How can they just take you away?

On Thanksgiving, I felt pretty low. To give some context, two dasy before, I had been in a car accident twice in one day! Seriously injured from both crashes.

Then on Friday at 1:30 PM, my doorbell rang. It was six people telling me they needed to take me to the hospital for my injuries. I went along with them, but ended up at this mental health lockdown place instead. Talk about a surprise-and not in a good way! I wasn't suicidal or anything like that. So I spent Thanksgiving locked in a room with just a bed and some blankets-no Chapstick, nothing.

It got worse when they moved me upstairs. No personal items allowed-not even my little chapstick for my chapped lips. They wouldn't let me call anyone or use my phone, so I was clueless about how long they'd kepe me there.

Finally, on the second day, a psychiatrist came to see me. When he asked why I was there, I said, "You admitted me, you tell me!" After checking my file, he agreed I didn't need to be there and released me.

I had another episode way back in 2000 when they put me in a psychiatric ward, but that one wasn't nearly as bad. This time, after getting some meds, I did a phone interview and landed the job!

Man, this whole thing shook me up so much. I still have PTSD from it. My therapist was shocked by what happened.

I'm not judging anyone who needs help in these placs or saying anything negative about them-I know they can be crucial. But being lied to and taken somewhere without my conent-that's just scary stuff with no real recourse.

It's a surreal feeling knowing that something like this can happen so easily, and there's nothing you can really do about it afterward.