Has psych wards helped anyone at all?

[Scythe]

Just curious about this, them politians or whoever seems rather insistent that psych wards can help people. But all I seen is horror stories from psych wards and people saying they didn't like it there. The only case I know where a psych ward helped was someone who had a sudden manic episode. But they didn't have any mental issues before that so all they really needed was some meds and a little bit of therapy. So my question is has anyone here actually felt like psych wards improved their condition or had a positive experience with it?

 

[jodes2]

Yeah it saved me from a terrifying psychotic episode once. The 7 times I've been have been between ok and good. But I'm in the UK, and the staff always seem to be really nice here. It gets boring in those places, certainly in the NHS ones without daytime activities, but otherwise I can't complain. The food was always either nice or amazing! They've taken me out of my suicidal stages a number of times, all with short stays under a month except once, which now I'm quite grateful for really. Though plenty of times in the past I'd just have preferred help to die. But I guess that's how it can be. I've probably spent a full 10 years being suicidal over 20 years on and off. But all the therapy has started to really help, it's finally clicked for me. The meds could have been better probably though, I don't know if they've helped me but they've certainly helped my gf. We actually met in hospital that fixed my suicidal ideation pretty quickly at the time funny days. My worst time at hospital was just when I had psychosis and literally thought I was going to be tortured once. That was terrifying. But the staff were kind. They just couldn't do much for me but wait for the meds to kick in. Being there prevented me doing some crazy shit for sure

 

[sheepgirl]

I was first admitted to a children's psych ward at 15 - probably had about 10 different admissions (from just 2 days to weeks - at the time the ward was used both for acute admissions and respite) and that was actually a safe place for me and kept me safe and gave me the support I needed. Had my first adult ward admission at 17. From there things got worse for me and it wasnt a safe place, I've experienced a lot of mistreatment and trauma there. But there are some good staff that have genuinely helped me. I would be dead already had it not been for some admissions however I've also nearly succeeded at ctb numerous times while in the ward. Last year I became really bad and tried to ctb with antifreeze twice and tried to hahah myself. Being in hospital following those did help, without that support at the time I would have tried again. It helped me get from rock bottom to a better place mentally. I'm still in hospital currently 4 months on from my last attempt, it's shit now and I just wanna leave but yeah I will say it's helped me numerous times.

I was first admitted to a children's psych ward at 15 - probably had about 10 different admissions (from just 2 days to weeks - at the time the ward was used both for acute admissions and respite) and that was actually a safe place for me and kept me safe and gave me the support I needed. Had my first adult ward admission at 17. From there things got worse for me and it wasnt a safe place, I've experienced a lot of mistreatment and trauma there. But there are some good staff that have genuinely helped me. I would be dead already had it not been for some admissions however I've also nearly succeeded at ctb numerous times while in the ward. Last year I became really bad and tried to ctb with antifreeze twice and tried to hahah myself. Being in hospital following those did help, without that support at the time I would have tried again. It helped me get from rock bottom to a better place mentally. I'm still in hospital currently 4 months on from my last attempt, it's shit now and I just wanna leave but yeah I will say it's helped me numerous times.

Oh and I spent 9 months in residental inpatient. Would 100% be 100 times worse off if I hadn't gone. Helped me a lot despite some of the crap I endured there.

 

[noname223]

I had different experiences. It helped me a lot when I was psychotic

I am not sure what a psych ward really means. There are these clinics where like everything is shielded of you. They take your phone etc. and all the psychotic and acute suicidal people are there. For me as I said when I was psychotic it helped me but it is also a very frightening experience. I think someone molested me there.

However I was afterwards in another clinic also for psychotic people with more freedom. I am not sure whether it counts as psych ward. They forced me to stay when I was acute suicidal. But the life quality was way better. Also because I cooperated all the time. I think going there on a voluntary basis was positive for my stay there. As I said cooperation usually helps in such clinics.

 

[stermc]

It was good for me, but only because I wanted to be there and I focused on getting better.

 

[FieldsofLavender]

Personally, no. I don't know what the mental health care is like where you live, but where I live, it's a garbage fire. The mental ward I want to had a single professional, who only did CBT therapy. Everyone else was basically a babysitter. I think this anecdote can explain what it was like there:
I knew a girl there who had just survived a suicide attempt after escaping a nazi child sex trafficking ring.
The staff told her to cheer up, that she doesn't have it that bad, she could be in a child sex trafficking ring.
She had to explain to them she had been in one, and they just kind of went "Oh. Well."

