are psychiatric wards horrible

[wildflowers1996]

I'm so frightened of ending up in one

are the staff always horrible to you?

 

[dishwashingtoucan]

The experience probably varies a good amount depending on where you are, but the staff at the psych ward I was in were really nice and I actually look back at that week kind of fondly because it was like a nice vacation and I made some friends

 

[Antibody246]

some of the staff threatened me, yelled at me and mistreat me
there were also cockroaches and a lot of horrific screams by the patients.

 

[Xaeniak]

I think a lot of it's down to the facility you're in. At mine, the staff weren't horrible or anything, but they absolutely treat you like a child, restricting what you can do when, pushing you to eat and sleep and socialize at the appropriate time. That lack of freedom was really confining for me, and while I think I went to a decent place, it's still the only recurring nightmare I have is ending up back there. I think no matter what, it's something you should try and avoid

 

[voyager]

Have never been in one as a patient, but to me everything that confines my freedom is a bad thing and it's one of my main fears of failing. That and becoming a vegetable of some sort and unable to try again.

 

[Darkover]

well it all depends what country your in here in the uk you might be put on a acute ward psych and a open ward with a mix of female and male or closed ward with only your gender you will have all your belongs searched for contraband, you usually get a shared dorm with a bed and a wardrobe and a desk and chair and a curtain, when you first get there you be put on level one meaning you can't leave the ward by your self for a few days to a week into it's decided your well enough to leave the ward by your self,you'll be seen by a psychiatrist and they will determine what medication to put you on based of your symptoms they force you to take medication if you refuse they put you on a community treatment order, the food is disgusting, they usually have a kitchen where you can make yourself a cup of tea or coffee.

if you've ever been in a psychiatric ward you know that it's an environment calculated to make you crazy and to keep you crazy, there a lot of nasty people in psychiatric wards it's not a safe environment to be in, you're not allowed to have your laptop or phone chargers in room or dorm, the food is awful, the internet service is slow, you have to ask someone to use the showers, the staff won't let anyone talk openly about suicide they tell you to shut up, they force you to take medication with all kind of side effect, they force you to do drug test, they have cameras all around the ward just not in the dorms, you're lock up 24/7 for the first couple of weeks into you get privileges or level, you can't really masturbate, the wards are locked so people have to press a button to ring a bell to come back into the ward that is always going off, you have to watch your property from being stolen, you have to share a toilet with lots of people that is disgusting the toilets don't have toilet seats, uk nhs

Uk nhs
i've seen someone throw a table at another person causing them to have a black eye for no reason he was move to another hospital and then he was transfer back to us he was very nasty all the time threatening people with violence, someone got their laptop robbed, a lady use to go into the washing machine room and steal people's clothes and take them to her room many times, i had my ipod and headphones stolen, someone set a fire in there dorm with newspapers, i've seen some kick off by throwing chairs at the walls and windows, some of the people there have really bad body odor, the staff use force to restrain people causing them injuries, you've got staff checking in every room every 15 minutes 24/7 checking to see everyone is okay doing a person count, there is people who talk to themselves out loud, there's drugs in there like cocaine that's how i got started on it, don't get me wrong like 70 percent of the people are decent but only takes a few to make it a horrible place to be, i've been sectioned 3 times twice on a section 2 and once on a section 3

 

[WAITING TO DIE]

My experience of psych wards here in the UK are awful. Some of the staff make it obvious that they couldn't give a damn about the patients and often seem poorly trained and have poor people skills.

 

[autistocracy]

I'm so frightened of ending up in one

are the staff always horrible to you?

They're terrible (I'm from the US). If you're American, if you end up in a psych hospital you're very likely to not get any real treatment due to staffing and funding issues so a lot of patients just sit and draw or whatever. You can do that somewhere else (and for a lot cheaper). If you ever end up in a situation where you need that level of care, try to get into a day program or PHP.

 

[Some place nice]

I have been to two of them in the US. The first one wasn't completely bad but the second one was even better.

 

[DeadManLiving]

In the US it depends if you're committed to a private Hospital ward or the State penitentiary.

I was committed into a private ward (collegiality "psychiatric facilities" here) and the traums was so bad I can't even talk about it without having a panic attack. I might come back to this post and share my experiences.

If you are committed to a State penitentiary like Trenton State psychiatric hospital then ...... You will be in hell, literally. It's so secretive and so hard for anyone to get out once they've gotten in that nobody really knows what goes on in there.

It's traumatizing, brutalizing, humiliating, and everyday you feel like you're getting raped whether it's your dignity your Liberty, or both. Or physically.

I'm going to CTB just because of that and I'll be sending out the posthumous letters to all of those doctors and to their medical boards with descriptions of my experience and hopefully making them feel like the murderers they are having driven me to such depths.

