The McGuinness Unit in Manchester is one of the largest teenage mental health inpatient units in the country – and a place of last resort for many adolescents with eating disorders or psychosis, who self-harm or are suicidal.
While some of the young patients agree to stay voluntarily undergoing treatment here, others have been detained against their wishes, sectioned under the Mental Health Act. Filmed over the course of a year and with unparalleled access, this series follows teenage girls and boys at the unit as they battle to turn their lives around.
More than half a million young people across the UK are being treated for some kind of mental illness, and over 3,500 teenagers passed through inpatient units like this last year. This series offers a chance for young patients to tell us what it’s really like to live with mental health issues - through the good times and the bad - and dispel the myths, preconceptions and taboos of mental illness.
Don’t Call Me Crazy launches It’s A Mad World - a season of films on BBC Three looking at a range of mental health issues affecting young people in Britain today, from schizophrenia, OCD, eating disorders and self-harming to dealing with family members affected by mental illness.
Among those featured in the first episode of Don’t Call Me Crazy is Beth, 17, who has recently arrived at the McGuinness Unit. Beth loves dancing and gymnastics, and often seems happy and extrovert. But appearances can be deceptive, as Beth has depression, self-harms and has an eating disorder. As her difficult relationship with food worsens, the staff are forced to take drastic action.
The film follows Beth and other teenage patients over the weeks and months of inpatient treatment. But their recovery is not just about therapy and medication. It’s also about the relationships the teenagers forge with one another during their time on the ward at a time when a problem shared can be a problem halved.
Episode 2- 1st July 9pm BBC3
In the second episode, we meet Crystal, 14, who’s been admitted to the McGuinness Unit because she sees animals and people that nobody else can. Some of the characters, like a girl she calls ‘7’, are her friends who she wants to keep, but others like ‘The Man’ or ‘The Rat’ scare her. Crystal’s parents want to know if her condition can be diagnosed - could it be schizophrenia or psychosis?
We also catch up with Beth who’s been on the unit for three months suffering from depression and an eating disorder. Since being sectioned under the Mental Health Act, Beth is slowly starting to eat a bit more - but doing so is making her feel guilty, so she’s developed a way of punishing herself for eating by self-harming.
Isn’t it funny how day by day nothing changes but when you look back, everything is different…
you once called your brain a hard drive, well say hello to the virus.
This looks really interesting! Is there an advert for it? Can't seem to find it online :( If anyone can find it can you please link me to it? Thank you!
♥ .I'm going to fall like I don't need saving. ♥
...My smile's just the armour I built when I was alone...
There was some part of me that hurt so badly, that I wouldn't ever be able to forget it.
It faded but the memories could bring it back any second, keeping me in the moment.
It would never fully heal. I could never really be free. I could never really be fixed. Now I just have to work out how to live whilst being broken.
I feel like I'm dying.
i think they tend to show different perspectives in further episodes. there was one pretty much the same a couple of years ago. they did girls one week, then guys the next week etc
I'm fine! Totally fine. I don't know why it's coming out all loud and squeaky, 'cause really, I'm fine!
