Healthcare system
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The first thing I want to say is that the reason a lot of us are disappointed by the healthcare system is our expectation and/or assumption that the system is reliable and infallible, and that it is run only by competent professionals. In our fragile and vulnerable life situations, we surrender the burden of our problems to them. In doing so, we expect them to be able to help us. Simple, right ? We're sick, we go to the doctor/therapist, they prescribe treatment, and we get better, right ? And, herein, lies the problem ... in its entirety ... one word "expectation" !

Maybe in an ideal world, where the science of psychology and psychopathology was exact, meaning that a doc could look at you and say, you have "XYZ disorder" and that XYZ treatment will fix you in XYZ amount of time. That, plus all the nurses and assistants knowing everything about ***your*** BPD condition and symptoms, and clinics having all the resources you need at hand, and so on.

The healthcare system (esp. mental health) is far too complex for it to be exact or even come close. In fact, even your diagnosis is partially dependent on whether your insurance will even cover your treatment; doctors' decisions are influenced by this.

Also, when it comes to which drugs and what doses, it's all trial and error, at best ! The functioning of the human brain is barely understood. Also, think about how some patients (homeless, junkies) abuse inpatient facilities just to get free meals. Some geographical locations (perhaps big cities) are able to offer better care than other areas, so there is a fair bit of luck involved in finding a competent team of professionals to help you.

Yes, we expect professionalism and courtesy and a certain level of competence from the system, but the system is ultimately run by human beings, some of whom love their jobs, and others who are simply in it to pay their bills, most of whom cannot possibly understand the magnitude of a patient's life problems because they don't suffer from the same problems themselves.

Therapists - It takes an infinite amount of patience to listen to a person's problems and figure out how to help them and get them to help themselves. No matter how well qualified they are, they are just people, with their own problems at home and in the office.

What I'm getting at is this - The mental healthcare system, is an infinitely complex function of laws, economics, politics, human nature, and luck. And, for a multitude of logical reasons, and despite its best intentions, the system is largely imperfect. So, we cannot and must not put all our hope in it. Period.

And, once we realize and accept this about the system, we can ease our expectations of it. We can then go in with a better prepared mindset and not rely on it with no backup.

I am not trying to trivialize or minimize your troubles, I am simply attempting to look at the whole picture in order to best suggest how you should proceed.

What the system did to you was horrible, no question. But, ask yourself - is legal retribution really what is best for ***you*** ? Is "justice" what you're seeking ? Does justice even really exist ? And, is what you are seeking worth the effort and stress it will take to obtain it ?

What if, on the other hand, you decided that what happened was horrible, but was nothing more than a learning experience for you ? Perhaps you learned not to trust the system as easily, not to trust therapists as easily. And, you learned that you cannot place the full burden of your problems on the system for it simply cannot take that burden.

And, having learned your lessons from this experience, you can put it in your past, vowing never to make the same mistakes again.

Why should this experience become an everyday ordeal for you for the rest of your life ? Why should the experience ***define*** you ? To me, you are a child of God and a fellow human being. To yourself, you are "HD7970GHZ". To your parents, you are a child. To the people who wronged you, you were someone they didn't like. And, I'm willing to bet that there are many people out there who LIKE you.

So, the point is - none of those "definitions" are really YOU. Everyone on this Earth has their own view of you. Similarly, your past experience is NOT YOU, it simply HAPPENED TO you. So, you have the power to distance yourself and separate yourself from it. You are FAR MORE THAN and FAR BEYOND the experience.

Try to process the experience, grieve it, but learn from it, and take whatever actions you deem necessary (legal ??? or not). But once you have taken those actions, put it in your past, where it belongs - the therapists, the doctors, the nurses, the clinics, everything and everyone.

Don't give them power over you. They don't own you. They don't define you. They cannot make you feel bad unless you let them. Imagine them sitting somewhere in the world thinking "I hope HD has a miserable day today". Will that ruin your day ? Or, will you thinking about them ruin your day ? Who has a greater influence over your life ?

You had the misfortune of crossing paths with them in your life. But, you now have the opportunity to put them and the whole experience behind you, and move forward undeterred.