r/nosleep | Reddit Horror Stories • Collection

I started working at a mental hospital and it is driving me insane

In order to give you some context, I'm a 22 year old female. I'm currently taking my masters degree in clinical psychology and I'm doing an internship in one of the most popular psychiatric hospitals in my country. Because I love working with children, I applied to the pedopsychiatric ward.

When I first started my internship, the director of the hospital showed me where I would be working, and where the kids stay while they are hospitalized. The psychology offices weren't like the ones I was used to. They were very small and had this huge metal doors with a tiny window on top. It looked like a prison cell.

When I got to the hospitalization place... That office seemed like a piece of cake. I mean, don't get me wrong, they are not in bad conditions or anything like that, but the vibe there is just.... Off. They sleep in this small bedrooms and they usually share them with one or two kids.

When I entered the living room the kids that were hospitalized were doing an activity with one of the nurses, but once I got in they all stopped and stared at me. That's when I understood what I would be dealing with. There were 3 girls (around 13 years old) with anorexia and they were so thin that I felt sick just by looking at them. I could literally wrap my hand around her legs.

One of the boys had his wrists all cut. Two boys were psychotic and they were just in their own world, looking terrified at the sketches that the kids were making. Suddenly, one of them got up and turned up the TV volume. That's when the director told me - "he's hearing voices again. That's what he does when he hears them. It's his way of shutting them up." I remember getting chills down my spine.

There was this other girl, let's call her Alexia for the sake of it. She was separated from the group and seemed pretty normal, so I asked the director what was wrong with her.

"Mental and sexual abuse" - he said. "It has been incredibly hard talking to her. Every time we try to speak to her, she gets into this horrible mutism. Sometimes she's in pain and doesn't even tell us. Last night she had a horrible stomach ache, and wouldn't stop crying, but never said a word to the nurses. It was a nightmare trying to figure out what was wrong with her."

I looked at her for a while. She was reading a book and giggling a bit, from time to time. "That's another thing we don't understand. This laughs and giggles out of nowhere. We're starting to suspect she was some type of psychotic disorder." - the director added. I felt so sad for her. For all of those kids. It wasn't their fault. Almost all of them had a terrible childhood, filled with neglect and abuse.

We continued our tour and that's when I saw a dark empty room, with nothing besides a mattress on the floor. And did I forget to mention the door? It was exactly the same as the ones in the offices. But this one had lots and lots of locks.

"This is the seclusion. Sometimes... This kids are harmful. Not only to other people, but to themselves, as well. They're medicated but things can get out of hand and they lose control. This is our last resort, but it's needed, from time to time." - the director told me, with a sad look in his eyes.

I took a quick glimpse at the room one last time. It was so dark... So lonely. I started feeling overwhelmed with sadness. How could anyone be locked in here? I tried to ignore my thoughts and proceed the tour.

The rest of the rooms were pretty normal. They have a kitchen, some bathrooms and a beautiful garden (although it's fenced all the way up, it was big and had a lot of flowers).