Discussion How was the psychward/hospital for you?

[Cyagangy]

I still plan on catching the bus but I hear so many bad stories about psychward. It lets me know the punishment of failing and I understand no two answers will be the same so I want to hear your tales.

 

[Soupster]

Honestly, I've had multiple admits to different facilities, and while I don't have horror stories to share like some I can tell you they are mostly worthless wastes of time. The only thing they accomplish in my experience is keeping you from harming yourself while you are there, for the most parts.

They make token attempts at therapy - but therapeutic relationships take time to build and opening up to a psych ward therapist to have to start over once you're out is dubious. Not to mention, making a connection with one is unlikely. One had a daily group session, but it was of limited value.

They will likely forcefully medicate you. That medication can be useful, but is unlikely to match the regimine you're prescribed once you're on the outside.

The food is terrible. The beds/rooms uncomfortable. People smell (showers, deodorant, oral hygiene and fresh clothes are all limited). The vast majority of the time there is simply nothing to do, besides perhaps watching TV with no control over what you're watching. The staff is often burnt out. Lastly, your fellow inmates can either be great, or more often miserable.

 

[Iris Blue]

I definitely think it depends on where you are located. Different countries probably different experiences. I'm located in the US and all the times I've been put inpatient it didn't seem to really help, it more felt like it was to give everyone else a break instead of really helping me. It's just really a place where they can safely test different medications on you without the risk. I don't think I benefitted from any of the groups or the psychiatrist but I did make a couple of good friends while in there, unfortunately contact dropped after being discharged but I do cherish the relationships I made during one of my hardest times. I do have a couple paragraphs I wrote describing my full experience I posted a while back, if you are interested I can try to find it and paste it here, it is quite long though but if you are interested I don't mind :)

 

[brokeandbroken]

I definitely think it depends on where you are located. Different countries probably different experiences. I'm located in the US and all the times I've been put inpatient it didn't seem to really help, it more felt like it was to give everyone else a break instead of really helping me. It's just really a place where they can safely test different medications on you without the risk. I don't think I benefitted from any of the groups or the psychiatrist but I did make a couple of good friends while in there, unfortunately contact dropped after being discharged but I do cherish the relationships I made during one of my hardest times. I do have a couple paragraphs I wrote describing my full experience I posted a while back, if you are interested I can try to find it and paste it here, it is quite long though but if you are interested I don't mind :)

To be honest I've been there 4 times once in Poland and three in the US. To be honest just generally uncaring staff. The most caring staff I saw was in Poland but that didn't translate to me someone who didn't speak Polish and who isn't Polish. I was kind of just invisible. The first time in the US was a mixed bag. Shortest stay in the US. Best food and best facility. Staff were mostly caring. That said it did nothing to help me. I saw the doctor once and I was there almost three weeks I think.

The latter two times staff was mostly uncaring, nurses on power trips many of whom probably should've been in on the otherside to work out whatever issues they have. A few people were okay in terms of staff especially the last time. 3rd was a shit show and none of the staff I have good things to say. Lazy would be the word I would use. Patients an afterthought.

All in all none of the times have i been helped even in an insignificant way by going. Wouldn't recommend. If you expect a nice, caring environment it isn't it. If you expect a doctor to give a shit about you or care about anything other than cashing a check it isn't it or going to happen least as far as US docs. None gave the slightest fuck about anyone hit themselves I'm honestly not sure they are capable. Maybe that's why the became psychiatrists.

 

[LunarLight]

Horrible and a waste of time. It's mostly super duper boring.

 

[Imcantbreathe]

One of the worse experiences of my life, it made more miserable if anything. I was either staring at the walls or watching Law & Order. Food was horrible btw

 

[Lady Laudanum]

I'm there right now. I'm bored out of my mind all the time. There's nothing to do. The food is absolute shit.

 

[Gabbi_Station]

Had the opposite effect- encouraged me even more to try and kill myself.

As others have said- they are pointless and utterly absurd and accomplish absolutely nothing.

 

[Hollowman]

The second time I was there the incompetent staff provided me the means to attempt. I wish it would've worked. Complete waste of time and money.

 

[DeadManLiving]

Had the opposite effect- encouraged me even more to try and kill myself.

As others have said- they are pointless and utterly absurd and accomplish absolutely nothing.

It definitely did encourage me to kill myself - it was the final nail in the coffin.

 

[Trying To Live]

I've been there 9 times in total and 2 times the mobile crisis team.