Both me and her left the place in just as much pain as when we were put into it, and she ended up going to another ward afterwards.
The only thing it did was give her a nicotine addiction she still has to this day as far as I know.

 

[Scythe]

Looks like one of the factors is whether you want help or not. Good to know this place people gets locked up in can indeed help. Thank you everyone who answered.
(Jesus, psych wards rlly be the gathering place of horror stories)

 

[AnonymousS]

Just curious about this, them politians or whoever seems rather insistent that psych wards can help people. But all I seen is horror stories from psych wards and people saying they didn't like it there. The only case I know where a psych ward helped was someone who had a sudden manic episode. But they didn't have any mental issues before that so all they really needed was some meds and a little bit of therapy. So my question is has anyone here actually felt like psych wards improved their condition or had a positive experience with it?

I have had several admissions to a few different hospitals here in the UK. Some of helped, when the staff were very good and caring. Unfortunately that's not always the case, but even in the good admissions, i was further helped often by other patients, even if they do not suffer from the same illness they can stil empathise. Sometimes though the unit has been appalling, and actually made me worse, due to various causes but sadly some staff that have no business being near vulnerable, and high risk patients. It hasn't been all good, or all bad, it is just difficult because you are generally very, very unwell. It is not easy, but sometimes it is the best place for some people at the time.

 

[Kattt]

Personally, I don't find it to be an environment conducive with healing. There's always some drama and mayhem, whatever the hour of day or night. Just some peace and quiet would be so therapeutic.
It's consistently understaffed, which means patients who have restricted access to possessions and facilities, are part of an endless waiting game. Scheduled activities are abandoned because the limited personnel have more immediate duties than supervising entertainment. Instead patients are medicated heavily and parked in front of the idiot box.
There's such a severe shortage of inpatient places that even the suicidal are turned away. Often patients are transferred to a facility many miles away because it's the only place with space. Before being discharged, patients are permitted overnight or perhaps weekend leave to ascertain suitability. Yet upon return, they should expect to find another patient in their bed.
My nearest facility doesn't even have control of the heating there. It's all managed from a single facility about 25 miles away. An area that caters for 530,000 people has little more than 200 inpatient places in total.

 

[LaVieEnRose]

Not me. Only made things worse.

 

[AnonymousS]

Personally, I don't find it to be an environment conducive with healing. There's always some drama and mayhem, whatever the hour of day or night. Just some peace and quiet would be so therapeutic.
It's consistently understaffed, which means patients who have restricted access to possessions and facilities, are part of an endless waiting game. Scheduled activities are abandoned because the limited personnel have more immediate duties than supervising entertainment. Instead patients are medicated heavily and parked in front of the idiot box.
There's such a severe shortage of inpatient places that even the suicidal are turned away. Often patients are transferred to a facility many miles away because it's the only place with space. Before being discharged, patients are permitted overnight or perhaps weekend leave to ascertain suitability. Yet upon return, they should expect to find another patient in their bed.
My nearest facility doesn't even have control of the heating there. It's all managed from a single facility about 25 miles away. An area that caters for 530,000 people has little more than 200 inpatient places in total.

Mental health funding is pitiful, i think that's the case in a lot of countries. It's disgraceful really.

 

[deathlamp]

its so varied honestly its hard 2 give a meaningful answer unless a specific facility is being discussed. ive had bad experiences frm having 2 stay temporarily in psychosis focused places(im usually placed in da ward 4 eating disorders which is calmer) but wen im inna right place its both saved and improved my life multiple times. its jus i keep relapsing is all lol

 

[bijou]

depends…not all mental health professionals are created equal. i was accused of "bullying" on a youth unit once because i didn't take kindly to another client calling me a "thot". when the staff confronted me about it i was genuinely baffled because i hadn't done anything other than distance myself from them and not talk to them much. they apparently left because of me, but i didn't do anything…

that made me feel extra shitty and confused.

 

[MelancholyMagic]

that fixed my suicidal ideation pretty quickly at the time

How did the hospital "fix" it, if you feel like sharing?

Also, did you get charged for going there in the UK?

