-
If you haven't yet, we highly encourage you to check out our Recovery Resources thread!
Meretlein
Moderator
- Feb 15, 2019
- 1,199
Committing yourself voluntarily could very well lead to being involuntarily committed if one decides to leave. Once you are a psych patient you lose the right to your own body and self determination.
xXSarac3nSlay3rXx
“Leaving this world is not as scary as it sounds.”
- Mar 3, 2019
- 248
I would do anything to avoid a psych ward. Once you're inside, you don't have any rights. Some of the staff are alright, but others are mean and threatening. The entire staff will gaslight you if they have to. The only enjoyable part was talking with some of the patients I met.
watereyes
les malheurs de lizzie
- Mar 27, 2020
- 737
My experience on psych ward :
-Bullying from other patients
-lots of smoking, if youre not a smoker youll become one
-they get you high on benzos and you feel sick
-Bullying from other patients
-lots of smoking, if youre not a smoker youll become one
-they get you high on benzos and you feel sick
UseItOrLoseIt
1O'8
- Dec 4, 2020
- 2,217
Umm.. what?
Last time I was hospitalized everyone there was treated like garbage.
Manaaja
euROPE
- Sep 10, 2018
- 1,382
Hahaha! I was just joking. I sometimes love making stupid jokes. I was just angry that I was still really young and still they claimed that I was an adult and not a young adult anymore. It's insulting being called old when you are not even in your thirties. A long time ago 10 years old were adults, now 20 years are small little babies and 30 are toddlers dammit. I might be in my 20s but I identify as a toddler. Hahaha, I can't stop joking today.Umm.. what?
Last time I was hospitalized everyone there was treated like garbage.
I'm sorry to hear that.
Most of the staff there were nice and the other patients were really nice. I've never seen more polite, nice and smart boys than in there. I hope they are doing well. And I hope that one girl is out. She was a really nice girl, she was so nice even to me. She cried non-stop. She should be in a palace eating caviar, not in a thought prison.
All the nicest, most polite and kindest people there in that thought prison, while all kinds of evil people walk outside happy and free, it's not fair.
I feel like they were jailed for their kindness.
The consensus seems to be that it doesn't help.
On my 2nd attempt, the cops grabbed me and hauled me to a physic ward in a hospital. The WORST thing ever in my life, hands down. Will list a few reasons:
1) I had room mates who were withdrawing from drugs, of the fun of staying awake all night as they paced around me. Yes, I felt very sorry for them, BUT put with drawl folks in the same room together, not with suicide folks.
2) Had to have my feet off the floor from 10:30pm till 6am and if not I got yelled at.
3) The nurses were great. but the other staff, the doctors, were horrible! Talked down to me, and in general just plain nasty.
4) Oh the food! OH YUCK! I am on, by doctors advice, a low fat diet. Does one think that they cared?? Nope! I got yelled at because I would not eat the food. Like 1 time, I was given a burger and I picked it up and fat dripped off of it and part of the bun was soggy from the meat fat. Oh YUM!
5) On Sunday mornings, folks could go to religious services and since I was considered a suicide risk, I was the only person in the entire ward that had to stay behind. No, ifs ands or buts. That sucked big time.
I always told myself that if there is a 3rd attempt, it will be far away and really thought out so I never ever have to go back to a hell hole like that.
My best to everyone here on SS,
Walter
1) I had room mates who were withdrawing from drugs, of the fun of staying awake all night as they paced around me. Yes, I felt very sorry for them, BUT put with drawl folks in the same room together, not with suicide folks.
2) Had to have my feet off the floor from 10:30pm till 6am and if not I got yelled at.
3) The nurses were great. but the other staff, the doctors, were horrible! Talked down to me, and in general just plain nasty.
4) Oh the food! OH YUCK! I am on, by doctors advice, a low fat diet. Does one think that they cared?? Nope! I got yelled at because I would not eat the food. Like 1 time, I was given a burger and I picked it up and fat dripped off of it and part of the bun was soggy from the meat fat. Oh YUM!
5) On Sunday mornings, folks could go to religious services and since I was considered a suicide risk, I was the only person in the entire ward that had to stay behind. No, ifs ands or buts. That sucked big time.
I always told myself that if there is a 3rd attempt, it will be far away and really thought out so I never ever have to go back to a hell hole like that.
My best to everyone here on SS,
Walter
Last edited:
Yeah that is right, I was only in once for a week in the unit but im glad I did as I knew I had to in the end for parents sake before Iost my function to decide the next day as I went into psychosis. So I made the right call otherwise I would been sectioned and I would of had to stop my course.
I'm high on benzos most days lol and that's a personal choice. I don't use when im at uni though just during the summer/xmas and as soon as im qualified im never gonna take a benzo again.
