[CupcakeDolly]

I think it depends on what you go there for, and how severe your condition is. The ones I've seen have been more like a highly secure preschool, where they don't give you access to sharp objects or dangerous inhalants, and they have visiting hours only on certain days. Activities are pretty much either counseling or milling around with the other crazies, unless you're lucky enough to have someone bring you a book or something.

[Glitch]

Well it was in Idaho you know . . . those Idahoans and their guns. . .

It was an outpatient facility, people would come for group therapy all day and go home in the afternoon so it was a little different than one you get checked into.

[Salone]

Drink tonight: Peppermint Tea, no alcohol.

I've delivered to a few, and was forcibly put in a 'behavioral hospital' by a very corrupt judge and counselor when I was a teenager. They vary. You got your outpatients like Glitch said, and then you've got your permanent ones, which range from semi decent to fucking scary. I've delivered to the 'fucking scary' kind.

The worst thing is a lot of people who are mentally unfit or have learning disabilities do not get sent to the ones that can care for them, and instead are abandoned to nursing homes or even jail, where they are around people who are harmful to them and do not know how to care for them. I've met a lot in my previous job, and it's a sad thing.

One thankfully got shut down not too long ago here in town. They made one of the residents do the lawn work outside, and were abusive as hell. The state finally shut them down after finding *shudders* several piles of human feces in the kitchen area.

As far as my own personal experience, I was only there for 2 weeks and it was a fucking nightmare. Treatment is not given, because treatment means you leave. The one I went to gave each kid pills and shots each day to keep us...I don't know, sedated or something? I still don't know what the shots were, they never told us. Went to bed when they told us to, got up when they told us to. No doors to our rooms. I got paired with some very young kid who had anger issues, supposedly because I was the 'most calm' and 'level headed'. Also, I didn't belong there and was part of a god damn Cash For Kids program. Strict meals, hours sitting in a quiet room doing tedious 'schoolwork' and listening to people talk, never being directly addressed about whatever may have brought us in or helping us. One girl was in there for being repeatedly gang raped. They sent her to essentially kid prison for that, instead of getting her the proper help she needed.

I was lucky. I got out. I only spent two weeks there. Some of the kids were there for months, years. Others were just abandoned by their families. They pretty much grew up there, in that hell. I heard so many pitiful stories, so many lives ruined. I made friends with a guy there who really needed help, tried to commit suicide. He's the one who introduced me to tabletop RPG's. Obviously couldn't keep contact with him after I made it out, but I bumped in to him about 7 years later at a tabletop meet. He told me he was stuck in there for over a year before he was released, and was never given help.

Their diagnosis system is off too. They have you look at a series of pictures. Not an ink blot test though, actual drawn pictures, and want you to tell them what is supposedly going on in the pictures. Most of them are of violence or things that can cause violence, like a boy and his dad with a rifle or knives and things like that. They then use what you tell them to tell your parents and the state that you are 'Homicidal, Suicidal, Depressed, and a Danger to those around you.'. It's how they get you.

Emilie Autumn's 'Fight Like a Girl' album is eerily close to the treatment people receive in a lot of those places, if setting is omitted. There are some good places, but there are also those that will abuse you. Stay safe.

[Lawtan]

*Watches Paranoia climb Clingmans Dome* Going...going...gone!

...Sort of what I had been hearing, to be honest. Just wanted to confirm suspicions. (As I sort of know I tend to assume that things hate me, and that biases things towards the negative)

Actually just did a Rorschach (ink blot) test. Tried to make an adventure/mystery out of the colorful cards. "And here, the Behemoth and the Leviathan go down the orange rabbit hole to have tea in a most curious manner."

[CupcakeDolly]

Originally Posted by Salone

Emilie Autumn's 'Fight Like a Girl' album is eerily close to the treatment people receive in a lot of those places, if setting is omitted. There are some good places, but there are also those that will abuse you. Stay safe.

You should read 'The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls' (the thing the album AND the asylum in our RP is based on!) It gives an awfully stark side-by-side comparison of modern mental health hospitals and Victorian era asylums. Emilie's experience in the mental hospital was uncomfortably similar to my own - probably everyone else's, too.

[Glitch]

For us, we got people who just left the inpatient hospital in the area but that liked it. It was completely volunteer, people came because they wanted to and they missed the group activities. While I never visited intermountain it gave me the impression that it sometimes did something good for somebody. But we also dealt with substance abuse persons which were a lot more difficult because they wanted suboxone and would do anything to have more suboxone. #1 excuse: "i dropped all of my pills in the toilet so i need a new prescription." How many people can honestly drop a whole bottle of pills in the toilet? I had to administer the pee tests too which totally suckssss.

You could read/watch It's kind of a funny story. It's not hard-core or scary like the ones Salone explained but I liked to imagine that intermountain at least tried to be like that one. Although I did hear stories from friends that that place was horrible. So I don't really know.

I did try seeing a therapist when I was a teenager because my hormones were out of control and I was the angriest most depressed person, and I didn't want to be but I couldn't control my emotions. The lady had me fill out a questionnaire, she read over it and then told my mom I needed to be on 3-4 different kinds of medications. She didn't even talk to me to find out why I answered the questions the way I did or why I was there or what was wrong or anything ,she just read a paper. My mom refused and said we would try an over the counter option first so then I got to actually talk to her . . . and I decided she was a complete wacko. She had me close my eyes and tap my arms for 5 minutes and I was supposed to be thinking about what I wanted to talk about while I did this, but I already knew what I wanted to talk about so I was just annoyed and got very frustrated with her. Then she told me that she believed people who were interested in genders of the same sex were only that way because they had bad relationships with their mother or their father and were seeking a better one with a female or male partner. I cancelled all of my future appointments after that. Then she called my house and demanded to speak to my mom who told me to take a message and the lady told me I was veyr sick and needed serious help and to reconsider cancelling all of my appointments.

