The unfashionable truth about life inside a psych ward

As a teenager Natalie Carmichael was admitted to a psychiatric ward. A decade later she looks back on that time with fondness

*Natalie Carmichael won the inaugural Things Worth Knowing writing competition with this entry and this is an edited version of her submission for which she was paid. I will be announcing a new competition for those looking to get published in 2025.

Doctor Wass blinks at me over a sheet of paper. I mutter something and smile, but it doesn’t reach my eye…