But they got deem that you are unfit to leave and are going to end your life/harm yourself and if that is the case the plans are solid I.e you have the means at home, a specific date in mind and of course you've started talking about it to the nurses, patients, family such as "You can have my laptop, necklace, house, car once im dead" or saying stuff like I have " I have put my affairs in order, written suicide letters to my family once I am out of here I am heading for x y z or doing a b c"
Last edited:
UseItOrLoseIt
1O'8
- Dec 4, 2020
- 2,217
Oh don't be sorry. I realized just then and there how things work. Chances are, your problems started in your teenage years, which means it's been about 15 years of forming an inharmonious alliance with your mental illness. Chances of recovery plummet. 30 is very close to a lost cause.
Anyway, I'm almost at 4 years with no contact with psychiatry and off meds and I've never looked back. I' rather be a lost cause on my own than get trapped in that machine again.
Being a reject can be a powerful social coheseve when among other rejects.
Yeah the same for me too. I have had long history of it although in the past I did lot of overdoses but docs never sent me a psych ward and in the end, I gave up telling them what I had done. As all I got was read a good book you will feel better in ten minutes you are talking you ain't dead, just take lots of deep breaths your anxiety will go away. And by then I lost my sense of hope and I gave up on the CMHT it was only when I went into major break down crisis last year that they finally allocated me, a social worker, then she left and three nurses came and few weeks after each other and year later they just started on the family group conferencing. But as I have competed my course, I am gonna go back there and prove em wrong and start helping others that's if the university allow me backk. Its a complicated process because I was recently in a horrible situation with my flat mate. And I was unable to complete the practical element of the course.
I got prove that im mentally and physically well to complete the degree.
I got prove that im mentally and physically well to complete the degree.
Manaaja
euROPE
- Sep 10, 2018
- 1,382
Don't make assumptions about me. I wrote about it yesterday on another thread, I hate assumptions.
It's better to be free than a slave. Though I miss my assistants. I feel lonely when no one visits once a week anymore. And it's easier to get things done when someone is there to yap at you. If I could get free assistants for the rest of my life I'd be happy.
sasshimi
david lynched me
- Aug 20, 2019
- 38
Having been admitted to the psych ward for the past 2 weeks, my experience can attest to how taxing my stay was. I was essentially put through a suicide watch, confined, and subjected in a controlled protocol of trials increasing/adjusting medications. I was in a whole slew of antidepressants, stimulants and antipsychotics for days. It was similar to prison in some ways, though I found the company of some of the co-patients I were with comfortable at times and reassuring even because most of us were there against our will. But the real downside of psych wards is the lack of privacy for sure, nurses were all relatively nice but they had eyes on me constantly like a hawk. Though I wouldn't recommend psych wards, it is entirely up to how willing you are to recover if you ever land in the same position as me. Aside from depression I have severe social phobia, so my experience may not have been as bad as I thought it was. However, even after getting discharged recently, my suicidality is still just as intense. My determination to ctb is still looming.
Last edited:
UseItOrLoseIt
1O'8
- Dec 4, 2020
- 2,217
I wasn't talking about you. It was a generalization. I think (I might be wrong) that most people with mental illness have a long history of it by the time they're 30. That's all. More precisely, I think that psychiatry sees it that way. They are the ones who generalize, fit you in tiny labeled boxes with an expiry date.
I apologize if you don't fit the profile. It really wasn't about you.
Meretlein
Moderator
- Feb 15, 2019
- 1,199
That doesn't mean the hospital will not take advantage of the power they hold over someone. https://www.seattletimes.com/seattl...t-not-to-leave-washington-mental-health-care/
As others have said the experience may vary depending on where you go. Ive been in twice in the US.
To answer your question. Does it help? Like the others said not really. Yeah they'll possibly adjust your meds or put you on meds if you arent already. Sure they can up the dose. But I dont think there is such a thing as stronger antidepressants. And changing your meds or increasing a dose can be of course done without going to a psych ward.
But often these antidepressants can numb your mood so you end up doing even attempts to get rid of the numbness.
Over here it's very different as money isn't a stake only money that goes automatically on services by the tax payer, we don't pay for treatment as in a large bill at the end of the stay, even if you are homeless or you have millions of pounds in the bank, drug user, smoker etc r have self harmed/attempted to end your life or been in prison. Everyone is treated fairly and equal regardless if you have a job, unable to work due illness, caring responsibilities, a student, or unemployed or a combination of factors no one pays, unless it's for the car park etc.
I am from Argentina and went to a psych ward upon my first suicide attempt. As many others have said, the main problem is *boredom*. You are not allowed to have any phones or any other electronic devices (as far as I remember, not even an MP3 which back then was an electronic device which was used exclusively for listening to music). There we no mirrors either (you could only borrow one after asking a nurse and with a valid reason, such as shaving yourself, and only if they consider you could do that on your own without actually hurting you). Most of what I could do was reading, drawing or chatting with others. Also, as mentioned before, most people there were smokers. I actually learned what smoke truly smelled like after my staying there. And, most important of all... it didn't change me at all. A few months later I would attempt suicide a second time. And chatting with others I found out that it didn't look like it improved anyone else's situation either. Many had already been there many times before. Some of them would just stay there because they preferred being there than in the outside world, but they didn't improve in any way. Lastly, we were not allowed to leave the psych ward, except for those who were living there permanently (they were allowed to perform certain activities such as loading boxes of food inside the place, maybe because they were more trusted than others due to their time there).
