Hello folks ..
It's been a while ,not a very long one ,but ,well,i certainly hope that some body missed me out there:)
3 weeks ago ,I started a 2 months training course in psychiatry. I have to get a paper declares that Had at least 2 months of trainig in psychiatry..
Let's face ,I HATE PSYCHIATRY..
It is painful to see human beings lost and weak..Sanity is what holds us in one piece..With out it ,we are no thing more than a vulenerable ,broken souls..
But yet ,it is one of the most important branches in medicine ,I know that..And i do my best to interactand understand since you do have to use some of what you know in psychiatry with virtually every patient..
Benghazi Psychiatric Hospital is a sad place.I believe all psychiatric hospital all over the world are sad places..But you have to respect the people working there .Their patience and dedicaton ,their endless effort to provide a decent service with limited resources they have..
But here I'm not talking about this ,I'm talking about a new department in the hospital ,that is : The Will Addicts Rehabilitation Institute مصحة الإرادة لمعالجة الإدمان ,which was officially opened only two days before i start my course there..
It is an interesting place ,I think it is the first of its kind in Libya..
Before that ,those who wanted to treat themselves from drug abuse had to admit them selves to the psychiatric hospital to get treated..But that caused many problems as mainly the patients there are mentally compromized and not the same as drug abusers.
First of all ,i noticed how interesting the people inside..
Most of them admit them selves ,others were brought by their families after being persuaded that they do have a problem ..
Some are alcoholics ,Heroin abusers ,Cocaine abusers and cannabis (hashish). It depends on their financial and social status..
Some (very few) abuses some over the counter drugs like those used in treating flu or some neurological problems or even sleeping pills.
What intrests me the most is what is the motivation of those people to admit themselves? Admission is totally optional ,that means they must WANT to be admitted ,not FORCED by family or law..So i started to categorize them:
Some Simply checked themselves in because family asked them to ,out of respect to their parents or brothers or sisters.
Some had serious problems with law enforcement authorities ,and PRETENDING the intent to be clear was his only way out ,usually those got caught with some nasty staff and kicked out ,and some times they even have to deal again with the long arm of the law if they broke some of the institute strict regulations.
Unfortunately ,some thought of the place as a new market for their suspicious products.. Those got caught and law enforcement personnel took good care of them..
Even though we are more than 1000 km from Tripoli ,the libyan capital, most of the admissions are from there ,a little more than half of them. Most of those are Heroin abusers ,sadly a few are either HIV or HCV positive because of sharing needles with others..
The institute ,properly ,is named The Will Addicts Rehabilitation Institute, because it's all about the will of these people to get better..
It is an interesting place ,especially for those who likes to watch and understand some aspects of human nature..
Till next time
Best Regards
Benghazi Citizen