥹
Longing for the day we can talk freely about psychiatric admissions and sectioning without fear of stigma❣️
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meanwhile MH services: you can’t be suicidal/need PRN, you were just laughing in the communal area
Suicidal people don’t have a “look”.
You might think they’re having the happiest day of their life, but actually that can be a sign of someone being in crisis or planning to complete suicide as well.
You can never tell just by how someone is acting in one moment.
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As a bipolar person, I had to explain to my psych last week that, for me, 10 means psychotic mania and 5 means relatively stable. I understand the point of this question but it can be very reductive when not fully contextualised
(bipolar uk mood scale below for reference)
Can we stop asking patients to rate their mood with numbers? For example: “on a scale of 0-10, how are you feeling today?”
I might be alone with this, but I don’t think it’s validating or helpful to anyone to ‘rate’ feelings or mood.
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Graduation photos as promised—can’t believe I made it, thank you so much for everybody’s support and well wishes🥰💖🍾👩🏼🎓
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sure lithium can kill you if not monitored properly but do you know what else can definitely kill you if not monitored properly? bipolar disorder
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@MindfulMen99
“Have you considered that you’re detained against your will in hospital because you aren’t trying hard enough?”
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we made shirts on the ward today😌
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We made rainbow cakes, we had a lovely little buffet with tiny pride skewers, we did rainbow makeup and nails— It was just really sweet the way the Activities and OT team went all out to facilitate our request🥹 (3/4)
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To everyone receiving PIP and scared of receiving white envelopes from the DWP — it’s just the yearly update/rate increase. Panicked for no reason😭
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HEE quietly ruling a bunch of people ineligible to apply for the DClinPsy on the same day that Clearing House applications open is extremely disappointing to say the least
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“Kind words cost nothing” yeah sure but how much did these stickers cost and what else could that have been spent on. It would’ve been nice if this was coproduced so we all got a say on what might make the ward nicer but unfortunately we just need to
#BeKind
💙
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Myself and a few other patients painted the windows together and it was super therapeutic to have the creative freedom to make this space our own 🎨🖌 (2/4)
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and in the NHS, you’re expected to shove it all back in the closet after only 7-12 sessions!
the stupidest part about therapy is you’re supposed to delve into the deepest complexities of your psyche, but only for exactly 45 minutes, and then you have to neatly zip it back up until next week’s session
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this account has pivoted from clinical psychology and research into straight up anger at the mental health system. sorry if you followed me for the former not the latter
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I am dependent on services not because I want to be, but because I have a serious, lifelong condition that has almost killed me on many occasions. Going it alone to prove a point about independence is like asking a person with a physical condition to stop recieiving care
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signed by, all the women on this ward who are sick of being ignored and treated like shit because they dare to knock on the office door or be in crisis
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sure i’m oversharing on main but i will scream and scream until people with mental illness get the care we deserve. our lives matter, our well-being matters, we are being neglected, discarded, we are being left to die!!!!!!! how much more can we take?????
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it makes such a difference having unrestricted access to a secure outdoor space????? like what do you mean i can go have fresh air and a lil walk if i want it without needing to ask??????
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pro tip: if you are a mental health professional and a patient (with an established eating disorder dx) is asking for their ice cream from the freezer, do not then proceed to talk about weighing your ice cream because you are in a calorie deficit.
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Had such a lovely day yesterday thanks to my family, friends, and people on the ward. Didn’t want to return to hospital but I came back and staff had left this package on my bed— apparently every patient got one!🥹💝
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My "Take it to supervision" t-shirt has people asking a lot of questions already answered by my shirt.
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@dranniehickox
I can’t believe the conversation has moved back to “depression can be cured by going for a walk”. What year is it! This medication shaming is needless and downright offensive to many people (including myself) whose lives have been changed, and often outright saved, by meds
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Humblebrag: almost deferred my masters last Oct when I was sectioned, consultant recommended I take a leave of absence or quit while manic in Feb. Got my final results back today, and my overall average is 0.2 off a distinction before the upcoming dissertation. Let’s get it! 🙌
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The hospital are doing an event for International Nurses’ Day with cake and stalls and I have no idea how to feel about this I was handed… an “IM biscuit”😬
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Just found gold in my tribunal report…
“K came across as… critical of previous care. I can see this as potentially anxiety provoking for staff which teams need to be mindful of”
If iatrogenic harm makes you nervous, reflect on your own practise or take it to supervision
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they have an autism/dual diagnosis lead here and a wholeass sensory box full of things that are gonna be super useful i’m yelling i have been in the wrong hospital this entire time
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i’ve been sectioned for 2 years and they won’t let me have EMDR in hospital but yeah sure fuck it whatever let’s make it available in primary care
It boils my piss that that people eligible for primary care Talking Therapies services (IAPT) can access therapies like EMDR and couples therapy whereas people who are too high risk/complex/unwell are left to broken CMHT’s where the vast majority of pts have no access to >
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The staff here are trying their best but this is just such an inappropriate placement in terms of risk and care. This medical bed, that somebody else may need, is essentially a holding pen where I am detained until a psych bed comes up eventually, anywhere in the country
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staff here are so, so lovely. nurse has already challenged/basically removed the EUPD dx from my notes (even though this shouldn’t keep happening). first appointment with my RC today, very very nervous
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Can we not unpack why people view a bipolar dx as stigmatising/pathologising rather than throwing the whole diagnosis away? Can we not also hold space for those who do identify with their dx alongside pts who frame their experiences differently
@DrDBeech
@ClinpsychLucy
Do you really not see how when you use a label like BPS, or bipolar disorder, or schizoaffective, that can be extremely pathologizing and stigmatizing for some folks? I mean, I get that you want to make a parody of this, but I really wonder if you get this point.
