My week in the psych ward

When I checked myself into a psychiatric emergency room for suicidal thoughts, I didn't expect to spend a week in a mental hospital. Twenty-three years old, I was initially placed in a geriatric mental ward because there was no space for me elsewhere. Later in the week, I got inextricably caught up in some fellow patients' scheme to smoke in a smoking-free hospital. This piece follows my hospitalization and eventual recovery from severe depression.

Narratively is an online magazine devoted to original, in-depth and untold stories. Each week, Narratively explores a different theme and publishes just one story a day. It was one of TIME's 50 Best Websites of 2013.

More from Narratively...

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

• The strange life of a teenage pageant host
• Sean Casey, pet rescuer
• Meet Maria, a third-generation hot-dog vendor