tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3453833569907892604.post908587480660642150..comments2023-06-28T22:22:03.429+01:00Comments on Is Anyone There?: Betty's Story.Anne Macklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04635857544175826537noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3453833569907892604.post-59651959283382502202012-10-23T10:30:21.701+01:002012-10-23T10:30:21.701+01:00Yes Talli she was so much fun to work with,maybe t...Yes Talli she was so much fun to work with,maybe today it wouldn't have been such a secret.Cassam101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3453833569907892604.post-10578262828701478532012-10-23T10:29:22.253+01:002012-10-23T10:29:22.253+01:00That's what I was like Maria I was eighteen an...That's what I was like Maria I was eighteen and had never been near a hospital like that before. I think some people are still scared of mental illness it probably has to touch your life before you understand.Cassam101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3453833569907892604.post-82885972940279853722012-10-20T11:17:57.326+01:002012-10-20T11:17:57.326+01:00What a sad story. Betty sounds like a wonderful wo...What a sad story. Betty sounds like a wonderful woman - I wonder if she would have any better treatment today. I'd like to hope so.Talli Rolandhttp://www.facebook.com/tallirolandnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3453833569907892604.post-49456419476184170902012-10-19T15:33:10.138+01:002012-10-19T15:33:10.138+01:00How very sad...I can identify with this story as I...How very sad...I can identify with this story as I have also visited a work friend in hospital. I was sixteen at the time, things were different, and I was shocked when I saw the place for the first time.<br /><br /><br />I wanted to break her out, however, with hindsight now, I understand why people have to be kept safe, and locked up. I still don't like the idea though...<br /><br /><br />My friend has suffered on and off with mental illness for the last thirty five years. Things have improved in the hospitals, but I'm not sure peoples attitudes have...Maria Smithhttp://twitter.com/mariaAsmithnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3453833569907892604.post-67517235941991536042012-10-17T01:04:11.809+01:002012-10-17T01:04:11.809+01:00Yes it was awful then Kate. I magine being put awa...Yes it was awful then Kate. I magine being put away for all those years for being pregnant. We too have an institution like that not so far from here and when it closed down all the stories came out about people who had been there for thirty and forty years and nothing wrong with them.Cassam101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3453833569907892604.post-11233290892545530242012-10-17T01:00:21.171+01:002012-10-17T01:00:21.171+01:00Yes me too.Yes me too.Cassam101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3453833569907892604.post-61525595010463573802012-10-15T15:09:04.025+01:002012-10-15T15:09:04.025+01:00Oh a long comment but I forgot to say poor Betty, ...Oh a long comment but I forgot to say poor Betty, I hope you found some happiness in her lifeKate Rigbyhttp://twitter.com/mrsdiggerhoundnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3453833569907892604.post-66008611801836676602012-10-15T15:07:27.750+01:002012-10-15T15:07:27.750+01:00Anne, a sad post but a great one to share. Mental ...Anne, a sad post but a great one to share. Mental illness is such a sad an awful thing. Working in a gp surgery I have become much more aware of how many people suffer with depression and many other types of mental health problems. They range from teenagers through to elderly and probably much younger. If you do think how people were treated years ago, it wouldn't of been very nice and many people with depression etc would have been put into what was then asylums. I can imagine it was a very scary place when you visited. There is the Cane Hill mental asylum in Coulsdon near where I live and although it is in large grounds and you can't see the actual building (which is now closed down) just the gates and enterance seem so opposing and intimidating. As Catherine says people who did not deserve to or belong in institutions were stuck in these places. When I was a student and worked in a learning disability home, there was one lady in her 60's who was in there from a young girl because she was epileptic, through years of institution she had developed other problems but today she would have led a normal life, also working on a mental health ward there was a lady there from her teenage years who fell pregnant when she was unwed and had been in institutions all her life. Heart breakingKate