I'm watching the patients on the adolescent psych ward and I'm thinking: these kids are amazing. I don't know what it is, but I feel so entranced just sitting there watching them interact. Aren't adolescents the ones who are rebellious, have identity crises, mood swings, all that stuff...? I look at these kids and I see them as being so free. They don't seem self conscious. To me they look care free. I envy them! What's going on here? Why are they all trying to kill themselves? I want to grab them and make them see what I see. Why do all of the girls on the unit cut themselves? Their arms, their NECKS?? I don't get it but they aaaaaall do it and they are always girls.
Aside from the suicide attempts and self-mutilation (you gotta draw the line somewhere...) how much of this stuff is mental illness and how much of it is part of being a teenager? These kids are put on a LOT of medication, and I'm not saying that's a bad thing because why should people suffer if they don't need to, but what the heck is going on here?
The boys are mostly dealing with anger or autism or behavioral issues. There were only 2 boys on the unit today out of probably 15 kids. My favorite quote of the day came from one of them though: (addressing the female patients) "I can read your minds and I know that you all want to have sex with me."
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