 

[kazewoatsumete]

As other users said, it really varies from place to place. In all of my visits, I ended up in the same ward run by one of the state hospitals. I wasn't mistreated and didn't see any mistreatment from my own observations, my room was clean, the food was fine. I was able to joke around with the hospital staff and that made things a lot more bearable. I did see some people having to be restrained or put in isolation, however those people were having violent outbursts and I guess there isn't much else you can do. It can feel really scary because depending on where you're put, you might be surrounded by people experiencing psychosis or mania, and their behaviors can be very upsetting and frightening, but keeping to yourself will help a lot in that scenario.
Being polite and cooperative goes a very long way in the psych ward, as well as reminding yourself that you won't be there forever.
My experience isn't indicative of everyone's experience, but all the people I've personally spoken to haven't had particularly horrible experiences. I suppose people who have extremely terrible times at the ward are going to be more likely to bring it up than people who found it tolerable; after all, why would you need to bring it up if there were no problems?

 

[snowcloud9]

Varies. I hated it. The staff were nice and I made friends, but even then it's a literal prison but for mentally ill people, so think of it like that. You may meet nice prisoners and nice prison guards, but it doesn't change the fabric of what the psych ward is.

 

[cardboard_house]

I've been to one in Canada, and while it didn't help, it was really nice. It kind of felt like a vacation. The staff were very very kind, the food wasn't too bad, and they got my meds all sorted out. I spent most of my time there doing puzzles and drawing, and stuff like that.

 

[Csmith8827]

Yes

 

[Toobrokentofix]

Have been in 2 in the UK this year. The first was shit. They took all my stuff and treated me like q child. One or 2 lovely people worked there. The rest were not interested n said shit to me like just be positive and its too selfish to be suicidal if you have children etc

The second was way better but still understaffed. Most of the staff were lovely but they didn't have much time and any therapy was very limited.

 

[LonelyKitten]

I think they're horrific, at least, my experience as a child is basically what traumatized me and ruined my life to the point that I'm so close to ctb nowadays that I can almost taste it.
(threw me out of schooling, gave me freedom related trauma responses)

My opinion is that it is a prison, but for society's outcasts/mentally ill.
When you sleep, eat, activities etc. is all restricted. Constant surveillance.
You're stuck under the orders of the staff, and locked in around people of which have a high chance to be broken, violent, or have loud/obnoxious mannerism that will drive you insane.
In my experience, there isn't anything like therapies in there (Germany).
It's mainly just to hold you, rather than help you.

To me they are a place that is unsafe (other people, or staff), gives you a form of "record" medically (you will not be taken seriously by medical professionals if you've been), and puts you at risk of so much abuse that you can not do anything about.
Staff might force medication on you that doesn't help/you don't want to shut you down, which can cause serious harm.
If you'd try to complain, who's gonna listen to what you say after you're basically labelled "insane", whether you are or not?
I think those places *make* you crazy, whether you were before or not.

 

[why am i alive?]

Yes they are.
There are good ones for sure but most of them aren't
You will meet ppl who trigger the shit out of u and u won't life a normal life ever again. I'm in one right now and it's horrific. No-one understands me. Try not to go to one

 

[Praestat_Mori]

Imo it highly depends on where you live and the general conditions. The other thing is whether you are admitted there voluntarily or involuntarily. The next thing is whether a stay in a psych ward can cure or at least help curing your issues that are causing the MH problems.

I'm personally not interested in seeing / experiencing a psych ward from the inside bc I already know they cannot solve my actual problem causing my suicidality (which is in my case a logic necessity) and as follows my MH issues.

 

[k1w1]

Why do you ask? I'd say anything to do with mental health is going to be bad wherever one is.

 

[winterparty]

Yes.

 

[Trakehner]

Yes. Very. I've been sent twice and the staff made it very clear that they didn't give a shit about anyone there. Zero freedom. Zero privacy. It's like prison. I was forced to take pills that turned me into a zombie. I had nightmares about being sent back for a month after the first time I went. Even to this day, I occasionally have some. And if you live in America, they rob you of thousands of dollars.

There's a lot of other things too but it would take forever to list it all. Maybe other facilities are slightly less shit idk.

 

[todeswunsch]

Never been in one, but I can't imagine it being anything but aweful. Even if the place were nice and the staff good, it would be still a bad experience for me.
Being in unknown place, with strangers, no freedom nor privacy, totally in the hand of other people seems nightmarish for me.
I really fear being forced to go to one.
This is one of my main reasons I want to have the most perfect CTB plan, as failing would probably lead me to one of those.
Ew, that makes me shiver

 

[ocelot]

I'm so frightened of ending up in one

are the staff always horrible to you?

based on my experience in nhs wards, it all depends on the ward you are being sent to and the mental illnesses and risks u have. it also takes a lot in the uk most of the time to be sectioned. it took me about 5 attempts for them to notice and also many encounters with police. staff may treat u very differently if u have bpd sadly. some staff can be one of the sweetest people ever, whereas some are just there because they were just offered a job that seemed interesting having no experience or understanding of mental health and cbt attempts. i've only had one okay ward that i've been to out of 3 and in one of them (the worst one) i was slammed onto floors, covered in bruises, thrown into rooms etc. it's never going to be nice being in a ward, you're being held there against your own will (unless your informal), you have less rights, doctors decide if you can leave the ward for a certain time, can forcefully give meds and restrain u. i hope u find peace and are not sent to a ward

 

[icari]

I want to know this as well. If anyone has any experience with UK West Yorks wards please get in touch with me. On the surface, part of me feels like it is the only way to really sort out my medication, stay clean, and regain proper regimen to my day (eating, sleeping). That's obviously a very surface level assessment though and I've started to get more and more scared that I will be thrown in one. Not exactly sure what it takes in the UK, I'm currently under care of an intensive support team which visits my home and I have been being very honest about my suicidal thoughts. I'm starting to wonder if I should wind back that honesty.

