My name is Zoe. I am 20 years old and I live in England. As a teenager I was detained (sometimes called ‘sectioned’) twice under my country’s Mental Health Act (MHA). I even spent my 17th birthday in hospital. It was a very distressing time. I don’t remember all of it but what I do recall still upsets me. Thinking about it makes me cry. I’m crying now as I type.
Thankfully I haven’t needed another admission since then, but I am still very affected by my disabilities. You might be looking at my photograph and asking yourself, ‘What disability?’ It’s called Asperger Syndrome, which is an Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD). I also have bipolar mood disorder, another life-long condition. Disabilities like mine, which are not obvious at first glance, are called ‘hidden disabilities’. If you met me, you wouldn’t notice anything was amiss - not at first anyway. Yet my conditions do affect just about every part of my life.
Me (and my mum) telling mental healthcare workers about my experiences in hospital
I am trying to find my way in the world and this includes having a zero-hours job as Integritas’ autism and disabilities advocate (ADA). It helps that my mum is the chief medical officer and my dad is on the board, so they are around to help me when I need their support with this work. I am so lucky in this regard. Most young people with autism are completely out of employment, yet alone those who have another mental health challenge like my bipolar mood disorder.
In addition to their Integritas roles, both my parents are jobbing English prison doctors, and my mum has a special interest in mental health. So I’m quite used to hearing talk about the problems of caring for detained patients who have mental health issues. But my own lived experience of having been detained in hospital has given me personal insight into what needs to change for autistic people held in hospitals, prisons and other types of secure environment around the world.
And so throughout 2022 I’m going to be exploring various aspects of detention that affect detainees with ASD who may also have additional mental health needs. My intention is to help raise awareness and advocate for positive change. I do hope that you read my series and tell other people about it.
Until later this month…
Miss Zoe Pickering
PS If you’d like to support my work on this series, please donate to our Winter Appeal.