I arrive at Huntercombe Hospital, shaking worrying I might get something chucked at me. I enter and there are 17 girls aged between 12-17 and they are all welcoming. We sit down in community group and I get introduced to them all. I start worrying that maybe all this is an act and there is no such thing as people calmly painting canvases to decorate the walls and playing mario cart on the wii. During my first evening in the mental hospital I was sat crying down the phone to my parents and a patient comes and hugs me. I never thought a patient in a mental hospital would be kind enough to hug me. From that moment I knew that maybe the mental hospital was not filled with the crazy people which has derived from all the stereotypes. 

I spent 4 months at the mental hospital and everyday I received immense kindness and support from all the "mentally ill crazy people." I was placed on the eating disorders unit to recover from anorexia, however I did often have social interaction with the generalised mental health unit in the hospital too. I never thought I would be able to make friends with people in the hospital, however to date they are some of my closest friends. We all have a group chat on instagram where we all talk about how well we are doing and that there is life outside the hospital. I also never thought I would be arranging sleepovers and meeting up with the crazy people but that is happening too. I have received handwritten letters under my hospital bedroom doorstep from the "mental patients" who have self harm scars all up their arms and across their legs, I have received so much love and positivity quotes from people who cannot feed themselves. I have laughed and had dance parties with people who like me are sectioned under the mental health act because they cannot take care of themselves. I have gone on outings with people who have to take mediation so their mental health conditions do not interfere with their levels of coping. I have had people write messages on the mirror including the words "your beautiful" "you have the most amazing body" from the people who cannot even think that those words associated with themselves in anyway. I have had the most beautiful happiest conversations with the people who saw people who weren't there to others.

I learnt a lot from the mental hospital. I learnt more than how to recover from anorexia, I learnt that mentally ill people care so much for others, I had people stay up with me to help me stop crying about how much I missed my family, I had other patients tutor me in my studies when i was too sad to even open a textbook, I had patients crochet me a blanket and hold my hand and wipe my tears through meals times. I met the most amazing people in the mental hospital. People with mental health conditions are not scary, they are in fact the kindest people I know. And that is one thing I wish I knew about people who suffer from mental health disorders. 

To my beautiful Kennet girlies, I love you so much thank you so much for helping me in my stages of recovery that I had to complete in kennet. I will be forever grateful. I love you so much. Keep fighting, stay positive.

Rosie