Nut House

One night, when I was a teenager, I got into a huge fight with my Aunt. My Dad overheard us arguing and joined our dispute. I said something smart to him and walked to my room. He followed me in, threw me against my bed, and started hitting me multiple times. I was pretty much defenseless and got my ass whooped. I definitely deserved it, though, the way I was acting.

After my Dad got off me, I walked across the house towards the kitchen. My Aunt was following me and begging me to calm down. I entered the kitchen, went to the drawer where the silverware was, and started pulling it out irrationally, thinking I would grab a knife & stab my Dad.

As I pulled the drawer out, the logical part of my brain kicked in, and I realized that would be ridiculous, so I threw the drawer on the ground, leaving silverware all over the floor. I quickly walked to the bathroom and locked the door. At that point, I needed to get away from everyone and cool down. I sat with my back against the bathroom door, and dramatic thoughts started going through my head. I was thinking about running away, feeling like no one loved me, and other angry teenage thoughts.

I stayed in there for what seemed like hours. Eventually, my family knocked on the door, asking when I would come out. I refused to open the door, so they made me an offer. I could go stay with my Mom for the night, or if I didn’t want to do that, my Mom would pick me up and take me to the hospital. I wasn’t too sure what going to the hospital meant. It was a vague statement. All I knew was I didn’t want to stay at home or stay with my Mom, which wasn’t an appealing alternative.

Ultimately, I agreed to have my Mom pick me up and take me to Kaiser Permanente Hospital.

When we got to the hospital, I was put in a room by myself while my Mom met with the nursing staff. Eventually, I sat down with my Mom, who told me I would be going to a Mental Institution to get evaluated. I started to wonder if I should’ve just humbled myself and apologized to my family or agreed to stay with my Mom. I didn’t know what I had gotten myself into, and now my situation was starting to get real.

My Mom informed me that an ambulance was coming to pick me up. At this point, it was late at night, and I just wanted to go to sleep. The ambulance finally arrived after what seemed like forever, and they escorted me outside, where two young men greeted me. They put me on a stretcher like someone who was severely injured and then locked me in place so I couldn’t move; it was very uncomfortable.

While driving, I asked the guys if they were taking me to a hospital in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by tumbleweeds. They laughed and said the mental institution was nothing like the ones you see on TV & Movies, and it was just a place where troubled kids could get help. They told me not to worry and assured me everything would be okay.

We arrived at the institution before sunrise. They released me from the stretcher and escorted me to the building. Once inside, another guy came to take care of me, and we said our goodbyes. The person in charge of the graveyard shift at the institution had me fill out some paperwork. I don’t remember what any of the forms said, except one that stated I wouldn’t be able to buy a firearm for a couple of years after turning 18.

After I finished, he took me to my room, and I went straight to sleep.
The next day, I woke up to a doctor requesting that I sit up so he could draw some blood. When he finished, my roommate walked over and introduced himself. We were both around the same age and spoke about the events that had brought us to this mysterious place. After our brief meeting, we left the room, and he gave me a tour of the facility.

We hung out all morning and then went to the cafeteria for breakfast. After we ate, we went to a group counseling session with the girls who stayed in a nearby building. We started by going around in a circle and introducing ourselves. The counselor then went over self-improvement tactics, and after the session ended, we returned to our respective units.

At nighttime, the staff gave us little white cups with two pills in them and told us to take them after dinner. After we ate, we took our pills and went to the lobby to relax and watch TV. As time passed, everyone began to fall asleep. The pills they gave us were some sort of sleeping medication like Benadryl. Eventually, I felt the medicine kicking in and drowsily got up and headed to my bed, where I quickly knocked out.

I woke up the next day feeling surprised that I was enjoying my stay thus far. It wasn’t anywhere as bad as I thought it would be. The people there were cool, and the adults who watched us were entertaining. One surprising thing, though, was the two little boys in our section, who were around 4 or 5 years old.

One of them was a young boy who was there because of family issues. He was well-behaved and didn’t have a distinct personality.

The other kid was a boy named Raymond. Raymond stood out immediately because he dressed like a gangster and wore baggy clothes. If he didn’t get his way or someone did something he didn’t like, he cussed everyone out & banged his head against the wall. It was a disturbing sight to see (especially for a kid).

I learned from the nurses that his parents got into a big argument at home, and his Mom pulled out a gun and killed his Dad – right in front of Raymond. He was sent to the institution temporarily while they found him a new home. It’s a sad story, and even though he always gave the adult supervisors a fit, we formed a bond, and he felt like my little brother.

My days continued to pass at the institution, but I had no timetable for my release. For all I knew, it could be days or weeks before they released me. I decided to make the best of a bad situation and behave until it was time to go. It did get boring at times, though, because we followed the same tedious routine every day. It was fun at first, but now I wanted to go home.

My roommate must have felt the same way because he devised an escape plan for us to break out of the facility. I laughed at his idea and reminded him we were leaving soon, which would be pointless. On top of that, even if we did escape, the staff would call the police immediately, and helicopters would be all over the sky looking for us. We agreed to kill our escape fantasy and finish our time there in peace.

My roommate was a funny character, and we got along great, which made my stay easier. Ironically, he also went to the school across the street from my house – Small World.

Thankfully, I didn’t end up staying too long and left in about a week.

On my last day, I said bye to everyone and gave Raymond a special hug. Seeing a little kid like him in such a dire situation made me sad. Imagine being a child and witnessing your Mom murder your Dad. That’s something that will traumatize him for the rest of his life. It’s been over a decade since this happened, and I still wonder how he’s doing sometimes.

Hopefully he’s okay.

Before I left, I went to the gym to play Basketball with my friends. When we arrived at the courts, it was crowded and filled with people I’d never seen before. As I was walking around, a girl approached me and started making small talk; out of nowhere, she asked me how old I was and if I was a virgin. I told her my age and said that I had never had sex before. She then told me she wanted to take my virginity. It threw me off guard & I told her I was about to leave but appreciated the offer.

She then told me her Dad took her virginity and raped her when she was younger. I started to feel creeped out and didn’t want to talk to her anymore.

I returned to my room, packed my bags, and thought about everything that had transpired during my stay. Overall, it wasn’t the worst experience, but towards the end, I really wanted to leave. As more people came and went, I started to feel like the facility was filling up with strange characters, and I was no longer comfortable staying there. I felt relieved when the doctor signed my release and gave my family the okay to pick me up.

When my parents arrived, they surprised me by bringing my Grandma to lift my spirits. I was happy to see her and head back home. My trip to the Nut House was complete, and I was ready to get back to my regular life.