
Halo13
Wizard
- May 9, 2019
- 671
I was strapped to a bed about 6 years ago from a pill overdose ctb attempt. They were so concerned I would try to hurt myself, they had a nurse sit with me in 12 hour shifts by my side 24/7. The nurse would also come in the bathroom with me but turn their backs while I went. It was so uncomfortable, I'd have a hard time going. Even so, I've seen other patients get frustrated with the staff, not want to take their meds or something and get physically restrained, shot with an antipsychotic before placed in the quiet room. It has nothing but a bed bolted to the floor, they don't turn out the lights, camera watching and a door with a little observation window.I read a lot about people being strapped to beds, is that seriously a thing? I thought it was something only done in movies? What about human rights, what about bathroom trips, food etc? How the hell does all that work?
The staff would say "it is for your own good and safety of others." I always thought it was extremely unnecessary because often the situation wasn't dangerous but rather a patient saying "I've never taken this medication before, can I wait to talk with the doctor first?" The nurse would get annoyed, the patient would get frustrated and angry. Or a patient was just sick of being there, end up throwing a fit and the staff would consider it "dangerous". Just last summer there was a young woman on my ward who was chatting with another female patient while braiding her hair. The staff made her stop, she got upset because it was ridiculous and they threw her in the quiet room. As for food, there's 3 meals a day plus 1-2 snacks of fruit, yogurt, sometimes ice cream or granola bars so they're definitely not starving patients and in better hospitals, a resident nutritionist visits each patient to discuss dietary restrictions, allergies, vegan or vegetarian preferences and such.
I don't live in an underdeveloped country or place with out-of-date psychiatric treatment methods. I don't see how it is legal to strap a patient down unless they pose a serious threat of violence or self harm. The first time I was admitted I was really shocked to see it was real - made me think of movies and books, too. The psychiatrists themselves didn't seem to support the restraints anywhere near as much as the rest of the staff. I had a friend who worked as a nutritionist in a psych ward who would talk about patients being "psychotic", even asking me when my "psychosis" began (I'm not psychotic) and made massively blanketed and general judgements as anyone who attempts suicide/is suicidal, has anxiety or depression, really anyone who is in therapy or something as "psychotic" and even said she thought most of the patients were schizophrenic for the simple fact they had issues. It gave me the impression the staff at those places view people like us in a totally different way than we actually are. As legitimately stark raving lunatic versus the "good", "decent" "normal" people that can't grasp suicidal folks are humans just like them. It's amazing anyone has that mindset in 2019 but I gathered it could be why patients are still treated so poorly.