Bedlam (2013)

Psychosis (1x3)

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Fifty years ago you'd hardly ever see someone with a mental illness out and about; they were locked away in Victorian-style asylums. Today, in South London, almost 10 times more patients are cared for in their homes than in hospital. It's better known as care in the community but our perception of whether it works is often coloured by isolated stories about schizophrenics who have killed. The reality is different. Cameras follow a community mental health team in the Borough of Lewisham. If they can keep their patients well and stable, they will stay out of psychiatric hospital and enjoy their independence. There are more than 1000 patients in the borough living with psychosis. It means they have a distorted view of reality: they hear voices, or experience delusions or hallucinations. Tamara is a mum of two in her thirties who has persistent delusional disorder. Her house contains bed bugs, which the council hasn't been able to remove. But Tamara believes these bugs are multiplying and have got inside her body, behind her eyes and into places it's impossible for them to reach. When she's getting unwell she starts to sleep in the communal corridors outsider her flat. She's determined not to go back to hospital but her mental health fluctuates by the day.