External influences can cause depression and anxiety. If we change the external environment, we can fix psychiatric problems without the need for medication.
Some patients admitted to psych wards need their medications right away; nurses tell them the doctor needs to see them first, which may take many hours. It is wrong to deny a patient their medication. An anxious individual who is not given lorazepam is being tortured. A nurse has sufficient training to dispense lorazepam. Patients may stay locked up in the first ward for up to a week without access to the outdoors, privacy, or meal selection.
On the second ward, patients may stay for many months. Meal selection is limited. Side effects of medication can include an elevated heart rate, weight gain, loss of sex drive, and an altered sleep cycle. Patients receiving electroconvulsive therapy suffer memory loss and permanent brain damage. One patient completely lost the ability to write. It is inhumane to lock people up for extended periods of time.
