anybody else been thrown in inpatient?

[sage]

wanted to hear if anybody's had a similar experience to mine, or if there's actual good hospitals out there. would be thrilled to hear some sort of happy story, but as far as i know, most places are the same.

personally, i got put in inpatient at just 12 years old after trying to overdose on ibuprofen (i was too young and dumb to know that never works, lmao.) directly after going to the hospital. it was terrifying for me to be suddenly ripped away from my family and friends and thrown into a facility right after such an awful ordeal. all the other patients were at least 7 years older than me so i had nobody to talk to and none of the psychologists took me seriously (one of them even laughed at me when i was having a breakdown over how scared i was of being locked up in there). then i got transferred to residential, kept there for 3 months, lost all my friends and my school in the process. easily one of the most traumatic experiences of my childhood, i haven't let anybody find out about a single attempt since out of fear of being put in again. i understand wanting to save kids, but jesus christ, that kind of shit should be considered child abuse. how the fuck is that supposed to help anybody?

yeah okay, i totally ranted there, i get really pissed off when i think about how shitty our mental health system is. but i'd love to hear other people's stories, if they're willing to share :]

 

[Egddios]

I'm sorry to hear of what you went through. Really. Being laughed at and/or mocked by psychiatrists is a violation and straight up cruel.

I've been inpatient many times in different states here in the US. Generally, I get along with other patients though I do tend to be somewhat of a loner. I have met some amazing, inspiring people "on the inside".

That said, I've had horrible experiences, too. I was sexually assaulted by a mental health tech in 2015, which...really fucked me up, for lack of a better term. I've seen fights break out, I've been treated callously by staff psychiatrists (one in particular advised me to kill myself), I've had 9 ECT treatments and have been shot up with Haldol without Cogentin, which meant my muscles contracted so intensely I could barely sit upright when my father came to visit.

In NYC, at Bellevue Hospital, they give patients paper towels to dry off with after showering in the one communal, filthy shower.

The hospital near where I live now is just ok; it's changed a lot over the past few years and is a lot more like a prison now than a hospital.

I'm trying so hard to not end up going back in. I once had a roommate who was into voo doo and would paint pictures of demonic eyed goats and decorate the room with them. That caused me to freak out a bit.

When I had the ECT treatments, I was scared, but the staff in that particular wing of the hospital were wonderful and caring.

It's really hit or miss. Definitely do research before you think of going inpatient; read reviews, be in contact with a mental health advocate and/or request one, and keep a journal to document your experience, the meds they may try on you, etc.

 

[Rukia]

I spent over a year on various inpatient treatment and was never abused and so on...But saw one nurse not too gentle with older ppl especially when changing their diapers and generally in dealing with them...

But if it is not involutarily admission I support making research about the facility...

I was admitted involuntarily only once...I was not suicidal but psychotic...

 

[Jessica5]

At least 75% of this website claims to have been in inpatient care multiple times. I'm suspicious to say the least of how many people are actually telling the truth.

 

[ExitTheDay]

I got treated better when I was involuntarily admitted surprisingly, it seems like all they wanted to do when I actually went and got the help I could have gotten but instead it seems like they wanted to get me the fuck out of there as fast as possible

 

[EllaBella]

Not really sure if an ED clinic applies but at the same age as you (12) went through something similar.. Was the youngest there and true people don't really take you seriously and it's a scary environment but it's better than being a risk to yourself elsewhere :/

I'm really sorry you had to go through that and empathise completely..

 

[mathieu]

I've had good and bad experiences with inpatient psych facilities. Where I live there are private clinics where everyone is a voluntary patient and they don't take anyone on who is extremely unwell/psychotic. You also have to be able to afford private health insurance premiums to go there. My experience with that kind of place has been pretty good. Your treating psychiatrist is generally the same one you see normally as an outpatient. I had TMS, ECT and changed a lot of meds last time I was in there. It didn't work of course. I was in there for four months.

