Pickles and Vodka: a Mental Health Podcast · Christina & Lauren

#226 Christina Spent the Weekend in the Psych Ward

·49 min·2 clips

A resident invites Christina to a medical-school panel, and the feedback reaffirms what she wants to do with her life.

1. Episode #226 of Pickles and Vodka: a Mental Health Podcast, recorded Saturday, January 17, covers Christina's four-day stay in a psych ward after being admitted to the ER on January 9. 2. Co-hosts Christina and Lauren talk through their own lived experience of mental health, and the episode opens with Lauren's update before Christina's account. 3. Christina's central point is that she knew she was declining for months and could not act until crisis hit, saying "self-awareness is not the problem." 4. Her admission followed an overdrafted bank account, two panic attacks during fights with her sister, a return to self-harm "for the first time in a while," and heavy Benadryl use as self-medication for anxiety. 5. Her therapist advised her to tell her father; he agreed she needed care, comparing it to "gashing your knee," but Christina and her sister agreed to one more night before she went. 6. Inside, she slept through the first day, was moved from 150 to 300 milligrams of Wellbutrin before admission, started risperidone on day three, and found vegan meals limited to white rice, frozen green beans, and a fruit cup. 7. Her sister visited for the first three days, and Christina contrasts that support with Lauren's story of a friend who showed up immediately when Lauren needed a ride and pet care. 8. On day three a resident invited her to be interviewed in front of a conference table of medical students, and she says the experience was "a real turning point" that reaffirmed her wish to talk publicly about mental health. 9. After discharge she says she feels energized, has gotten rid of her Benadryl stash, and plans to start an intensive outpatient program three days a week, while Lauren describes homework from her therapist to raise the dog issue with her boyfriend. 10. Listeners who follow candid, unscripted mental health conversations between friends will get the most from it.

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