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EN
“How Are You?” The Strangest Question to ask in a Psychiatric Hospital
['Vikky Leaney', 'Vikky Leaney Is A Freelance Writer', 'Phd Candidate Researching Gender', 'Adhd. Living With Neurodivergence', 'Chronic Illness', 'She Explores How Women S Experiences Are Shaped Psychiatry', 'Society', 'Stigma. Her Work Seeks To Challenge Dominant Narratives', 'Highlight Overlooked Voices In Mental Health.', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow']
Mad In America
A lounge on a psychiatric ward with standard leatherette beige sofas and a couple of armchairs for good measure.
It was unlikely that we would have the context for a social script for answering, “How are you?” in a psychiatric hospital.
Inside a psychiatric hospital, the social script doesn’t fit the situation.
Despite the strangeness of asking the question “How are you?” whilst in a psychiatric hospital, it is familiar like a habit, thus comforting.
Ultimately, asking the question “How are you?” whilst in a psychiatric hospital feels strange because it exposes the massive gap between everyday etiquette and authentic lived experience.