Man, did I miss home during those 18 days.
Although, bizarrely, I think one of the things that helped me begin to feel better while I was on Stanage was the distance it gave me from my everyday life. While I had been ill I’d really struggled to feel any connection to things that used to mean so much to me, including Tom, our cat Stella, and our lovely little house. I was constantly trying to force ‘normal’ feelings for these things, which left me feeling frustrated, defeated and exhausted.
Being away from home and my life gave me space to just focus on myself, and meant that I wasn’t constantly ‘testing’ out my feelings and thoughts. I think it meant that I took that pressure off myself, and gradually the good feelings started to come back naturally. I also spent a lot of time speaking to support workers, nurses and other patients about my life outside the ward, and I think doing that helped remind me how lucky I was to have such a lovely life to return to, and how it was all still there, just waiting for me to come back.
Unfortunately this meant that I got really homesick at times, and I regularly texted Tom and my mum asking if I could come home yet. Knowing that while I was in my little room on my own in the evenings, Tom and Stella were in our comfy lounge without me made me really sad, but also determined to get home to them. Obviously I’m glad that I listened to the advice and guidance of the professionals and didn’t discharge myself early, but it was incredibly hard.
I remember the first time I went home for the evening. Stella sat in the middle of the rug in the lounge glaring at me, clearly asking where the hell I’d been. I’d missed that haughty look so much, it broke my heart to go back to the ward again at the end of the evening.
By the time I left Stanage, I was desperate to sleep in my own bed, cook and eat a meal with Tom, and cuddle up with him and Stella at night. The homesickness helped me get back in touch with those little things that mean the most to me, and I was ready to return to my life at the end of my hospital stay.
Sarah x
BPD and Me 