Rigbyhttp://twitter.com/mrsdiggerhoundnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3453833569907892604.post-33582353103249385292012-10-15T12:28:36.022+01:002012-10-15T12:28:36.022+01:00Thanks for your input Catherine.Yes lets hope it i...Thanks for your input Catherine.Yes lets hope it is a lot better today. Betty would be in her late seventies now and I do hope the rest of her life since I last saw her has been happy.Cassam101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3453833569907892604.post-21341737618161345632012-10-15T12:26:49.101+01:002012-10-15T12:26:49.101+01:00JoJo ,I am so sorry for your recent loss. It must ...JoJo ,I am so sorry for your recent loss. It must havew been very hard to see someone you loved spiral into those depths. Betty had a lovely family and I'm sure she was fine. Her children will be married with families now and they're surname was very common,I would hate to find out that she is no longer here.Cassam101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3453833569907892604.post-5712240975146952292012-10-14T21:14:00.396+01:002012-10-14T21:14:00.396+01:00Poor Betty :( I think public and medical perceptio...Poor Betty :( I think public and medical perception of mental health was so off the mark back then. My old flatmate studied counselling last year and was shown video footage of mental institutions from the 60's where the patients were in there for things like unwed pregnancy and learning difficulties etc! I'm so glad there's a better view of it these days, as mental illness probably effects us all to some degree. I do hope Betty's OK and getting the correct help. I also send my condolences to JoJo who commented below; what a tragedy.Catherine Noblehttp://twitter.com/Catherine_Noblenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3453833569907892604.post-83567326014822316892012-10-14T20:15:49.090+01:002012-10-14T20:15:49.090+01:00That poor woman. I lived with a bipolar, depresse...That poor woman. I lived with a bipolar, depressed, agoraphobic husband for years. He was on medication on which he became dependent. Counseling didn't seem to help. So he self medicated with alcohol and by the time I could no longer cope with my life with him, he was hearing voices and unable to follow the plot of TV shows we'd seen dozens of times. His liver was shot and he died in Sept. It's not easy to watch someone descend into that dark place. I've been there myself. I hope Betty found peace in her later years. Who knows maybe someday you will find her! She will be delighted I'm sure. Did you know what her children's names were? That might be a way to locate her if you are so inclined.JoJonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3453833569907892604.post-25423725538001338832012-10-14T18:06:29.915+01:002012-10-14T18:06:29.915+01:00Yes it was sad,but we did meet a few times after I...Yes it was sad,but we did meet a few times after I left work. I've not thought about her for a long time,the name just popped into my head. I've tried on facebook but she would be in her late seventies by now I think.Her surname is so common I would never find her.Cassam101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3453833569907892604.post-61497975705335773572012-10-14T18:03:04.789+01:002012-10-14T18:03:04.789+01:00Thanks Carol,Yes its good that more people can be ...Thanks Carol,Yes its good that more people can be upfront about their illness it must make it easier to live with but sadly some still fear for their jobs.Cassam101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3453833569907892604.post-9177301915473103462012-10-14T17:34:09.569+01:002012-10-14T17:34:09.569+01:00That's such a sad story. Thankfully they have,...That's such a sad story. Thankfully they have, I think, stopped giving Electric Shock treatment. What a barbaric thing to do. I hope that it was as simple as her moving house. Maybe she's reading this now and will get in touch. I suppose that's unlikely but I hope she's well and happy somewhere.Rosalind Adamnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3453833569907892604.post-62801408554613379912012-10-14T17:24:35.404+01:002012-10-14T17:24:35.404+01:00A very moving story, and very sensitively told. I ...A very moving story, and very sensitively told. I am always up front about my constant battle to stay on the right side of sanity! Friends who know me well recognise when things are veering off course and will step in. So sad to think how lonely and isolated Betty must have felt. Yes, things have changed - and also, I think we (the other minded) have learned to live with and accept who we are. After all, so much art, music and writing was and is created by people who are edged slightly off the sanity scale.carol hedgesnoreply@blogger.com