Help A question about psych wards…

[wurr]

The answer is very likely a no, but is there any way to shave in a psych ward? I know that anything that could cause you harm is not allowed to be brought in a psych ward, which definitely includes razors. But is it possible like… to have the staff keep your razor, and let you shave under their supervision?

I shave my face 1-2 times a day every day, because facial hair makes me extremely anxious, and I get panic if I feel even a little bit of hair on my face. Facial and body hair is something that I cannot stand about myself. I feel extreme amounts of discomfort when I am not shaved. I cannot imagine how I would be able to spend a week to a month (or how much time do you usually spend there?) in a psych ward without shaving my face. I definitely would not be able to heal while not able to shave off at least my facial hair…

 

[Young.Werther]

No razors. They don't trust you with real clothes, no way they give you razors. As for amount of time, I think that depends on your situation. I think some places have laws which limit the amount of time they can hold you involuntarily (although they might be able to extend if they go to court). If you go voluntarily, in principle you can check out whenever? I'm not exactly sure. I have heard people who are there for many weeks or longer — I'm not sure how that works out what the situation is there.

If you're thinking about checking in voluntarily, I would strongly recommend against it. If you want to recover, I think there are much better things to try. Getting sectioned sucks.

 

[Tesha]

In the UK it's perfectly possible to have a shave every day - the hospital staff will look after your razor and only give it to you / supervise you using it, if their risk assessment says you're not likely to harm yourself.

 

[Bianka]

Okay this is not gonna be helpful because I barely remember anything I was so drugged out of my mind but I was definitely shaved somehow. I don't think they forbid it entirely many people feel uncomfortable without it
I also add that I was selfharming heavily and still managed somehow

 

[pebpebpebpeb]

it depends entirely on the hospital. in a long term one i went to, you had to work up trust to use a razor, even then it was supervised by someone.

 

[unabletocope]

Should be fine with an electric razor under supervision

 

[theboy]

better an electric shaver

 

[wait.what]

In my experience (U.S.), they usually have an electric razor you can use, either with or without staff supervision.

If they insist on supervising you, it's a good idea to find out when shift changes happen and don't plan to ask for at least 30 minutes on either side of that. If you ask staff to do anything too close to shift change, they'll just tell you to come back later. They also may be pissy about it, which can mess you up if you're in a fragile state of mind.