I mean look im not an addict or have profound reality altering medical conditions. I'm just depressed because of the crimes that happened to me and resulted in a horrible shitty life.
Yet I was treated like shit. Like utter shit. At the last psych ward I was fully and I mean fully strip searched when I came in. Never saw this happen with anyone else. I had already been in the ED for a few days at that point just what exactly were they looking for I never tested positive for drugs, that I needed to be humiliated and treated inhumanely like that. Nurses liked to go on massive compensating power trips. Lack of empathy from most is common in my experience. If you need anything it is treated as a monumental inconvenience. I'm there because Literally said I'm going to give you a chance to restore my view of hunanity and show me a little and not kill myself. Yet even that low low low bar just be kind and empathic was too much.
If you have a psychotic break sure go. Depressed. Nah you'll regret it. They aren't going to care about making you better. They just don't. The people I was with weren't capable of caring or making you better. My situation isn't terribly complex. Yet it proved too much. It really shouldn't have. As someone who was in medical school. I'd be embarrassed to deliver that quality of care.
Edit: I was planning on hanging myself with a rope which I had which was actually confiscated. Even it hadn't been I'm not going to hide a rope in my asshole after calling to get into the psychward and I'm not even sure that is possible. Also means no one was in danger.... What was the even implied danger lassoing?
There are mental health advocacy groups out there. I would suggest that people reach out to them and tell them their story and how the way depressed and suicidal people are treated in hospital make it more likely that they will not seek help in the future. I think I read somewhere that studies have shown a high correlation between hospitalizations and successful suicides.
If you don't think it will make a difference, remember that before mental health advocates started to raise their voices, people were sent to state hospitals against their will, without a strong reason . Many of these people would wind up being stuck in these institutions for years. Now, unless someone agrees to go to a state hospital, the only way they can be sent is if a judge finds them unable to care for themselves
From my time in the psych ward the most jarring thing was the lack of staff and the local authorities placing older people with dementia and such like in wards with violent and unpredictable drug users rather than assisted accommodation or care homes also due to high staff turnover there was also a fair bit of exploitation by some staff due to shortcuts taken in the hiring process.
I believe it depends on the locality. I live in New York City. My first inpatient experience was relatively positive. they sent me to a small facility in upstate NY. Most of the patients were not really psychotic, so you could actually talk with them. My second experience was much worse. I was in a hospital lock down unit, surrounded by actively psychotic individuals, one person was actually put in a padded room. It was extremly traumatizing. I believe that if we speak up like the advocates did 50 years ago, we can foster positive change. Why don't you try reaching out to a peer run agency. SAMSA is a good refference site that might link you to groups in your community.
From my time in the psych ward the most jarring thing was the lack of staff and the local authorities placing older people with dementia and such like in wards with violent and unpredictable drug users rather than assisted accommodation or care homes also due to high staff turnover there was also a fair bit of exploitation by some staff due to shortcuts taken in the hiring process.
I believe it depends on the locality. I live in New York City. My first inpatient experience was relatively positive. they sent me to a small facility in upstate NY. Most of the patients were not really psychotic, so you could actually talk with them. My second experience was much worse. I was in a hospital lock down unit, surrounded by actively psychotic individuals, one person was actually put in a padded room. It was extremly traumatizing. I believe that if we speak up like the advocates did 50 years ago, we can foster positive change. Why don't you try reaching out to a peer run agency. SAMSA is a good refference site that might link you to groups in your community.
I saw a guy shit himself once, just stood there and it rolled down his leg out of his pant leg on the floor, his expression was completely blank... other than that I just felt numb and trapped and infantilized in impatient, some were more numbing, some more anxiety inducing.
You cannot treat depressed and suicidal patients the same way you treat psychotic ones. A depressed person who experiences these type of incidents are likely to leave the hospital traumatized.
We need to make our voices heard, depressed people should not be treated like criminals, we should not be subjected to the trauma of living on a unit with violent and psychotic individuals.
I'd advise you to reach out to NAMI. Tell them about your experience, and how it made you feel. We need to build a groundswell of angry voices in order to create change.
From my time in the psych ward the most jarring thing was the lack of staff and the local authorities placing older people with dementia and such like in wards with violent and unpredictable drug users rather than assisted accommodation or care homes also due to high staff turnover there was also a fair bit of exploitation by some staff due to shortcuts taken in the hiring process.
I got the agency wrong. It's NAMI. The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill. They are passionate advocates for this population.