Then there are the public/free psych hospitals which is where everyone that's legally sectioned go. As a teen I was treated in an adolescent one of those which was not too bad but about a year ago I was extremely paranoid and got pushed into admitting myself to the adult one and had a pretty bad experience. There's nothing to do in there, you're just sitting around all the time. The doctor you see isn't consistent, I saw a different one each time and they didn't even change my meds or do anything at all. There was a real feeling of being locked up in that place. Claustrophobic. After a week I demanded to go home. They threatened to section me but didn't in the end and I was able to leave.

 

[Retched]

At least 75% of this website claims to have been in inpatient care multiple times. I'm suspicious to say the least of how many people are actually telling the truth.

It's a revolving door. I was in 3 times last year. Personally, I have no reason to lie about it here.

 

[GeorgeJL]

When I attempted suicide years ago they put me on 24 hours watch at the hospital. Luckily they didn't send me to a psych-ward because now I have a FOID card (gun card). Though with no intentions of using it for shooting myself with a gun. Just for protection and fun target practice at the gun range.

 

[LMFAO FOCKERS]

At least 75% of this website claims to have been in inpatient care multiple times. I'm suspicious to say the least of how many people are actually telling the truth.

That's kind of an odd response? It's a suicide website with people who have mental health problems?? The population is concentrated thus the outcomes are concentrated. If some people are adults struggling for 20, 30 even 40 years that would make sense. Kids also make sense because teenagers are impulsive going through lots of hormonal changes. I don't see any glory in lying about being institutionalized.

 

[Meretlein]

When I attempted suicide years ago they put me on 24 hours watch at the hospital. Luckily they didn't send me to a psych-ward because now I have a FOID card (gun card). Though with no intentions of using it for shooting myself with a gun. Just for protection and fun target practice at the gun range.

How did you pull that off?

 

[ImsooDone1N]

Without going into too much detail, yes. Something happened, I reacted poorly & that made the situation much worse. I was taken against my will for period of time. To this day it's a major reason behind my wanting to ctb. It absolutely traumatized me. I've had other traumatic experiences in my life, but the hospital could have been prevented.

 

[Ampsvx123]

Psychiatry is a failure that uses people suffering from Stockholm syndrome as statistics and studies, couldn't be less scientific and accurate.

 

[GeorgeJL]

How did you pull that off?

IDK perhaps the people at the hospital didn't report it. When I got to the hospital I totally denied that I was hallucinating. I smiled, and was friendly with everyone. But truth be told as soon as they rehydrated me and got me two blood transfusions all the hallucinations stopped anyway, and I havn't hallucinated since. The hallucinations were only about one month, and never had them since.

Also that did happen quite some time ago. Maybe over 5 years ago by now.

 

[appalachian moon]

I got admitted once and I never want to go back again. I begged not to go there and was crying and all because I knew how bad of an experience it was gonna be, but in their eyes I looked even more unstable so I had to go.
I was sectioned in this place where they have separate parts in the facility for at-risk youth, troubled mothers and their babies and finally what they referred to as the "fucked up" kids who were monitored more closely than I was, had locks on their rooms and lost a lot of privileges for not complying with staff. Their unit was right beside mine so at night I could hear banging on walls, yelling, shouting and loud music but what can I expect? We were all a bunch of what society considers "crazy" people lumped together in the same building.
Actual treatment was sub par. Bunch of shitty psychologists interrogating me about my entire life and history and staff that shoved medication down my throat whenever I experienced an emotion. Since nobody trusts you there and thinks you're a "danger to yourself" everything is baby proofed for maximum safety. No wires allowed like in earphones, charging wires etc - anything you could potentially strangle yourself with. You had to be within eye range of the staff most of the time and I learnt to survive by faking happiness and acting like I loved life and couldn't wait to go back into it. The mental health time was very gullible and easy to manipulate with a few smiles and cheery voices. You just have to act like what one would consider a normal, functioning person and you've gained their trust.