Abuse Me. Humiliate Me. Neglect Me.

I am angry. I am cruising at 32, 000 ft and I feel enraged and disgusted with humanity. I’ve just watched a documentary about the treatment of inmates in America who have mental health problems. I can’t unsee the things I have just watched, my skin literally feels hot I feel so passionately about wanting to do something to change this.

If you were a doctor and someone came to you telling you that they heard voices, that those voices were telling them to hurt themselves or hurt other people would you lock that person into solitary confinement? Would you strap them to a chair and pepper spray their face? Or ask them if they wanted a rope to hang themselves with? No. The inmates shown on the documentary were in for theft, possessions of arms ect and then there were raspiest and murders without mental illnesses that were being treated like royalty.

I am not condoning violence at all, if someone takes another persons life they need to be answer for their crime but what is the answer when you throw mental illness into the matter? The treatment of thousands of people in prison with mental illness is horrendous. We try to recorrect young offenders, rapist, thieves who do crimes of sound mind so why are we punishing people for something they can not control. Now I know my illness is tame compared to others, I have never wished to hurt myself all I want to do is hide away but the people who are severe need help.

People have been killed by prison guards. Men and woman who kill and then get to roam free and the people in power write this off and say it was protocol or the inmate lashed out, I’m sorry but if a prison officer was pinning me down and spraying pepper spray in my face because I’m not of sound mind I think I’d spit in their face.

This programme really affected me, I need to do something to help people with mental illnesses, the stigma attached to it clearly is still up front and centre. So many people suffer from mental illness, we should be helping not making it worse. As soon as I’m back I want to start my training to become a mental health nurse and I want to go and work with inmates in prison and get them the care that they deserve.

To be beaten, abused and humiliated because you can’t control your mind is disgusting and I want to change this, I plan to do everything in my power to achieve this.