 

[jodes2]

How did the hospital "fix" it, if you feel like sharing?

Also, did you get charged for going there in the UK?

I was on my dad's insurance til I was 25 and went to the priory which was amazing. The other 4 times was NHS and it was reasonable. All we're free basically. Once, when I met my gf there, that fixed it cos I'd been so lonely. The other times, just being around supportive people fixed it, maybe the medication helped a bit. Maybe having a better diet there and talking to people also helped. Having a break from home

 

[emptywords]

i've been inpatient 5 or 6 times, one of them voluntary.
the involuntary ones, i honestly don't think helped. finding the right balance of meds has always been a struggle for me and i have cptsd and a whole bunch of other stuff that makes it rough as well. i was also in a v bad situation through most of that as well, tho.
my voluntary inpatient time was also my longest stay. the staff there were all very genuine and helpful and the talking actually helped. ironically this was the one place that couldn't help with med management but i really feel like i just needed to be heard.

 

[hellispink]

No. All I received in there was abusive and horrible treatments. All they do is put in a bunch of meds with horrible side effects that take forever to wean off. It is just all about money, they do not care. At least in public hospitals and services. About private I don't have experience cause got no money.

 

[theboy]

I was under hard treatment for 4 months. However, months later when I left the clinic the depressive symptoms returned. My family spent a lot of money on my treatment but it didn't really help me 100%.

Yeah

you and your girlfriend are not influenced by ctb ideas?

I was

Antifreeze attempts?
How do you write if you are in hospital?

 

[another@]

No
If it was helpful I would call it a hospital or a respite / recovery program, rehabilitation, educational leave, foster or care program, whatever
Not a ward No

 

[nembutal]

it helped me realize i was not alone in my struggles and suicidality. it also gave me somewhat of a break from life outside, a "reset" if you will. this was ONLY when i voluntarily walked into one myself and did extensive research on their practices and reviews beforehand. NYU Langone on 1st ave in manhattan- if anyone is close to the city i would highly recommend it. other than that i had an involuntary stay at woodhull in brooklyn. i was physically / sexually harassed by a patient and was only saved by another patient while the nurses ignored me. i came out more hopeless than i had come in. it was awful.

 

[Regen]

She helped me and she didn't help me.

As a teenager I was in a psychiatric ward, not everything was really good there, but I still took some really good things with me, some of which I'm only realizing today. I think some of the good things from there I could only store inside myself, but didn't use before. I bring them out as experience when the time is right.

As an adult I was in a day clinic. It didn't help directly, but I'm benefiting from a few things today.

Normal adult psychiatry has not helped me at all. That was pure junk. I would never voluntarily go there again!! But I would go to a planned rehabilitation clinic, it's significantly different than in acute psychiatry. I would look for a concept and offer that suits me and then I would definitely benefit from it.

 

[lionetta12]

Just curious about this, them politians or whoever seems rather insistent that psych wards can help people. But all I seen is horror stories from psych wards and people saying they didn't like it there. The only case I know where a psych ward helped was someone who had a sudden manic episode. But they didn't have any mental issues before that so all they really needed was some meds and a little bit of therapy. So my question is has anyone here actually felt like psych wards improved their condition or had a positive experience with it?

Did not help me since I'm not sick enough to get proper care in there, all the focus and resources here are put towards the people who are violent and who have hallucinations so those who are just suicidal and struggle with trauma are forgotten.

 

[imnotokay]

Someone I know had two different involuntary holds in two different facilities. She said the first one was terrible all the way around and was trauma in itself. She very much did not want to be there nor cooperate with their requests, yet it still sounded pretty horrible to me. The second time was a different facility. She was motivated to participate in sessions and try to begin healing. She still didn't like it (it is called involuntary for a reason), but feels she received some help there, and made some contacts she continued to communicate with for awhile. I actually talked with staff members at both places and hated the way the staff at the first place talked about the people there. Staff at the second place was much more positive and professional.

 

[Benzzzy]

ever since I got in one I've been struggling to get out.
It's been 13-14 years.

