loony bins
Mental health institutions
Loony bins is an informal and offensive term for psychiatric hospitals or mental health facilities.
The expression treats mental illness dismissively, reducing treatment centers to places where "loonies" (crazy people) are stored.
Though sometimes used self-deprecatingly or in dark humor, the term is considered insensitive and stigmatizing.
After my breakdown, I spent two weeks in the loony bin.
The singular loony bin is more common.
- madhouseChaotic, disordered place
- insane asylumFacility for mentally ill
- sanitariumMedical recovery facility
- bedlamState of wild disorder
- asylumShelter from persecution
mental institution · nuthouses · funny farm · booby hatch · psychiatric hospital · psych ward · institutions · bughouse · ward · snake pit · padded cell · padded walls · retreats · mental health clinics · cuckoo's nest · rubber room · committal · locked away
loony binsoutpatient clinics
Medical facilities without overnight stays
counseling centers · private practice · wellness centers · support groups · outpatient therapy
loony binsfreedom
Absence of constraint
home · universities · spas · wellness retreats · open society
loony, bin, loon, loons, loonies, loonier, looniest, bins, binned