I don't think 'acting out' is the right phrase, as if we accept we are unwell and have an illness how our symptoms present themselves is not a choice, it's not 'bad behaviour', certainly not any more than any 'bad behaviour' in the so called normal general population. Where I do agree is that when we are unwell our perception is sometimes confused, certainly mine was so am still not sure if my confidentiality was breached by staff or not, but I could 'hear' staff abusing me very clearly one way or another, when I was under section and seen as a danger to myself.

Nurses and all mh staff are just as subject to societal stigma as everyone else, and they can often interpret our actions as 'acting out', and 'bad behaviour'. I have heard some dreadful attitudes from nurses towards patients. Maybe they become jaded with the ins and out of their job, but I don't think the current system was built on an empathetic attitude towards those with mental illness, more that of contempt and fear. It is based on how much of a risk we are seen as to ourselves and others rather than how best to resolve our psychological trauma in order that we will be permanently helped and hopefully healed from it. The medical model of course is not based around cure, rather maintenance and management of symptoms, as cure would mean discontinuation of treatment (usually meds) and loss of profits to those who make money out of illness.