And The Psych Ward Says

The slam poem "And the Psych Ward Says" by Anita D is a powerful piece of spoken word that addresses the stigmatization of mental illness and the need for greater understanding and compassion towards those who are struggling with mental health issues. This text informs the audience of the effects that mental health has on its patients, and how most of them end up in asylums that do nothing but heighten their issues. Which the asylums then neglect and make their patient's stay even worse. This poem addresses that the patient only had to stay for three days, but on Monday the worker said that they only operate on business days, so they still had more time to break down the patient. This text is to inform the audience of the effects of mental

This can be seen when she says ‘You will be asked again, and again, and again, about why and how you want to kill yourself.” The intention behind using this recurring phrase is to evoke a comparable sense of distress in the audience, like one to what a patient undergoes during treatment in a mental institution. In such a setting, medical professionals frequently use repetition to provoke the desired response from their patients. Similarly, the author of this text is utilizing repetition to evoke a sense of panic and anxiety in their readers. Every time Anita says ‘Again’, she gets more aggressive with the way she says it like she’s digging into the audience’s mind. When you get more aggressive it makes the people around you feel weak and vulnerable, which in the asylum would get the patients to break, and give the doctors answers to prescribe them medication that they don’t need. Anita is making a statement that no matter what you do or how hard you try the doctors and nurses will do everything they can to get answers and why they need them. Due to this phrase being used, it is significant to mental health because the doctors and nurses don’t care about what they do to get what they want out of

In terms of tone, the poem is raw, honest, and at times confrontational. Anita D uses strong language and vivid imagery to convey her feelings of fear, confusion, and frustration. The language used in the poem is often colloquial and direct, which adds to the authenticity of the piece. There are moments of sarcasm and irony, particularly when she discusses the hospital's efforts to control her behaviour through medication and restraint. She also uses repetition to emphasize the dehumanizing aspects of her experience and to highlight how mental illness is stigmatized and misunderstood by society. Overall, the tone and language in "And the psych ward says" are intense and impactful, reflecting the emotional weight of the subject