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@DisabledEliza
Got hit by lightning and it changed my brain chemistry to be rainy on some days and sunny on others ⚡️⛈
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The uncertainty is painful and it hurts even more because the reason why I’m here in the first place is I had a severe, yet avoidable, incident after being denied admission last week, when it was decided I needed it for my safety!!!
@GillianKeegan
@sajidjavid
you’re FAILING us
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I know services are working to be “trauma informed” but I feel like services need to be autism informed too…my autism is inseparable from myself and my presentation, you cannot treat or dx MH issues without understanding how my autism IS my presentation. It’s how my brain works!
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If you’re a psychologist don’t ask people who want to kill themselves why they haven’t done it yet because other people do
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pushing my interest in psychology and lived experience aside, isn’t this just so incredibly… obvious? …patronising?
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taking a break from shithousery to share a positive:
#gotthefckoutside
today with the OT to walk to Starbucks. was nervy because it’s a mile down a main road, but we did it, and got silly little treats ☕️
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A staff member let me in the kitchen so I could make my own cup of coffee. That sounds pathetic out of context but it is truly the little things that count 🥹🥹🥹
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Cleaner provided no explanation so I gave the patient a toilet roll from my room🙃 what the actual…..
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The ward have entrusted a sunflower to my care for the next however many weeks… Any name ideas?✨🌻
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The staff here are great but are not trained in MH and I don’t have much access to MH support. I am in a bay without sufficient privacy which is detrimental when I am already in crisis. There are more risks to my safety in this room alone than I can count with both hands
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“service users” im in hospital detained against my will i am not choosing to use a service i am an inpatient. i am a patient. in a hospital. parity of esteem when
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i think this move will be very positive for me but doesn’t negate how shit the other hospital handed it. glad to have left
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i’m still sectioned but holy hell the Tory party imploding has cured me
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starting Effexor tomorrow and getting both covid and flu jabs. call that a Venlaflaccine
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At least they’re being openly honest now that they won’t treat anyone with bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, eating disorders [insert literally any mental illness here that is not mild anxiety or depression]
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my psychologist bringing up asylum mag in response to me listing mad twitter as a protective factor. she gets it!!!!!!
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sometimes having a cup of tea or a bath or texting a friend won’t help. sometimes even hospital won’t help. sometimes things are so bleak you don’t think that anything will help at all, and sometimes even if you ask for it, help isn’t there. i am very tired of it all
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(not saying that we should accept our suffering, more that society in general should treat mental illnesses/disorders/health issues with the same respect as any other illness)
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being told that my anger and upset and pure grief are valid and that i’m not just complaining for complaining’s sake. that i have and am being failed by this place. ouch
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I feel like the only appropriate reaction is a celebration cake that’s iced with “we knew you were right this entire time”🧁
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probably dumb posting notes online BUT while all the discourse is going on RE: “complex emotional needs” (🤮) I just thought it’s important to note that some psychiatrists actually know what they’re doing and that the PD construct can get in the bin
#HarmedByPDLabel
#PDinTheBin
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Context: I am very lucky that this narrative has not been forced on me by my current mental health team, who are wonderful and I could not ask more of. It’s coming from people around me who think I’m not trying hard enough, as if I have full control. What is with this stigma!!!
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@DrAnnieHickox
Thanks for sharing this Annie. 2020 clearing house data shows only 11 applicants declared MH difficulties out of the 762 ppl accepted onto DClinPsy in total, so it gives me hope to see qualified MHPs like yourself sharing your experiences and paving the way for others to do so☺️
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Photos app just reminded me how much can change in a year. Writing a masters dissertation about bipolar vs being detained for it. Missing the future I was dreaming of just 12 months ago
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Clinical psychologists, spend one day on an acute inpatient ward, or even a PICU just for the lols, and then look me right in the eye and tell me mental illness isn’t real. Please.
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just hospital things: made a vase out of a lemonade bottle because why not
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being vulnerable here for a bit , allow it: this is my longest inpatient admission yet and the prospect of being here for at least another month is terrifying🥲
people who’ve survived long admissions, how did you do it? feels like there’s no hope🫠
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started to do some really meaningful work with the psychologist here and just sitting with the fact that i have been “victimised by the system” is….. wow
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@DrAnnieHickox
It’s just utterly insane to tell people who are *unwell enough to be legally detained against their will* that this experience is a normal response…. I’d much rather be crying and eating ice cream on my sofa at home, that’d fix my bipolar🤣
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it’s
#WorldMentalHealthDay2022
. i’ve been sectioned since april and i wish i had some words of wisdom to share or something “inspiring” to have come out of this but i just don’t
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thank you so much to everybody for their lovely responses and well wishes for my graduation. i did it! and i am back safe at hospital. but very, very exhausted and will post photos tomorrow after a loraz and a long sleep 💖
on overnight leave for the first time since being admitted in may, and it’s for my graduation, so understandably i am Very Very Anxious, and yet the hospital wouldn’t give me PRN to take with me lol🙃
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This is positive risk taking—Here is me, sectioned, holding a drill doing DIY in the ward garden. Bear in mind that there are many simple things I am not allowed on the ward, but this risk has therapeutic value. Telling people they can die if they want to has 0 therapeutic value
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@calmskepticism
I’m glad that it was helpful for you. I’ve found colouring quite therapeutic in past admissions. My comment was less on the colouring and wordsearches but more the content of them— children’s book illustrations and faux positivity
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