An Asylum Adventure: A Coursera Assignment

來自專欄 Secret Base of Gretta

I was dignosed with bipolar disorder since high school, and had been seeing doctors since then. Usually they just gave me prescriptions to buy those white pills, or when I was getting worse, added up to my dosage. This morning, however, was a different one.

My parents were with me this morning. We came to the hospital together. The outpatient department was crowded as usual. There was no scent of sterilizing fluid which were typical in other hospitals, but this was an asylum. There were no nurses walking around neither.

There was just this huge hall. Dark, noisy, people filled into every corner one could ever make. Countless chairs, those plastic, connected, colorful, and typically Chinese waiting chairs were occupied by people from whom one would never tell the patients out of their companies. Everyone looked so nervous. They were either looking down at the floor or up at the shallow digital screen, on which patients』 waiting numbers and names would appear. There was this emotionless female voice calling people into the hallway where the doctors』 offices were lying aside. Having been called a name, one would have to wait another round, in the hallway, outside the doctor』s door.

My name was called at last, and my parents were left in the hall. The hallway was much brighter. The floor was waxed and air must be cleansed. I waited for the last patient to walk out of my doctor』s room. Around me were other hallway patients, waiting for their doors to open. We were like the rabbits from children』s tale who were standing in front of the doors of fates, except we didn』t have the freedom to choose which door should we open. I realized that everyone here was mentally ill and my interest was aroused.

Next to me was a girl with curly blonde hair, who was constantly talking to herself. 「Doctor is busy,」 I heard her saying, 「I shouldn』t go in there. I should leave. I should not cast trouble to people.」 She just wouldn』t stop and she was really loud. Weird thing was no one seemed to pay attention to her except for me. Across the corridor was a man with a tight gray tie and apparently too loose a suit, who looked tense and terrified. It wasn』t near to cold but he was hugging himself, holding his both arms with the opposite hands. I felt for him. I really did.

What a smell! I nearly yelled out. And I saw a man in the corner, with a sports outfit, who threw on himself. Everybody now was paying attention, looking at his direction. A nurse finally appeared, running toward him. 「Get some cleaning tools!」 She turned back and said to the intern girl at the reception on the entrance of the hallway. 「What』s wrong with you?」 She was irritated, obviously, by this man』s incidental illness. 「This is not a regular hospital. It』s an asylum! If you have a stomach problem, go to the hospital around the corner. We are under the same brand!」 I frowned at her speech. The poor corner guy!

Then the door opened. A man who looked exactly like the corner guy went out, looking at me, perplexed.

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