It sucked sometimes, but it was necessary. I'm from Western Europe. So I don't know how it is in other parts of the world.

It was not a waste of time.

 

[needthebus]

It definitely did encourage me to kill myself - it was the final nail in the coffin.

same for me

I dont trust doctors or therapists as a result

Ive given up after it and wont even see a regular doctor now

 

[Imcantbreathe]

I'm there right now. I'm bored out of my mind all the time. There's nothing to do. The food is absolute shit.

How do you have a phone ? They took all electronics from me lol, you're quite lucky my friend. I'm wishing you well behind those walls

 

[Tesha]

(UK based). Over 9 admissions in the last 4 years here. Most private, some NHS. None of them actually helped my MH - they did mitigate me taking action on my suicidal thoughts, but they did not improve circumstances.

If you're in a situation where you're looking to go in, I would recommend you try it - as they can mitigate your immediate thoughts about ending your life. But, if your mind is set, then they're probably going to be unable to help (despite their best efforts).

 

[Lady Laudanum]

How do you have a phone ? They took all electronics from me lol, you're quite lucky my friend. I'm wishing you well behind those walls

I'm 2 days from being released from the psych ward. Imagine if I jinxed myself by getting caught on SS lmao

 

[Gone soon]

I came to physic ward for the first time after my almost successful attempt on hanging, at the age of 15. You could tell they didn't take you seriously. Young man, gay, mentally ill. I was literally treated like a little child. They rather tried to fight my being gay than help me with my depressions that led to my suicide attempt. They didn't help at all.

 

[Imcantbreathe]

I'm 2 days from being released from the psych ward. Imagine if I jinxed myself by getting caught on SS lmao

I love that for you, i hope these 48 hours fly by... I'm sending warm wishes your direction don't worry lol

 

[Lady Laudanum]

I love that for you, i hope these 48 hours fly by... I'm sending warm wishes your direction don't worry lol

It'll probably be fine. This was my easiest psych ward stay so far. I've been 100% cooperative with the staff though.

During previous psych ward admissions I've been sedated, restrained, force fed, etc. and saw some really fucked up shit happen to other patients too. There was no end in sight with those admissions and I fought staff, broke restraints until they brought in the heavy leather straps, punched the walls, threw furniture, etc. because I was just so terrified of what was happening.

 

[divinemistress36]

I guess I've been 3 times I dont remember it I got talked into electro shock therapy and dont remember shit

 

[Trakehner]

I've been hospitalized twice. I left worse than I went in. The worst part is that in America, you have to pay a lot for it even with insurance. Next time I attempt I'll make sure I'm successful.

 

[spirittheyregone]

Its really not that bad, its expensive as hell though so id hope you have good insurance, just be cooperative and calm and youll get out of there quick

 

[NotesFromTheShadow]

I still plan on catching the bus but I hear so many bad stories about psychward. It lets me know the punishment of failing and I understand no two answers will be the same so I want to hear your tales.

Pretty much like in "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest."
I came out way worse than I went in, and in there crazy shit happened almost every day.

Honest opinion: this shit is the opposite of helpful. Sedate me, tie me to a bed, give me a bunch of diagnoses labelling all the shit that's supposedly "wrong" with me. Prescribe a bunch of addictive medication, send me home... Yeah I can totally see how this is the solution here. lmfao - not

 

[-nobodyknows-]

Depends on where you are. The private ones are a lot better if you can afford it

 

[Nefera]

Fine, the staff was very caring and nice, sadly I don't think that's the norm outside of my country (BR)

Got reintroduced to eating solid foods, then eating in front of others and then to socialize with strangers, they seemed to know precisely what methods were needed and were actively and empathetic as they worked with us...

They let me draw all day or read whatever I wanted from the library, even taking the books outside the room and read it on the garden

 

[banger12]

Edit: this went on way longer than I expected and I'm so sorry but I truly hope you appreciate the detailed response and that some people can make good use of thr information provided. Some people feel they have benefited from psychiatric units and may have needed them, but overall I have a very negative impression of these place, so warning I'm biased. I've been admitted to different psych units a couple times and so I described what was generally true of most or all of them here. This is by no means comprehensive and there are things im probably forgetting to add by mistake or would only be relevant to one facility. Keep in mind though that this is based only on the personal experience of myself, patients I've talked to at these places, and observations I've made while there as a patient. I hope this helps you or someone else. Please enjoy.

