All photos: Håkon Bergseth/ The Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology
"As a 16-year-old, I was given too much medication. I got a lot of carrier bags a month. It was difficult for me then to understand that it was not so wise to take all those medicines. I didn't know of anyone else who had chronic migraines like I did. I thought that I was an amazing exception, which therefore had to take so much. I didn't keep track of what I took and what I didn't. There were many years when I was very lethargic. I slept a lot. “
Josephine
How can we face each other and our challenges, without thinking we are factory defects?
"I had a lot of anxiety and was very restless, and then I took a lot of Ritalin. I got worse and took even more. It wasn't an overdose as you usually understand the word. I just wanted to make it work. But it just got worse. I thought: "Factory fault?"
Josefine was one of the people we met in the project "Home for people with serious and long-term mental illness" (2016).
Another was "Kjersti". This is how she described a typical day:
"Someone from home nursing comes five times a day. In the morning I get 26 tablets right into my hand and swallow them while they watch. Then they come again in the morning - then I only get two tablets - and then again in the afternoon and evening. There will also be a night patrol, at midnight, with what I will have for the night. There are always two who come and see that I take the tablets and then they have to sign. If I don't take them, I'll be hospitalized."
Over the course of 7 years, a mountain of medication "Josefine" was prescribed but did not take piled up. She thought she was made worse by them.
We met Josefine and Kjersti in their homes. Apparently quite ordinary apartments. Eloquent, strong people. But with some unique experiences and challenges. Kjersti and Josefine have important stories to tell. They often tell – to a doctor, psychiatrist, nurse. But their stories also have value outside the treatment room. Letting ourselves be touched by them can make us all a little wiser, more informed and more caring.