 

[Iris Blue]

Hi OP, I put down below how my experiences in a facility went (this is in the US) it is a bit lengthy but if you are located in the US I highly suggest you read. :)

I agree with what everyone else is saying how it depends on the facility, so far I've been inpatient about 5-6 times and the staff for the most part were very nice (I am usually pretty shy and a rule follower so they didn't have any problems with me). I even formed a close friendship with one of the staff members there and got to see her again when ended up going back into the same facility years later. Also for the facilities some are only one gender and others are mixed. But never different genders in the same room, for the most part even hallway.

One of the issues I did have was some of the facilities didn't divide the patients who were there for a different reason. So the depressed kids would also be mixed in with kids with anger issues. I remember on my first day at one of the facilities a young boy was having a total meltdown and had to be restrained, sedated, and hauled off on a stretcher. And there have been fights between two patients as well, nothing too serious but the fights still caused some damage to either one of both of the participants.

You will form many friendships there with the other patients, normally the age gap would be around 5 years for the unit but since everyone there for the most part was in for the same reason, you understand each other and are there for each other. It can be a bit cliquey at times but for the most part everyone is pretty welcoming. Sometimes you may get unlucky with your roommate depending on them themselves and why they are there but if you have a valid reason why you want to switch the staff are normally understanding about it.

Definitely the psychiatrists there aren't really helpful normally every day or so they will pull you aside and ask how you've been feeling and if you are having any bad effects from the meds they are most likely to put you on but that's about all the interaction you will have with them. But they are important because they can change your meds if one isn't working and it's good to do it while in the hospital in case you have a bad reaction.

The groups during the day aren't anything special, sometimes there's art and music therapy and someone comes in to teach you things to give you some education while you are inpatient. There is a schedule though so you can't like sleep in or do whatever you want.

The safety precautions are very strict, as expected, normally they give you half of a pencil with no eraser and there aren't any knives and anything else sharp that anyone can harm themselves with. If you come in with hoodies or shoes they remove the strings and laces and put them away for you to get back once you are discharged. Most of the time also you need to take out your piercings and you aren't allowed a bra with a wire in it only sports bras.

When taking your medicine they are also very cautious normally you take all of your pills with water and then immediately lift your tongue and move it side to side so they know you aren't hiding them to store later.

Depending on the facility you may have your bathroom and shower in your room with you or separate. If you need to use the bathroom you normally have to ask a staff member to open the door since they are locked usually. Normally they allow you to bring your own shampoo and conditioner but a certain amount and it can't be in any container that has those plastic tube pumps. A lot of the time you have your own bin to put your belongings that they will give you in the morning and night for your bathroom routine.

The bedrooms there are two beds and they are spaced out so you have some privacy. The mattresses are like the ones you see in prison, plastic and very thin and they give you a pillow and one thin blanket. No where near as comfortable as your own bed but you take what you can get lol. Also there is usually a cubby for both beds where you can put your clothes and they usually have washers and dryers that they supervise you when you are putting your clothes in and taking them out.

A lot of the time there will be a tv but it will either be attached to the wall near the ceiling or on a desk but behind plexiglass. The food is what you would expect normally if you are a vegetarian or have any allergies they will have a separate meal for you. And if you don't like what they are serving then you don't eat or maybe they will give you some snacks but most of the time you get what you get.

Visiting times can vary, most of the time your parents reserve a time and they can bring you snacks of your choosing and you would just sit down in a separate room for about an hour. I don't think they can visit every day though. However I think every night you are allowed to call them if you want to but the staff normally put in the number and you have a limit to how long you can talk to them.

All of the facilities I've been in were for people under 18, unfortunately I'm 22 now so if I were put in a psych ward I would go to one with the other adults so that's absolutely terrifying. So I am personally tryna make sure that won't happen next time lol.

All in all, in my honest opinion, going into a mental hospital is more for your family and friends than you. You don't really benefit from anything, it just gives them a break from you and worrying all the time. But the friendships you make in there weather with staff of the other patients help a lot. And they usually have a rule where you can't share phone numbers to contact each other out of the hospital but there is always a way to sneak it somewhere. You shouldn't worry about if you are admitted, if you are unsafe it is the best option and there are good and bad days but even on the bad ones it just makes a fun an exciting story to tell all of your friends once you get out of there! Hang in there OP, you got this!