Edit #2: Forgot to note that every time no matter the facility I've had my phone, wallet, etc confiscated as per usual policy, without fail. They do allow visitation times (usually a pre-scheduled hour each week) from family but have rules around it like hug/physical affection prohibitions. And you have phone call hours where you can make calls out using a shitty landlines. Also, for context, I'm an American male, in case that information sheds further light on the matter.

I've been to psychiatric units a total of 3 separate psychiatric units in my life, 4 times in my life in total, 2 weeks each (except for final one). Idk if that counts. They werent their own dedicated mental hospital and it wasn't long term so idk if it counts as a mental hospitalization. Each time I was there it was over CTB related stuff. Twice as a minor, twice as an adult. Two of these happened during covid and idk if they are at all representative of any hospital experience nowadays.

Mostly uneventful but here's a few details. Keep in mind the is representative of only my experience and its very possible quite a few other facilities are different. You have no access to therapy at all. You'll likely be talking with a psychiatrist or a number of other docs and maybe a social worker or some shit. But you won't have access to therapy or emotional comfort. Also btw the docs and staff don't care what you think, only what they want.

They will have "group therapy" if you could even call it that. There will be other group activities to, some of which are supposed to be fun and some that are supposed to teach you skills, all of which felt useful or unpleasant. Btw they track your participation on that stupid shit and it counts toward your discharge.

Depending on the unit you'll either be able to order from a list of options that they cook up in the cafeteria or you'll be escorted to the cafeteria and everybody will eat the same stuff, it's not great but not terrible.

Other patients are a mixed bag. Most are cool but obviously it's a psych unit and you don't know why they're there, what their motives are, if they're being truthful etc, so caution is valuable. However given that you're all there together you'll likely befriend some other patients and bind over shitty life experiences and being stuck in a medical facility. It's to be expected this will happen, especially with no access to therapy or other emotional support, however it's technically prohibited, so these conversations typically don't happen until the neglectful staff are out of ear shot, which is often. There will likely be a couple unhinged patients who may make you feel unsafe at times and you'll have to be around them, and I still always felt bad for them. And patients sometimes fluctuate or oscillate between being pleasant to disturbing. Some patients value their time there, but most become more jaded about the whole thing the longer they're there and the more they get to observe.

It's possible you'll need to share rooms, you're not going to get any privacy. Fuck, you can't even shut your door half the time. Your room will be so suicide-proof even down to details like the faucets and toilet paper holders.

However, you're there to be "stabilized" which is some kind of HR/PR Newspeak for "forced onto medication that likely won't help" which for the sake of comedy I'll refer to as "pharma slop". The staff for the most part don't give a fuck about you or other patients, with some exceptions, and quite a few actively resent the patients, sometimes openly so and express it. Some staff will be regulars. Patients will pick favorites out of the very few kind staffers. It's not universally true for every patient (although certainly true for the majority) and it's never stated explicitly, but there's an unwritten rule that if you want out you have to agree to start some pharma slop, which conveniently they're ready to send a prescription out to your pharmacy as soon as you're discharged. In fact it feels almost like a war of attrition to get you to fold and just submit to having the pharma slop shoved down your throat and whatever else they want you to do. It happened to me and I was on tons of meds for 2 years after the fact. There are some other criteria for discharge, some better and reasonable and some that are really bad, but the medication/pharma slop shit is obviously noteworthy. However, I suspect it may be possible to run out the clock with insurance at these places based on some remarks docs there made to me at the time, however I'm not sure so don't quote me on that.

I want to clarify btw that I think some people do need these places and that I'm not necessarily anti-medication. But it feels like over-prescription is endemic on these units and it feels very corrupt regardless. Plus, rarely do patients feel helped. I'd wager there is a financial motive involved, if not with the individual staff or facilities (which is possible) than in how the whole system is designed in the first place. It's also noteworthy that people who are depressed, anxious and suicidal are placed in the same facility among patients with very different, much more extreme/severe mental illnesses.

They will hand out notebooks and suicide-proof pens. They claim to respect your privacy. Don't believe them. From what I understand those are routinely checked and I've had other patients tell me about incidents in which staff has used journal entries against them.