That was my only experience with that, never tried again and eventually puberty ended and I like to think I got over it.

The counselors I worked with were really nice people though and I really liked all of them, although they were group therapists rather than individual counselors so that could make a difference I suppose . . .

[Salone]

Yeah, that could deffo be it. All the individual counselors I've had have been sadistic bastards. I made the mistake of wearing an old French wool trench coat (I had a bit of a paramilitary punk phase, sue me), and was accused of wanting to shoot up my school because of it. She worked very hard at separating me from my mother during a rough time, and actually ended up getting both of my parents put in jail for a very brief time. Completely shattered my trust in the mental health field and now I refuse to see anyone because of it. Which honestly, is probably not for the best. The memory of having my independence and autonomy forcibly taken from me is the greatest indignity I've experienced. I know a lot out there genuinely want to help, but the one on one sessions are a dangerous and delicate place where someone can easily impose what they think is 'right' on to a suffering individual.

[Lawtan]

Sort of been my experience with all but a group of professionals. School counselors tried repeatedly to put me in special education - I wasn't too social and always was reading or working.

...Think my dad may have talked to the same or similar person you did, Glitch. He has refused to trust any since.

[Den]

sadly, it's the bad ones that give the good ones a bad name. I went to a therapist when I was in high school because of my ADHD, and she was pretty decent. I remember that she had a lot of antique toys and things that caught my interest... I even remember where her house is located, and could probably drive out there just from memory.

I haven't really been to therapy since high school though, due to various reasons.

[Salone]

Tonight's Drink: Lemon Spice Tea, non alcoholic (Wish I could taste this shit!)

So a few days back I had quite the experience. I had went out for frozen yogurt and food, ended up eating like, 2 pounds of frozen yogurt (sue me). Hit the bowling alley, realize they have bought a new air hockey table (I broke the last one).

Unbelievable. They have an 8 foot Dynamo table, tournament legal. I am slightly aroused. Like, it's beautiful. It was meant for me. I am going to tear that table apart.

I love air hockey. So much. You do not understand. I became good at Blackjack just so I could make enough money in Welding class so I could actually pay to go play air hockey. I can say hands down that I am the best player easily of anyone that I know. I am not defeated. If I was a pony, a mallet would probably be my cutie mark. So I want you to know just how much I am salivating at seeing this new angel in the corner, this beauty that is asking me to play her.

And I do, for over 3 hours. 3 hours of constant air hockey. I'm tired, I'm sweating, but oh my god I am having fun. And then this girl approaches, and asks if we'll be done any time soon. I realize I've been hogging it and tell her I'll let them play, but she wants to play me. This is odd, but sure.

So I'll admit, I lost. She cheated by blocking with her palm and arm (Kinda hard to get it in if your flesh bits are blocking the goal post!), but her offense was amazing. Granted I was losing steam and was sweating all over the table, and 2 pounds of yogurt didn't help much, but my god she had some reflexes and was able to keep up with me on a lot. She beat me twice, I beat her twice. Would have won all of them if it wasn't for the arm thing, but I wasn't going to call her on it. I mean, she was cute. Way cute. I'll let it slide.

I really don't know where I'm going with this, I'm having alcohol withdrawals I think. I told myself I need to train, work out, and get better because apparently my hubris has been my undoing. So, no alcohol until then. Which I'll probably give in and start drinking again tomorrow because I have the discipline of a heroin addict. But still, I must be the best, no question about it!

So what are some things that you feel you are incredibly good at? Doesn't have to be in a competitive sense, but something you feel like you are a well versed expert in the field of? Have any cool or crazy stories about them?

[Den]

In the last few costume contests I've entered, I've impressed the judges to the point that they wished they had more awards to give out... 's kind of a nice feeling knowing that I'm getting noticed for my giant robot costumes (that is, costumes of giant robots, not GIANT robot costumes...). I've only been building robot costumes for about four years now...

[CupcakeDolly]

Originally Posted by Salone

So what are some things that you feel you are incredibly good at? Doesn't have to be in a competitive sense, but something you feel like you are a well versed expert in the field of? Have any cool or crazy stories about them?

Random stupid facts about Japanese culture, learned through anime. I'm not proud of this gift. I only use it for good.

Also, did you get the girl's phone number?

[Salone]

Originally Posted by CupcakeDolly

Also, did you get the girl's phone number?

Yes actually, although I doubt it'll become anything more than air hockey rivals. I mean it could, who knows? Like dating is cool and all, but air hockey is life here. Pucks before, er...well never mind.

[CupcakeDolly]

<_<

Okay, well, at least I don't have to come over there and start smacking you around.

[Lawtan]

The urge to rhyme nonsensically rises. Well, nonsensically in that "make anything into a One eyed, one horned giant purple people eater" way.

[Salone]

Tonight's Drink: Washington Apple

The only thing she'll be eating is her words when she sees that no matter how she cheats, I will still be the victor!

And yeah, we've been kinda talking back and forth. But anyway! So I'm dealing with a lazy coworker who I am picking up the slack for. They don't like me because I was hired on for the full time position they were vying for, but they have a long history of not doing the very little actual work my position does. Tell me about your peeps. You ever have that one lazy ass coworker? What did they do or not do?