I thought I was a normal kid when I was young. I played outside, had a few friends, went to school like everybody else. This all changed when I was about six years old. I was labeled, medicated, and then institutionalized by the time I was nine year...
I think this is where the stigma stuck with me. I was not a "normal" kid like all of the other kids. I have been placed in a prison and isolated from the rest of what was my small world. I really didn't know what to make of it. I had my own room and a staff member assigned to me. I had to take medication out of one of those flimsy, round paper like cups every day, usually twice a day. When the stimulant kicked in I would hyper focus on one thing for hours. When it wore off I sometimes ended up being dragged into the padded room, kicking and screaming. My feelings seemed to always be changing.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
One memory I have of this place was hyper focusing on playing the card game solitaire. I was basically high and would play the game for half an hour in my room, alone. And the cycle would repeat daily during the week. If I had good behavior I was allowed "Home Visits" on the weekends. Another found memory was crying to my mom on Sunday's, so sad because I had to go back to my other home, the hospital. I think this was the first time I had ever experienced such a deep sadness in my soul, and I was only 9 years old.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
