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JEWELRY BOXES

Kelli Callis

Wanda Jean's Jewelry, cared for by Catie

JEWELRY BOXES 2

kELLI V. Sisi M. Tamra Lucid Michelle T.

JEWELRY BOXES

PLEASANT GEHMAN/PRINCESS FARHANA MARGARET JOY VALERIE KELLY GINA ABELKOP MISS G ROBIN CRANE

Addendum to "My Outpatient Stay at a Mental Hospital"

I feel bad about my last post, and it seems sneaky and dishonest to just delete it, so I wanted to write about it instead.   I feel bad using that picture of poor Frances Farmer, who was such a victim of a society that couldn’t stand a wild woman and of the sexist side of psychiatry, where a women’s rights can be signed away when she’s deemed incompetent, and a lobotomy is used for treatment.      I also feel bad using Kimye Dawson’s lyrics from her beautiful song, "hold my hand," about a child in a bad situation who doesn’t receive any help because the welfare worker doesn’t give a shit.   In comparison to either of these situations, my writing about my experience in a fancy rehab and mental health facility probably sounded like a “white girl problem,” a term I generally object to (since it’s a derogatory term, and I know plenty of white girls with some pretty horrible problems), but in this case, I do think my recollections of this time of my life wer...

My Outpatient Stay at a Mental Hospital

frances farmer arrest For 3 weeks, I was an outpatient at the rehab and mental health facility Las Encinas.  In some ways, I’d always assumed I would end up here.  I remember me and my mom going to visit a family friend there once when I was a kid, and my mom half-joking about wishing her Medi-Cal benefits were accepted there.  She wasn't interested in sobriety at that time and wasn't in the middle of one of her existential breakdowns, so I believe she really wanted to be there like being on vacation; the grounds were beautiful and you got 3 square meals a day and were surrounded by interesting fuck ups.  We visited her friend.  He was detoxing from crack and seemed fragile but also fortified by the crisp eucalyptus-smelling air there and relieved to be taken care of by professionals.   I had heart surgery when I was in my early twenties, and dumped by a live-in boyfriend shortly afterwards.  I was single and very ready to mingle so ...