Anarchism

Pictures in this post are courtesy of Kelly.

Last Thursday The Anarchist went to…

7.5 mile.

OMFG! WHAT HAPPENED TO THE ANARCHIST??

To visit la. With the school’s counselling club. What were you thinking. Lol.

You can’t make any sense out of what they say.

Stay away from them! Don’t get hurt!

They languish in squalid, prison-like wards.

They poke fun at you and laugh like insane. Oh wait they are insane.

They scream and run around wildly all the time.

They pull at their hair and mutilate themselves like you see in movies.

It’s just plain scary!

Okay. Forget what you see in movies. Those above are pure myths, or only partially true. You’ll be surprised by what these people are capable of.

First of all, not all of them speak gibberish or word salads. In actual fact, it’s not always difficult to communicate with them. Perhaps due to lack of control over their vocal production, what they say aren’t always very clear. But if you listen closely you’ll get what they’re saying. Of course they don’t speak perfectly logical things. One of them talked to me about chicken meat, oranges and chinese new year. Lol.

Joon Fui looking blur during the briefing. Good shot, Kel!

Secondly, most of them are very friendly and love shaking hands.

Thirdly, the wards are so damn big and so damn nice all of us thought about the pathetic condition of our classrooms. =.= The wards are divided into male and female acute wards (for newly-admitted patients), long stay wards where some have lived up to 30 years and above, forensic wards and wards for physically ill patients. In front of their quarters are cheery gardens full of bonsais and concrete slab paths for them perfect for strolls. The quarters are equipped with pretty passable beds and well ventilated. Although I admit some of the wards do have a trifle stench of sweat, especially the forensic wars (for criminals). There is an occupational therapy hall where the improved patients are taught to perform simple tasks like weaving, sewing and making handicrafts. Besides, there’s a Snoezelen room (controlled multisensory stimulation room) with lots of cool imported (and very expensive) equipment, or rather, “toys”, to stimulate yet soothe your five senses. I don’t have pics with me as I forgot my camera. The equipment include bunches of colour changing optic fibres, a big “tub” full of small colourful plastic balls like those of a nursery, and a plastic wall decoration containing bubbling water and colour changing lights. Agnes and I actually tried playing in the “tub” >.< You know…one of our crazy childish moments

The colour-changing wall feature in the Snoezelen room.

I got to see the equipment used for treatment, including the notorious Electroconvulsive Treatment (ECT) machine and many more. I took some pics with my phone but too bad it can’t sync with the comp. Waiting for bro to come home and fix. T.T

These are pics taken in the museum, wards and occupational therapy hall.

Suction plant to suck out secretion before the administration of ECT on patients.

Dolls to ward off evil.

Baskets woven by the patients.

Chickens!!!!

The infamous ECT machine. Feared, but effective.

Surgical set.

This is so darn cool.

Huge key for the forensic ward.

Next, they don’t act like what you see in movies. Severely ill patients can’t attack you anyway as they are restrained to their beds to prevent them from harming others. Most of the patients simply turn away if they’re not interested in you or the activity. The rest wave and say hi to you just like any normal person would.

But I did feel a bit sad when I looked at them. One of the patients was a 16-year-old girl. She sustained brain damage due to high fever. When I saw her she was running round innocently, hugging a huge teddy bear, her hair tied in small bunches. My first thought was gosh she’s too young! What on earth did she do to deserve this…

The old schizophrenic patients were really very happy to share stories with us. Of course, none of the tales could be bought. The forensic ward patients told us how they got into trouble. I never knew I could actually encounter a patient who chopped a person into 9 pieces after murdering him. O.o The dangerous criminals are isolated for safety, whereas the rest are free to interact.

In the occupational therapy hall we played musical chair with the long stay patients. The patients were really high when the music was turned on. Some began dancing about and one tried to fly. Serious!

After that we were supposed to dance with the patients for fun. They were really blissful and danced about whereas all of us stayed aside, too self-conscious to join. I slipped away to browse the hand-made items at the back but was pulled back by Png Ning =.=. She literally dragged me in the crowd. Just then a middle-aged woman offered her hands. I didn’t have the heart to decline. It was painfully awkward initially as only 3 or 4 students including were dancing with the patients while the rest of them stared at us. Noticing my ordeal, Kelly and the rest of the scout buddies joined in and soon, almost everyone was in. At the end of the wild card dance we actually felt really happy and satisfied for having brought joy to the patients.

All in all I was lucky to have visited Kota Sentosa. The trip killed lots of myths and perceptions I harboured, thanks to misleading movies and storybooks.What the nurse told us at the beginning of the trip left a deep mark in my mind. She talked about deep-seated social stigma regarding mental illness. No one wants to be sick, especially in the head. But when it happens, everyone should try their best to play a role in their recuperation, especially family and close friends.

People often shun them for fear of being harmed. That’s why I really respect the nurses, doctors and social workers there. They really sacrifice a lot of their personal pleasures for them. Next time you see your neighbour visiting insane asylums, don’t jump to conclusions. They might be just buying barbiturates for insomnia. Lol.

By the way look at my loot what I bought.

Cute stuff made by the patients!

Too small for my cellphone but good for future debate cue cards. ^^

Paper clips, modified from clothes clippers. Cute right? 3 for RM4.

I bought 3. The ones in plastic bags are Png Ning’s.

Simple hand-made card on the right.

I love this the most. Costs RM5. 100% cross stitch. Damn I can’t even sew simple patterns well.

That’s all folks.

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