When I was in a psych hospital homeless for 4 and a half months I didn’t get person-centred care. Though it could have been worse. I decided to double down on my new found faith by providing myself with Christ-centred care.
During that time no information was shared about where I was going.I wasn’t sure if it was supported accommodation, hostel, hotel, a council home or another hospital closer to where I used to live. It felt like the hospital were just hoping to get rid of the burden that I was.
I had nothing to fall back on, my family had died years ago, so I leaned on my faith. I read the Bible religiously. I read 85% of the New Testament and larges swathes of the Old Testament. I watched lots of movies that covered the books in the Bible I was reading from my tablet.
My faith became a lot stronger from this experience and I learnt so much about the kingdom of God. To some degree that I felt I was moving to the point of giving everything to God including the willingness to sacrifice my own life for their sins (martyrdom).
One of the author’s of the New Testament, was Paul the Apostle, he had killed a Christian as a Jew before becoming Christian. He spread the good news of Christ in many places across the Mediterranean. Eventually he was imprisoned in Rome.
He was the best Christian he could be to the Romans and spread Wisdom including Christ.Eventually though the Romans decided his time was up. He died as a martyr. Much about Paul and the Good News of Christ spread. Eventually Rome became a Christian state and some barbarism ended.
I tried to be as well behaved as I could in the psych hospital. It was a very triggering environment for someone who is #ActuallyAutistic. I felt like cattle most of the time with set times to be made to do things like blood pressure being taken 5 times a day.
The staff didn’t want to know me and much of the shift was agency. I got to know one member of staff well and he talked to me like I was part of the team. Often it was a strict patient to nurse relationship.Over weeks I was suffering from this. As I wasn’t sectioned but homeless.
To maintain my sanity I was depending on my faith. New unwell people were arriving every week.I had to be understanding to that and the difficult job staff had to do. It was like having a room in a institutionalised concentration camp.I wanted to tattoo my NHS number to my wrist.
Though it was getting to the point where I wanted to be taken out and executed like Paul. I was suffering really badly and it felt like torture. Every day was the same. Every shift the same. I wanted to be martyred like Paul. As the NHS felt like the Roman Empire in Blue.
Thankfully I was discharged to a hotel but with no support.The council found me a home but I was starting to struggle in the hotel as well. As an outpatient I don’t get any real support from the NHS.I try to practice Christ-centred care by going to Church. I pray it helps.