Was high+paranoid. Went to hospital for anxiety relief and was misdiagnosed schizophrenic. Got thrown into dystopian mental health system. Punched by male nurse and hospitalized for months for no reason, then transferred to locked facility for a year where I couldn't contact outside help.

Mostly takes place 2017-2018. Seems like this could be a big issue as I'm in California. This could happen to you: Get paranoid on weed so you go to the hospital for a little calmdown and/or anxiety medicine. Then get a doctor who misdiagnoses you as schizophrenic. And then *institutionalizes* you for a YEAR *against your will.* And I say institutionalized with everything this implies. I was yelled at by nurses regularly, left alone with nothing but honestly mentally unbalanced people around me for months with no way out. Do you know what it's like to have nothing but "authority figures" yelling at you, mentally out of it people always in your space, one bed, a handful of out of date magazines, and blaring daytime tv for weeks on end? No access to your phone. Sterile environment. Both overstimulating and mindnumbingly understimulating. This is "treatment"??? I was thrown in a prison.

By the way, no. I'm not schizophrenic.

What's worse, this particular hospital was corrupt beyond that. Was stuck with an attending psychiatrist who played power games. Didn't listen to me when I said he was standing too close to me. I was lying down and he was standing too close to me while I was in a vulnerable position. I told him so. "Please move, you're standing too close with your private region close to my face." He told me, smugly, "I'm fine where I am."

I was aghast. I told him and everyone on staff: "I'd like to change doctors."

Answer: That doctor is the only physician available.

I told him and everyone on the staff, "I'd like to leave. I don't need or want to be here."

Answer: Doctor told me that I was "gravely disabled" and that he'd extended the hold on me. That happened time after time. He lied on my chart, saying that I was "homeless" and "aggressive." Because I dared talk back to him. He testified in the little hearings they give you that I "didn't have a plan for self care" and that I needed to be held further at the hospital. I have a home, by the way, and was living with my parents where I work on my own projects, with my own savings. That doctor blatantly lied on my chart. And he was smug. So goddamned smug.

One day, when I yelled back at a (male) nurse after he yelled at me, he flew into the doorway of my room and punched me. I was on the floor. I hurt my ribs, I hurt my head. Couldn't move for several days. They hustled the nurse out of there and none of the nurses would give me his or their names. They didn't call a doctor to check on me or the cops.

And then, oh look, a coinky-dink. I was declared unfit to look after myself and placed under conservatorship, transferred to a LOCKED facility for a YEAR where I didn't have phone access until 6 months after that attack. Tried to contact lawyers about the attack and was told it was outside the statute of limitations and why didn't I call earlier? Why? I had to earn phone time in the first 6 months at that locked facility, and only 15 minutes at a time PER WEEK, at that.

The people at this institution were either homeless or out of jail/prison with nowhere else to go. My family visited but there was nothing they could do.

Grave injustice. I'm trembling even now from the trauma of it. This is the shortened version. Who can I reach out to? What can I do? (And yes, I read the FAQ but I tried contacting about 30 lawyers in the state bar about (just) the nurse attack, and one asked me, "So, are you a rich girl or something?" and when I told him no, he replied, "Well, doesn't sound like there's much I can do." Lawyers. Such character.) Is this the United States???

I've been too discombobulated to even mention the systemic attack on my dignity and real mental health while I was at these hospitals. Trauma. It's taken me until now to be able to put it together in words. I haven't even been able to put it together enough to talk about the whole story to people.

What was my crime? Got high, was stupid enough to think mental health in this country had progressed past the 1890s where you're not in danger of getting trapped inside a mental hospital and abused. Not getting legal support from my family. Asked my public lawyer at the time, and then uncle, other family. "So you got hit by a nurse. Who are they going to side with, the hospital, or you? Just let it go."

Seriously, is there nothing I can do at this point? I know it's been about exactly a year since I was released from the hospital, but since I couldn't talk about the incident listed here before now, I just went about getting a job until I could wrap my head around it.

Meanwhile, I've been spontaneously throwing up and gaining weight even though I maintain a diet of around 1200-1600 calories. Talked with a friend who is going through symptoms of PTSD, and he has been going through similar issues of weight gain. He consulted a doctor who said the issue was a hormonal imbalance due to overwhelming stress.

