what are your psych ward experiences?

[letdown]

have u been? what was your experience? btw i am in the usa, by psych ward, i mean crisis unit where usually the cops/paramedics take you. you dont have a choice, have to stay 72+ hours, etc. u dont get to keep much of anything. when you have or are going to hurt yourself/someone else. it has different names in states (51-50, baker act, etc). but i know that psych ward can mean different things depending on the country.

for me, it was heavily dependent on the facility. at one i went to, it was actually kind of okay. i was young when i went, and the staff were nice. i made friends, overall it was not that bad. i even got to watch a movie, and one of the staff played music for me. the kids were pretty crazy, and my roomate tried to stab me with a toothbrush shank. but the toothbrush was whack and it didnt make a great shiv, so no harm done.

but usually i end up at the ER for a bit before, and when I am medically stabilized they transport me to one. if i am not in the ER, i am good at talking myself out of being forced to go. my dad taught me exactly what to say to get out of it, when i was young. but its basically impossible to talk your way out of physical evidence lol. ive tried, and they said if i didnt tell the truth they would add all this awful stuff to my DCF file. but now im not in foster care, so it probably wouldnt have been the biggest deal.

so i have already been on 24/7 watch, and with all these wires and shit attached to me. then i have to go to the psych ward, its just even more frustrating. i hate especially if there is a tv and they only play kids channels. i dont understand the point of that. just cuz people are unstable doesnt mean they are stupid or something.

its a big hit or miss where i live. some places are awful. i cant even go into the details of it all, the state run ones were indescribly bad. but they usually dont send u there unless you have been hospitalized a lot. its not a place to help you get better, just keep you there until you wont hurt someone or yourself. but i got put on a med i really like in the psych ward. so it has its benefits i guess.

i have been hospitalized for suicide attempts, and have also been sent to some long term facilities. what about you guys? if your country does it differently, lmk what thats like.

 

[Nobodi]

Never been. I laughed when you said I even got to watch a movie. The first paragraph sounded so fun like I want to go now. But I heard from other people just bad experiences. I'm in the u.s too. F that roommate who tried to stab you tho

 

[Cauliflour]

God I'm terrified of being sent to a mental hospital. It's never happened and I'm not sure if I'm fucked in the head enough to be sent to one yet but it's so hard to tell what's normal nowadays.

I treat my computer like it's my child because basically all my hobbies revolve around it and I prefer just being by myself, so to have to ditch my computer ie the only reason I even bother sticking around AND have to deal with doctors watching me all the time, making me talk about my "feelings", sounds like a nightmare.

Sorry you had to go through that shit though. Wish you well!

 

[whywere]

Well, let's see, HORRIBLE! HORRIBLE food, HORRIBLE staff.

From having everyone putting me down AND looking down at me, to the food, I lost lots of weight! close to hell on Earth. Walter!! Your feet are on the floor, they would come around at 10:30pm and look into my room and heaven forbid if my feet were still on the floor. 10:30pm till 6am, body. feet everything in bed period.

Oh! and the food, be forced to eat, threw it away when they were not looking, an ultra-greasy burger with the whole bun soaked in grease, to tacos floating in grease, my stomach still turns thinking of that horror.

Now there maybe, and probably are, some good hospitals and staff, but not in my case.

Walter

 

[FrozenOcean]

I've been twice. One time for 3 months and then 3 years later, for about 6 weeks. It's a nightmare, avoid at all cost.

 

[CarrotEater]

"Co-ed" juvenile psych ward was pretty cool, made some troubled like-minded friends and it was fun (even if that isn't the purpose). The one I was in was for under 18 years old. There are also some psych wards for young adults, I would like to go there to be honest, but I didn't manage to get in (crazy, isn't it? usually people want out).

Adult psych ward is bad, but not as bad as I expected. It's boring and unhelpful. And there are people of any age and sometimes very serious issues.

 

[Foolishness]

It was like I was stuck in a waiting room, nothing to do in there besides draw, and that required you to ask the staff from crayons and the staff there made it clear that all of your requests, even for basic necessities, bothered them. A benefit is that they covered all of my prescriptions while I was there so I enjoyed being able to get free medication, at least.