 

[your pathologist]

Personally, I find them helpful. There, if i become panicked and desperately suicidal, i have doctors able to introduce new meds, adjust and/or monitor my symptoms on a day to day personal basis. This is easier and much quicker than Out Patient services during a crisis.
I am very fortunate to live in the state i do because I have heard of horror stories from Psych wards only a few states away.
I've gone in willing to be treated and had positive experiences as well as a few times things were awful. Not on the facility but on what we know as humans about the human mind and the effects of antidepressant withdrawal.
Other times I've gone while deep in psychosis and have been forcibly restrained and sedated and then subsequently mistreated for my reactions. The bad treatment was while i was in Psychosis and being verbally abusive while in Emergency Psych Departments. The more positive treatment came from Voluntary admission to In Patient Psychiatric care.

 

[fuqed]

regrettably i've been involuntarily hospitalized 25 times, ive been to 4 outpatient programs ive been on medication that would make me sleep hours a night. go to a hospital because you want to go there and do your research. if you get along with the staff and the patients its fine but i still hate going to the hospital my mental illness makes socializing like going to the dentist.

 

[Hirokami]

Do short-term crisis centers count? The one I went to did help to an extent. It got me out of bed, at least, and I was able to travel normally. However, in return, I got yelled at and gaslit so many times. Even insulted by the doctors, therapists, and staff. I did not feel mentally safe there.

 

[freedompass]

regrettably i've been involuntarily hospitalized 25 times, ive been to 4 outpatient programs ive been on medication that would make me sleep hours a night. go to a hospital because you want to go there and do your research. if you get along with the staff and the patients its fine but i still hate going to the hospital my mental illness makes socializing like going to the dentist.

Wow I rarely see anyone else who has had as many involuntary hospitalisations as I have. Most of them were pretty unpleasant, the most recent wasn't too bad…the sense of community made a change from being alone all the time. Back on topic my bipolar 'highs' tend to recur no matter what medication regime I'm on, regrettably I've given up hope at this point that any med or combo of such is proof against the relapses. Thankfully I don't seem to get the severe depressions anymore touch wood.

 

[cristaleyez]

No. And I hate being watched.
There were some staff that were definitely one of a kind though and very caring.

And now that I've been in both a child's psych ward and an adult one, the adult one was so much worse. In the children's psych ward, they actually gave you activities to do. Group sessions all day in between meals and whatnot. There wasn't really many moments where you were bored doing nothing, except maybe towards the end of the day.

The adult psych ward on the other hand had almost nothing to do. 1-2 group sessions a day. The other hours you just sort of...exist. They offer coloring and puzzles like crosswords and that's about it. Feels like you're trapped in Kindergarten all day and night. Of course, you could interact with the other patients. Thankfully, there were some tolerable ones for me to converse with. One even did my hair. That was nice.
Other than that it was very filthy. I remember someone moving the trashcan and it was leaking and the floor was just covered in bugs. The shower was pretty disgusting too.

All I've experienced is dehumanization. I felt subhuman the entire time.
The best part of a psych ward, to me, is leaving.

 

[d3c96524be95]

No. And I hate being watched.
There were some staff that were definitely one of a kind though and very caring.

And now that I've been in both a child's psych ward and an adult one, the adult one was so much worse. In the children's psych ward, they actually gave you activities to do. Group sessions all day in between meals and whatnot. There wasn't really many moments where you were bored doing nothing, except maybe towards the end of the day.

The adult psych ward on the other hand had almost nothing to do. 1-2 group sessions a day. The other hours you just sort of...exist. They offer coloring and puzzles like crosswords and that's about it. Feels like you're trapped in Kindergarten all day and night. Of course, you could interact with the other patients. Thankfully, there were some tolerable ones for me to converse with. One even did my hair. That was nice.
Other than that it was very filthy. I remember someone moving the trashcan and it was leaking and the floor was just covered in bugs. The shower was pretty disgusting too.

All I've experienced is dehumanization. I felt subhuman the entire time.
The best part of a psych ward, to me, is leaving.

The only thing that surprises me in your message is "1-2 group sessions a day" . During my stays in psychiatric wards, there was no such things as "group sessions". I would only see a psychiatrist inconsistently, once or twice a week on average, and that's it. The rest of the time, they'd feed you (with terrible food btw) and give you enough sedatives so that they can have some peace. Extreme boredom indeed. At least you have all the time to ruminate on how you should not have failed your suicide attempt and how you're going to convince doctors that you feel better thanks to their pills and imprisonment treatments.