In terms of episodes of abuse or SA I'm unaware of any committed by either staff or patients at any of the facilities I've been admitted to, other than one patient who would expose himself to female patients, as well as the odd attempted unit hookup or relationship. This stuff is pretty bad and concerning, but these were rare incidents and not full blown SA, although it certainly is enough to make one worry for their safety, especially since among the patients plenty had stories from other facilities of worse being perpetrated by both employees and other patients. It's not impossible that at some point some really bad incident occurred at the facilities I was at. Small note, when I get admitted to these places, typically they force you to strip in front of a staffer and then change into the shitty hospital clothes, ig because they worry about elastic wastelands becoming makeshift nooses or that you may hide razor blades in your box cutters. From what I understand this is standard procedure at most places but it's incredibly invasive and it's easy to see how a predator could take advantage of that. And given all the paperwork you're forced to sign god knows what rights you're signing away or how legally protected these facilities are.

I think these facilities also demonstrate the moral bankruptcy of suicide prevention as an action, idea and motivation. A pretty decent chunk of patients were repeat admissions and never experienced any long term benefit from them. But many people report having suffered as a result of their basically forced admission. Many end up committing suicide eventually anyway. So these institutions seemingly generate harm more than they reduce it.

I was very cooperative and honest while I was at these places. I didn't benefit. Some do but I git discharged the honest and productive way during most of my stays and I basically submitted and gave in to everything they wanted. Never benefitted. Ofc I can't speak for everyone but I hate these damn places.

I'm there right now. I'm bored out of my mind all the time. There's nothing to do. The food is absolute shit.

I am so surprised they let you have access to electronics, although this is not unheard of. I had a friend who went to one but was allowed access to their phone. I always had my stuff confiscated. And yeah they're horribly unpleasant places I'm so sorry you were thrown in there.

I definitely think it depends on where you are located. Different countries probably different experiences. I'm located in the US and all the times I've been put inpatient it didn't seem to really help, it more felt like it was to give everyone else a break instead of really helping me. It's just really a place where they can safely test different medications on you without the risk. I don't think I benefitted from any of the groups or the psychiatrist but I did make a couple of good friends while in there, unfortunately contact dropped after being discharged but I do cherish the relationships I made during one of my hardest times. I do have a couple paragraphs I wrote describing my full experience I posted a while back, if you are interested I can try to find it and paste it here, it is quite long though but if you are interested I don't mind :)

Thank you for sharing. My experience was very similar to what you described here, although I felt that I was pressured into taking medication and I questioned the motives/intent of the people there. But to an extent I can see the value in having patients in a facility to start and change meds instead of in the outer world

I've been there 9 times in total and 2 times the mobile crisis team.

It sucked sometimes, but it was necessary. I'm from Western Europe. So I don't know how it is in other parts of the world.

It was not a waste of time.

I'm very happy you had a good experience and feel you have benefitted. In the US it's generally a lot worse.

 

[Steff1337]

Been in 3 special mental hospitals between the ages of 11 and 27. Every time was just worse and worse. Btw, each time I was forcefully admitted, wish I died instead.

 

[RoseGarden]

I'm fortunate to have never gone. I work in a mental health adjacent field so I know what to say and do to make sure I can't be forcefully held. last time I tried to hang myself I told the doctor it was an autoerotic asphyxiation fetish. it's a common ASF excuse but with some unsavory details you can get doctors to believe you.

 

[cosmicsoleil]

I've been hospitalised 6 times, once in a childrens psych unit and the other 5 times in an adult unit.

I still have nightmares about it lol

 

[DeadManLiving]

Something needs to be done about these facilities. Class action? Dry hunger strike protests? CTBing en masse in the name of abolishment?

 

[username12345]

Absolutely terrible. They were really aggressive when I had to take my clothes off since I'm trans, they would constantly misgender me, they treated me like a freak, and they would ask if I was hallucinating several times. Like they'd ask the question and I'd say no and then they'd ask it again right after and I'd say no and then they'd ask it again! Cis people are so eager to write trans people off as crazy. And then when I told then about the abuse from my family they just treated me like I was crazy for dealing with that like wtf? Hospitals are not competent to deal with neither trans issues nor PTSD. They also kept forcing the Bible on me and trying to trick me into going to their Bible meetings and then laughing about it. Like I still believe in God but I know when cis people are trying to use the Bible to be a transphobe. And then they also forced me to stay on the girls side after I had to take my clothes off but then at the same time I had to have a separate room from them since I'm not a girl. Make it make sense. When they had to check my body they would literally scream! And then they would ask me questions about my body that has nothing to do with mental health. And they forced the bathroom door on me and literally hurt me and left a bruise on my arm. And the whole time they're acting like victims. I was able to get them to let me go home earlier than they wanted me too because they were so discriminative from start to finish.