The thing that turned me away from that psychiatric ward specifically is that the social worker out me as trans to my family despite me telling her I didn't want her to, and that knowledge led to them cutting funding for my medication because they don't want to support body modifications.

 

[zulu123]

I thought it wasn't too bad. There were lots of fights in my unit for some reason. Otherwise it was fine. Most days consisted of group therapy, reading, eating, and sleeping. They also let us smoke cigarettes outside so that was cool

 

[Jdieiejdjaow]

I went in voluntarily, twice. Some staff were ok and they even accommodated me with vegetarian food which was quite decent. Could use my phone, order things to the psych ward (of course, verified by them), go outside in a small yard.

Though, there was a sociopath on the team that went full on ballistic with narcissistic abuse when I refused to eat the cookies he gave me. But I showed him he couldn't control me and went in baby tantrums I reported both him and a psychopath (the psychopath was really dangerous and made me afraid of him). Nothing was done, though. And when I said other people happiness bothers me I was told to get out of the room by one of my doctor's staff.

There was good occupational therapy and even managed to release a bit of the trauma energy I have stored in my body (it was a body exercise of feeling the muscles and such - couldn't get it outside as an outpatient ). That was until the most awful patient busted in - the same patient who punched me a while back. Couldn't go back to more therapy after that for fear he would bust in again. That day, the therapist didn't lock the door. Usually she did.

Overall, didn't like it. The toilets and showers were awful.

 

[drune11]

Really good chicken nuggets.

 

[NoPoint2Life]

Really good chicken nuggets.

I am lmao because the food where I was was pretty decent. And they tended to give big portions. They gave me at least 16 nuggets which the timing sucked because at that point I had no appetite at all.

Overall, my experience was OK. Possibly because it was a different building than the hospital so maybe were treated different?

And the toilets and showers had the best water pressure I have ever seen in my life. I would have loved to stay in the shower if I wasn't trying to get out so fast before they checked on me. The sink was stupid though. There was cold water only and when you turned it on, it only ran for like five seconds at a time.

 

[ChaiTea]

my god if i SEE another chicken tender imma crash out

 

[StrugglingSienna]

I've never been, and I don't intend to go. I have plenty of mental health history but my family seems to think I'm on the up and up, which means I have one good unburdened attempt and I'm going to make sure it works.

If I fail... well, at least I can have my own psych ward stories.

The thing that turned me away from that psychiatric ward specifically is that the social worker out me as trans to my family despite me telling her I didn't want her to, and that knowledge led to them cutting funding for my medication because they don't want to support body modifications.

That is so incredibly fucked up. I'm so sorry you had to go through that.

 

[Shadows From Hell]

Been in the happy house twice. It wasn't bad, it was co-ed, the food was decent, every room had a tv, there was a snack room with jello, pudding, fruits, juice and water(you could go in anytime you wanted during the day), and the staff were friendly.

First time was there for 3 months, second time for about 2 weeks. Ended up dating a girl I met there for about a year the first time I was there.

 

[BrokenMindAndBody]

It really depends on the group of people that are there to talk to. Sometimes there can be people that are violent. Also, there can be staff that are extremely neglectful because they don't give a shit besides collecting a paycheck. Sometimes there can be really great people that work there. Some places have great food. Others have terrible food. The last several experiences I had were not great at all. Ultimately it's just a holding area that cuts you off from the outside world for a time. No matter the quality of the facility that you go to. The treatment is the same. They'll try to put you on mostly useless medications that more often than not do more harm than good in the long run. Sometimes they wont put you on meds at all or even have a psych doctor or professional see you often. You go there. They collect your insurance money and then you leave. That's really it. That is mental healthcare in the USA. It's never helped me improve myself overall.

I'd say my experiences were better when I was younger. It could just be because I was younger and now that I'm older I feel worse. Or it could just be because in general this country was a lot better off then. I've probably had over 20 hospitalizations. Some where I've been put in involutory. Others I've just gone because I was depressed, sad, and lonely and wanted others to talk to. Sometimes you'll meet really cool people. Other times it's a complete shitshow and you want to leave right away and regret checking in. Because at least with my insurance it's always random on where I'm going to end up.

