Sections under the Mental Health Act

Age at interview: 42 Sex: Female Age at diagnosis: 25 Background: Active service user; single. Ethnic background/nationality: Black-Caribbean (British born)

Yeah well it's very boring, you sort of you know, you sort of sit around. While, and just sort of occupy yourself, reading, telly, I mean not reading because your concentration has gone but I just, in those days I smoked cigarettes so you just sit around smoking cigarettes, talking to people if you can talk. But I'd be mainly listening to my voices, just wandering around listening to the voices. And then at night, you get fed, three meals a day, and you watch television and take your medication. That's basically all it was. As time has gone on it's got a bit better. Recently not the last time I was in hospital but the time before then they started taking me out on trips you know, which are very beneficial. I did like the trips and the fresh air and everything and the little journey in town, that was very good. So you know, that was quite, quite healing, quite healing. but generally you sort of, and oh yeah and I went to a few art groups as well' but never really took to the art groups, couldn't see how you know, how, unless you know, I know some psychologists read art but you know, it didn't really help me much, the painting and things like that it didn't, and drawing it didn't really help me much.

But yeah I've done art groups, I've gone on trips. Oh yeah they had video, they had video or sort of video sessions sometimes like they'd get a video or what would be a DVD now and you know, the patients would, us patients would sit down and watch a popular movie or something like that which would be good, it would be interesting you know, that would be good. games, so sometimes there would be games to play like I didn't play any games but some of the patients would play, other patients would play chess or draughts together, and at one point in the hospital they had pool so that was very good you know, and the staff would sometimes, the nurses would sometimes play pool with you. and one occasion a nurse actually helped me and did my hair and you know, told me to get in the shower because personal hygiene is something that suffers for me when I'm ill' So you know, that, that you know, that, that's generally all you do but really it's, a lot of the time is just sort of like you finding things that will pass the time till, you know, you get better. And there is a difference, I mean the voices stop, I start to think clearly again. They don't go away completely but they become less forceful and less, less prominent, less loud and you know, I start to take an interest in my appearance again. Yeah.