First Person: 'i Was Locked Up In A Thai Hospital'

[churchill]

I was 19 years old when I set off for India. I'd just finished my A-levels, was at a loose end, and thought if I went travelling for a year then by the time I came back, I'd know what I wanted to do with my life. My friend and I booked a trip to India, Singapore, Thailand, Australia and Fiji. I was streetwise in England, and thought it would get me around the world. It was completely naïve; I didn't know anything. India was tough, but it taught me that so many of the things we obsess over in the UK just don't figure there because there are so many bigger problems.

By the time we hit Bangkok I was smoking loads of weed and started to lose myself, mentally. I missed India; there, at least, the suffering was open, but in Thailand it was all hidden. I was really upset by the sex tourism and felt like no-one wanted to see the exploitation behind the smiles. We were meeting horrible skinheads and seeing fights and I started to get really depressed. Soon my friend and I fell out. I felt she was just jollying along, not seeing things for what they really were. I was feeling lost; I had no plans and nothing to do, and the more lost I felt, the more dope I smoked.

Soon we parted ways. I headed south and met an older English woman from London who was coming off heroin. She had pharmaceuticals to dull the pain, and being young and stupid, I took the things she was taking. By the time I had been reunited with my friend on Koh Panang, I was off my head. I used to go down to the beach and watch the clouds exploding from the sea, talking manically to my mum and sister in England across the water. I couldn't sleep, my head was rushing at 100 miles an hour. If anyone told me to calm down, I thought they were just sucking out my energy.

It sounds totally bizarre when I say it now, but I started taking my clothes off in front of people, to prove that I was still a child. I'd do a sort of war dance, naked; it was utterly crazy. I did this on the beach and a group of people nearby grabbed me. I thought they were going to throw me in the sea, but they bundled me into the back of a truck like a kicking animal, and drove me to a hospital on the island, which was just a small hut. The nurses there tied me to a bed with T-shirts and injected me with a tranquilliser. Soon, I was out cold.

When I came round my mum was there, and she took me to a private hospital in Bangkok. I thought I had all these really important messages to give and kept rambling, but the drugs I'd been prescribed quickly wore me down. When I arrived I was given a neon-coloured pill, and within 20 minutes I was shuffling and dribbling. A week later, I was flown back to Britain. There, I was sectioned. I'd somehow lost the mental filter people have that stops you saying certain things, and didn't know when to stop. I was over-wrought. Eventually I was discharged, but they kept me on heavy drugs. I knew that drugs had triggered this problem and couldn't understand why they thought more drugs would solve them.

The moment I decided to stop taking the pills, I felt better. The realisation of how I'd behaved was devastating and for ages I didn't want to see anyone, I was so ashamed of what I'd done. Luckily, my mum is amazing and took me for progressive counselling, which teaches coping strategies. These were utterly liberating. I realised that you need a strong body to support your mind. I also realised that you need to do things, to have an aim in life. I started voluntary work, enrolled in courses, joined local clubs to keep busy. Since then, I've trained as a care worker and worked in psychiatric wards. I wouldn't take back a moment of that crazy journey; now I have learned things that help me to help others. It was the best insight I could have had.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-...al-1780660.html

[G54]

Sounds like she deserved to be locked up too. Mostly self inflicted. Hope she does not look for sympathy.

Street wise in England makes you ready to take on the worlds troubles? Now she knows better.

So upset at the suffering and exploitation behind the Thai sex trade? And many other comments she makes. Ahhh, they young think they know it all......

[toptuan]

Thanks for sharing this vivid, emotionally-charged story. It has a lot of lessons for life on a lot of different levels.

Appreciatively,

Toptuan

[Geekfreaklover]

An interesting story. I don't see how it reflects badly on Thailand apart what appears to be the headline. At least she manged to get taken home and recieve help. Many people suffering from mental health problems are still stuck in Thailand.

Edited September 5, 2009 by Geekfreaklover

[onnut]

I reckon she had mental health problems before she traveled but didnt realise at the time. she is lucky that someone called her mother and she came out to help her.

[geriatrickid]

I see this as a positive story from the point that at least the locals had the sense to take the person to a place better suited to deal with someone that was obviously mentally unstable. In many places such a person would just get beaten up or ignored or left to their own devices to wander off to a certain death in the ocean or in traffic. Who knows if the prescribed drugs were appropriate since we don't have the medical assessments or another perspective to read.

What is not stated is that there most likely was an underlying mental health issue that worsened once this person started taking "pharmaceuticals". That has nothing to do with Thailand. Messed up people tend to hang around with other messed up people which only makes matters worse. In this case at least mumsie was there to pick up the pieces. This person was lucky.

[Birdman]

Deep reality started with that trip, which she, as a person, who has not the slightest idea of the prostitute scene here, gave her a bad ride. Therefore I wouldn't judge her that harsh.

Other posters here, who judged her merciless already, would not have done that, if she, instead of pointing fingers at the easy money for love scene, would get wet horny on that trip.

[harrry]

I see this as a positive story from the point that at least the locals had the sense to take the person to a place better suited to deal with someone that was obviously mentally unstable.

The treatment of people with mental illnesses is surprisingly good here. Overmedication is common but people are treated well considering the lack of resources.

[dkstoney]

She's a loony bird. What color is neon?

[Birdman]

No, she was heavily stoned only. Of course all you "normal" folks think, that she was mentally sick. Looks like we are back in the early days.

[Carmine6]

Probably saved her life.

[wasabi]

What a chump.

[Briggsy]

In modern-day speak, I would have to say she made some "extremely bad choices" [read: stupid decisions] and the consequences were not as serious as they might have been.

Who paid for her trip in the first place?; who paid her hospital bill in Thailand?; who paid for her flight home?; Why, Mummy, of course.

[WaiWai]

In modern-day speak, I would have to say she made some "extremely bad choices"

Poor life decisions .

All the same, she has apparently learnt from the experience and is now on track. Good for her.

Probably not too uncommon a story (now or previously), though the variations might not always be or have been quite so sensational.

[sibeymai]

Similar to what a surprising number of people may have experienced during the 60s and 70s. Only then, the consequences weren't as dire as now.

Compared to those who come to Asia later in life and "loose it" I think this person is better off to have it happen at a younger age when recovery can be effective. Those who are later in life are usually not so fortunate.