I Have Been to a Mental Hospital

Last year I had a psychotic episode. I was put in a hospital for five months. Now I'm back at university and working towards a career in development aid and poverty alleviation. Nothing prepared me for what happened but it's made me more resilient. I'm so fortunate to have made it out the other side. Being in a mental hospital is very depressing. I felt like it would never end, I wasn't allowed to leave. This was in Switzerland and believe it or not their institutions are terrible. The way people are treated isn't right. It may seem necessary at first but five months is too much. I know someone who was put in a high security hospital for six months because he was shouting in Italian in his apartment. Hopefully things will evolve.