Don't call me crazy- bbc 3
 

Episode 1- 24th June 9pm BBC 3

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.

it looks good on adverts, i wanna watch it if i remember :D

I was in the mcguiness unit with beth, she is a lovely girl, and it was so sad to see her with her eating disorder :(

I'm really interested in seeing this.

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 might watch it.

I saw the end of the ad, it looks interesting, I just hope I remember to watch it.

I really want to watch this, it looks like itll be really interesting.

And TimesLikeThese there is a link here http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01bfkck

Thank you very much, I really appreciate it :)

Deffo gonna be watching this.

I'm interested in how it compared with my time in an adolescent psych unit.

I wonder how invasive the filming was though.

Just to remind everyone this is on in an hour

Thanks for the reminder!! :)

I'm watching its very insightful x

its very triggering for me, i was in there with beth and charlie and emma, its horrible to see all my friends at their worst.

I'm finding it very triggering too, it's interesting though.

Interesting but i'm a little let down by not seeing anything so far from the male perspective...Not helping the stereotype really.

I'm recording it but I would like to say again it would be good to see something (particularly in reference t self harm) about people who are 20+

i agree very good program bbut i would like to see the male perspective as well

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 found it hard to watch because it brought back a lot of memories. I'm glad I watched it though, it was done well.

I was very impressed with how it was portrayed.
Fran is an amazing director, and producer so i didnt think it would be anything less. She gets to know the people she is working with protrays them how they really are. I say this because i have been part of a doctumentry she made about me and my partner at the time just over a year ago.

I agree thre could of been more male influence.

This looks really interesting, but being an Aussie I can't see it (that link only works for those in the UK apparently). Does anyone know of anywhere else I could find it?

it's on BBC Iplayer

Thought it was reAlly good hope the girls are ok as they can be now

This.

I watched it and found it triggering in places. It was interesting and made me thankful that iv never been that poorly to need to go to hospital x.

I found it hard to watch as the panic alarms kept making me panic (bad memories from being in hospital) but overall I thought it was a good programme. Interested for the next 2 episodes.

Yeah I can't view it either as the link only works for those in the UK

So would i, but the bbc targets younger people so i think its mostly going to be about that age group.

I enjoyed it but it made me sad. Sad because I didn't get any professional help other than counseling during my teens. If I had some help then maybe my life wouldn't have been as bad as it was.

I found the SI really triggering. I was pissed off before watching it so I didn't need it. Thankfully I didn't SI.

I quite liked it.
Although can't help but think it should have been filmed at a couple of the units I was in.
For entertainment value, at least, it would have been better :p

I just watched it today on iplayer. Interesting stuff, although pretty triggering in places.

I set it to record but it didn't for some reason and I player won't work cos I'm not in uk. Any other way to watch it?

Just watched it. Really triggered now.

I watched it and found it very interesting (there are 6 episodes in total - the UK has only shown one so far) I do think it would have been good to show a couple of different adolescent psych units through the series and not just the McGuinnes (sp) centre as the viewpoint seemed to come form an inner city viewpoint (but that's only my opinion). It brought back a lot of memories as I was IP permanently from 15-23 then from the age of 25 to now i've been in and out of adult psych (now I'm 31).

I can't wait for someone to pick up on adult psych issues esp ED's and SH. Embarrassingly my dad works on a self harm support site on the internet as he has a doctorate in psychotherapy and he acts as one of the supporters on the site. But yes it's for young people. Grrrrr!

I thought it was good - it showed some of the good and bad, and seemed a fairly good portrayal, even after one episode - although i do agree it was very triggering.

Lol Beckie, I actually thought the same with mine because where I was, seemed to be geared towards people even more unwell than those at the unit they filmed at.

*

To be honest, I did find the documentary interesting but I worry a lot for the young people in it. I think it's great at their age to think you want to be in something like that because had it been requested of me when I was in the adolescent unit, I would have been fine with it but I am so, so pleased now that nothing was filmed of me back then!

I guess what I feel is that at some point, they are going to recover (hopefully), and they are going to go on to have families etc but these stories are going to be out there for all to see. With some of the patients I don't think this is a problem because nothing was embarrassing or whatever but I have to say, at times I feel I probably acted a bit like Gill did, and I have changed so much from them. I would be really hurt now to see footage of myself like that, and to know that my kids could.

I don't know though. I feel by saying all this I'm saying that mental health is something to be embarrassed about and I don't think people should be but in such a public domain it's something you never get to take back from an incredibly sensitive time.

Was the same at mine Lottie. But I suppose if they had seriously unwell patients being filmed, it would take away the point of the programme, because I doubt people would listen to the 'i'm not crazy' message if people were acting like how I did back in the day!

I thought it was interesting, and done better than I thought it would be! I guess all of the episodes are going to be potential triggers for everyone, so be aware.
I do think it could be positive towards the mental health stigma, if people now aware watched then they might realise how it all works and get a better idea of everything.

I watched it, partly to see how mich the unit had changed since I was there (loads!). It takes in people from all across lancashire/greater manchester so not completely a inner city unit as young people come from within quite a wide area.
I do hope all the people in it are doing better by the end. I thought it was well done, they looked at a few people and showed both sides (the good and the bad)....I was still amazed at how much it had changed since I was there, nearly spat my drink out when they called it a temporary unit! Its been used as an ip camhs since the 90's!

Watching it. It is good, but it is very triggery pretty much regardless of your history I'd say.

Good to know I wasn't the only one that found it triggering.

Not triggering for me, but it's making me cry.

Agreed!

I was disappointed. For me it lacked depth and was a missed opportunity to demystify some of the issues involved. Maybe that will change in the remaining two episodes?

I do have bi-polar and I have known other bi-polars not take their tablets because they want to stay high, they don't want that flat line or deep depression. Only problem with mania is the things you do and the sometimes real bad consequences of it.

Yeah I hope I get to a better place. Thats why this series interests me so much, seeing what adolescent units are like today compared to when I was in them in the 90's.

It was really good, but yes triggering with the eating and SH.
I did also feel in a way jealous, wishing i had been helped and that i was able to speak so openly about mental illness like was done in the program instead of locking it all away, because then i dont think i would still be in the mess i am (selfishness over.)
I liked though that it really does show that its normal people experiencing these MH problems and i hope the world will really get this someday.

This.