This autoethnographic study examines how enforced isolation and long-term segregation in psychiatric hospitals can erode a person’s sense of Self. The author’s lived experience shows that isolation fosters distress and negative emotional connections rather than healing. The paper argues that such practices are harmful, not therapeutic, and calls for rights-based, relational approaches that prioritise human connection and wellbeing.
Disclaimer: discusses harm and trauma.
This autoethnographic study examines how enforced isolation and long-term segregation in psychiatric hospitals can erode a person’s sense of Self. The author’s lived experience shows that isolation fosters distress and negative emotional connections rather than healing. The paper argues that such practices are harmful, not therapeutic, and calls for rights-based, relational approaches that prioritise human connection and wellbeing.
Disclaimer: discusses harm and trauma.