 

[RadiantNumber]

I was once, I used strong psychdelic (this was my not psychdelic's fault, I didn't used it's right) and after long session of stomach pumping and humiliating me calling me 'junkie' (yes I used other drugs like acid or weed, not hard drugs, before it and after but I wasn't addicted from them) I went to mental hospital, it was scary view, also I got prescription for Risperidon which is the worst psychiatric drug

 

[FoxSauce]

Just got out of my hospitalization on march 17th go out last tuesday.

The first day are always the hardest but I met good individuals in a weird circustances.

Also everything was under lock and key , therapy and like 3 meals a day and 3 snacks times and well it can be boring if you stay there for long but some of the nurses are more dry that a peice of toast..

But some nurses were cool (depending on which shift) every you did was written down.

We couldnt hug be too close (literally) we could touch eachothers hair fr but oh well.

Met a lady that when she came in she started cursing and screaming her lungs that shes gonna sue everybody in the hospital, plus she wanted a nicotine pack (she was so pissed) plus her duagjter put her there so..

I met some people that were absolutly wonderful..so that same floor in the hoapital they were people who were trying to get off drugs and alcohol.

By the third day i tried to cbt by the 2nd time and choking myself with a shirt but didnt work so (i lost my room's privileges) that means i cant enter my room unless to shower or go to bed.


Food was bland as hell but hey food is food if i dont have to cook.

Overall wasnt that bad at least were I'm from.

 

[galaxid]

The anniversary of my top surgery was the same day I got out of inpatient! I was at the ER for 3 days, the actual hospital thing for 3 days.

I'm bipolar, so the second I got into the hospital I felt GREAT. Hit a lovely hypomanic episode that lasted about a month and a half. I met a bunch of cool people from all walks of life, a lot of whom put themselves there intentionally (kinda like me). I got my own room, because trans.

The docs thought I was fine because I was happy. I thought I was fine because I could talk to people. And when they let me out, I went straight back to hell. Before they let me out I asked them to keep me, but I was 'not acute enough'.

It was nice to believe I could be happy, maybe, in the right circumstances and at the right time. But it was devastating to realize it was temporary.

 

[NoPoint2Life]

It really depends on the group of people that are there to talk to.

I know I already replied on this thread, but this line is so true. In fact, I can remember thinking a few times where I almost wanted to go back as it was easier to make no decisions and not have to worry about anything. And then I remind myself it's all about the people. I had a great roommate. I met my only IRL friend there. There were only a few people who threw chairs and did stuff that made me nervous but I easily can imagine being with a bunch of people are scary and that would make the experience totally different. And me and my friend always say we were forced to socialize during our stay than we had in the previous five years! But due to most people being nice, it wasn't bad.

Spoiler: TW:SA

I do remember feeling really bad for any patients with this history. I thankfully have never been a victim. But as I got there at night was thrown into my room and saw there were males who checked on you It was very unsettling.

Anyway, just things to think about if you ever voluntarily go in

 

[FoxSauce]

Fr fr

I know I already replied on this thread, but this line is so true. In fact, I can remember thinking a few times where I almost wanted to go back as it was easier to make no decisions and not have to worry about anything. And then I remind myself it's all about the people. I had a great roommate. I met my only IRL friend there. There were only a few people who threw chairs and did stuff that made me nervous but I easily can imagine being with a bunch of people are scary and that would make the experience totally different. And me and my friend always say we were forced to socialize during our stay than we had in the previous five years! But due to most people being nice, it wasn't bad.

Spoiler: TW:SA

I do remember feeling really bad for any patients with this history. I thankfully was never a victim. But as I got there at night was thrown into my room and saw there were males who checked on you It was very unsettling.

Its really rare to see violent people and ita nice to be away for a while at least of what I've experienced

 

[Cauliflour]

What's it like in the UK? From what I've gathered here it's either decent or hell but these all seem to be from the capitalist nightmare that is America so what's it like across the Atlantic so I know what to avoid with my life?