I found out that a lot of the borderline women in the hospital are addicted to the sedative drug they are injected with upon acting up. It's no surprise, then, to hear that many do crazy things simply to be poked by their beloved shot. And there's no limit to what some will do to feed their desire--- oh no. A psych tech told me about a woman who did everything in her power yesterday to be sedated with no luck. Finally, she felt it necessary to walk around absolutely and entirely naked. She did so, but still was not reinforced.
"If we just keep giving her what she wants," the psych tech began, "we're only feeding into her addiction. That's why we chose to ignore her antics and find alternate ways of keeping her under control. Other units in this hospital wouldn't do that. They'd choose to make their jobs easy by submitting to the patient's addictions, and that's not productive at all." I nodded, and he continued, "And there is no stopping someone when they're out to feed their addiction. Things will be swallowed, body parts will be cut, all in the name of their lovely sedative."
His words were a haunting reminder that while treatment is sought, treatment itself can become problematic. Perhaps sedating people who are out of control is understandable in very specific situations, but it should be a practice reserved only when absolutely necessary, given its addictive nature. I'm glad that at least some staff realize this, and hope it's a practice under close supervision and scrutiny.
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