Mostly takes place 2017-2018. Seems like this could be a big issue as I'm in California. This could happen to you: Get paranoid on weed so you go to the hospital for a little calmdown and/or anxiety medicine. Then get a doctor who misdiagnoses you as schizophrenic. And then *institutionalizes* you for a YEAR *against your will.* And I say institutionalized with everything this implies. I was yelled at by nurses regularly, left alone with nothing but honestly mentally unbalanced people around me for months with no way out. Do you know what it's like to have nothing but "authority figures" yelling at you, mentally out of it people always in your space, one bed, a handful of out of date magazines, and blaring daytime tv for weeks on end? No access to your phone. Sterile environment. Both overstimulating and mindnumbingly understimulating. This is "treatment"??? I was thrown in a prison.By the way, no. I'm not schizophrenic.What's worse, this particular hospital was corrupt beyond that. Was stuck with an attending psychiatrist who played power games. Didn't listen to me when I said he was standing too close to me. I was lying down and he was standing too close to me while I was in a vulnerable position. I told him so. "Please move, you're standing too close with your private region close to my face." He told me, smugly, "I'm fine where I am."I was aghast. I told him and everyone on staff: "I'd like to change doctors."Answer: That doctor is the only physician available.I told him and everyone on the staff, "I'd like to leave. I don't need or want to be here."Answer: Doctor told me that I was "gravely disabled" and that he'd extended the hold on me. That happened time after time. He lied on my chart, saying that I was "homeless" and "aggressive." Because I dared talk back to him. He testified in the little hearings they give you that I "didn't have a plan for self care" and that I needed to be held further at the hospital. I have a home, by the way, and was living with my parents where I work on my own projects, with my own savings. That doctor blatantly lied on my chart. And he was smug. So goddamned smug.One day, when I yelled back at a (male) nurse after he yelled at me, he flew into the doorway of my room and punched me. I was on the floor. I hurt my ribs, I hurt my head. Couldn't move for several days. They hustled the nurse out of there and none of the nurses would give me his or their names. They didn't call a doctor to check on me or the cops.And then, oh look, a coinky-dink. I was declared unfit to look after myself and placed under conservatorship, transferred to a LOCKED facility for a YEAR where I didn't have phone access until 6 months after that attack. Tried to contact lawyers about the attack and was told it was outside the statute of limitations and why didn't I call earlier? Why? I had to earn phone time in the first 6 months at that locked facility, and only 15 minutes at a time PER WEEK, at that.The people at this institution were either homeless or out of jail/prison with nowhere else to go. My family visited but there was nothing they could do.Grave injustice. I'm trembling even now from the trauma of it. This is the shortened version. Who can I reach out to? What can I do? (And yes, I read the FAQ but I tried contacting about 30 lawyers in the state bar about (just) the nurse attack, and one asked me, "So, are you a rich girl or something?" and when I told him no, he replied, "Well, doesn't sound like there's much I can do." Lawyers. Such character.) Is this the United States???I've been too discombobulated to even mention the systemic attack on my dignity and real mental health while I was at these hospitals. Trauma. It's taken me until now to be able to put it together in words. I haven't even been able to put it together enough to talk about the whole story to people.What was my crime? Got high, was stupid enough to think mental health in this country had progressed past the 1890s where you're not in danger of getting trapped inside a mental hospital and abused. Not getting legal support from my family. Asked my public lawyer at the time, and then uncle, other family. "So you got hit by a nurse. Who are they going to side with, the hospital, or you? Just let it go."Seriously, is there nothing I can do at this point? I know it's been about exactly a year since I was released from the hospital, but since I couldn't talk about the incident listed here before now, I just went about getting a job until I could wrap my head around it.Meanwhile, I've been spontaneously throwing up and gaining weight even though I maintain a diet of around 1200-1600 calories. Talked with a friend who is going through symptoms of PTSD, and he has been going through similar issues of weight gain. He consulted a doctor who said the issue was a hormonal imbalance due to overwhelming stress. https://ift.tt/eA8V8J http://bit.ly/2LanaEI