Personal experiences and perspectives of psychiatric intensive care and recovery

Two stays in different psychiatric hospitals left me with very differing experiences of severe mental illness. The impact of the more severe episode was much reduced due to the positive way in which staff interacted with me. Recovery was impeded during the first episode by the paucity of therapeutic relationships with staff and the absence of control over one’s medical choices. The role of being a patient was very much a negative experience and the memories of which are still with me ten years on. A positive outlook can be enormously helpful when relayed from staff to patients.