Niamh
Content Warning: These stories are about violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation and may include references to suicide or self-harming behaviours. They may contain graphic descriptions and strong language and may be distressing. Some narratives may be about First Nations people who have passed away. If you need support, please see Contact & support.
‘Perhaps it’s time to ask ourselves at what cost do we pathologise diversity instead of embracing it.’
Niamh, late 40s, lives with psychosocial disability and works in the disability sector.
As a child she was sexually abused and, in her teens, her best friend died.
Niamh started to see a psychiatrist who didn’t believe she was ‘processing her grief fast enough’ and prescribed antidepressants.
She began experiencing severe depression and suicidal ideation. The psychiatrist diagnosed her as bipolar and gave her antipsychotic medication.
Niamh wanted a second diagnosis, but because she lived in a rural area she could only see her psychiatrist’s associate who supported the bipolar diagnosis.
Some years later, following many medication changes and dosage increases, Niamh went to see a new psychiatrist in the city.
After looking at her trauma history, the new psychiatrist didn’t agree she was bipolar. He believed she had cyclical depression and many of her symptoms were side effects of the medication.
He asked Niamh if she would like the diagnosis removed from her health records.
‘I looked at him in disbelief and asked if that was even possible. It was and he did. That man, that professional gave me an incomprehensible gift that day.’
Niamh came to realise that her grief and trauma had been pathologised.
Around this time Niamh, working for a group home, met Jason who had intellectual and psychosocial disability.
Niamh discovered that a few years earlier Jason been living in supported accommodation with a number of housemates including his fiancé.
At some point the disability provider restructured and moved the residents into different homes.
‘[Jason] was separated from his fiancé without understanding what had happened or why their home didn’t exist anymore. He had no means of contacting his fiancé or rekindling their relationship. An administrative decision had been made that dramatically impacted [Jason] and his fiancé and they had no power or agency in that decision.’
After the move, Jason had an ‘episode of psychosis where he became completely catatonic’.
Although he was a young man the provider moved him to an aged care facility.
After some time, he moved to the home where Niamh was working.
Niamh still finds it hard to comprehend what happened to Jason and his fiancé and friends.
Over time Jason has become less institutionalised and has ‘regained his sense of agency’.
‘I think that grief is being pathologised instead of honoured in our society, and I wonder how many people are prescribed medications that send them into a mental health decline and that the side effects themselves are taken as evidence of mental illness … I wonder how many people like [Jason] end up in acute mental health crises because decisions have been made about them without them, leading to displacement and destruction of treasured relationships.’
Disclaimer: This is the story of a person who shared their personal experience with the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability through a submission or private session. The names in this story are pseudonyms. The person who shared this experience was not a witness and their account is not evidence. They did not take an oath or affirmation before providing the story. Nothing in this story constitutes a finding of the Royal Commission. Any views expressed are those of the person who shared their experience, not of the Royal Commission.