Summarizing, I don't recommend you to go to a psych ward for the below reasons:
Summarizing, I don't recommend you to go to a psych ward for the below reasons:
- You get bored
- You lose your freedom
- There's a probability that you'll spend a lot of time around smoke
- There's a probability that you won't be allowed to ever get out
- There's no guarantee that your situation will improve
I wish I could do that here in the US. Just stay on there permanently. Im sure it wouldnt improve me either. But I would prefer to not have any worries. Im in the US and the longest they wouls keep someone is 2 weeks. 3 weeks is almost unheard of.
It's no worse being at home bored when you are not well.
Really??
I don't know what your home life is like, but I'd rather be bored at home watching TV than beaten, drugged, and possibly sodomised.
Here is a long but useful article for the US system written by a practicing and cynical psychiatrist. There will be differences in the UK but a number of major points should still hold true: https://slatestarcodex.com/2018/03/22/navigating-and-or-avoiding-the-inpatient-mental-health-system/
This is beyond insulting. If you had the privilege of this experience being safe for you, I'm genuinely happy for you - don't push denial about what happens to the rest of us. Not here.
Last edited:
I have to agree.
Not much happens. A lot of people are being over dramatic.
You get a room, with a single bed, and there's a en-suit with a shower and toilet. No door to the bathroom, but a door to the with a window you can lock to keep yourself in.
There's some communal areas and a TV. A high patient to nurse ratio and a few doctors.
Try and get someone to bring you in a book because there is absolutely nothing to do.
The staff are friendly. Every few hours during the day a doctor will come and have a chat to monitor your mood.
All you can really do is sit on your bed and wait.
I received a shared room with another person, no locks on the door, and regular 15 minute checkups in the night to ensure I was still alive and receive as little sleep as possible. Shaving was a supervised activity so I didn't bother.
I was generally safe from doctor and patient abuse, but I was also placed with patients with serious problems like schizophrenia and borderline personality disorder, so the risk of another patient snapping at an unexpected time was there.
And I am in the US, so I was billed for this privilege, despite finances being the reason I was there in the first place "Sorry about your insurmountable debts, but we can't help with that. Here's another bill."
The quality of therapy was condescending and relied on introducing basic concepts and platitudes to people unprepared for them. Most posters here would know and be familiar with this therapy meta, so it wouldn't be very effective at much besides wasting your time.
Was I safe? Sure, I was mostly bored. But it didn't help and if other life changes hadn't intervened I would probably have tried to CTB again when an opportunity presented itself.
I was generally safe from doctor and patient abuse, but I was also placed with patients with serious problems like schizophrenia and borderline personality disorder, so the risk of another patient snapping at an unexpected time was there.
And I am in the US, so I was billed for this privilege, despite finances being the reason I was there in the first place "Sorry about your insurmountable debts, but we can't help with that. Here's another bill."
The quality of therapy was condescending and relied on introducing basic concepts and platitudes to people unprepared for them. Most posters here would know and be familiar with this therapy meta, so it wouldn't be very effective at much besides wasting your time.
Was I safe? Sure, I was mostly bored. But it didn't help and if other life changes hadn't intervened I would probably have tried to CTB again when an opportunity presented itself.
My experience has been in the UK. I went in as a voluntary patient on two occasions. Then a couple of years later I was sectioned (committed I think you call this in the USA) . In my experience, as patients we supported each other and we were there for each other. It became a little community on the ward. Patients cared about each other.
Most of the staff were very good. Some of the staff were not good (they were not kind, rather than being abusive or a danger to us). But as patients we looked out for each other and so when an unhelpful staff member came on shift, it was flagged up to us. Patients would say things like: "There's a checked shirt to your left". This meant that a particularly unhelpful staff member had come onto the ward, who almost always wore checked shirts.
We all had our own bedrooms - no sharing. Each bedroom had a bathroom with shower attached to it. This was an National Health Service psychiatric unit (funded by the state, not a private hospital.) I was really surprised by this - that we all had an ensuite room.
I never felt threatened by any other patients.
Boredom was a problem. But patients in there currently tell me that they now have access to the internet, which I didn't have when I was in there. So they can watch films and stuff and connect with people through social media.
I was taken to the shops (accompanied) to buy food because I struggled with the food there.
There are activities and art therapy and stuff. Some psychiatric hospitals provide psychological therapy, but not all of them.
Being in psychiatric hospital protected my life, at a time when I would otherwise have taken my own life.
It is a different experience for everyone. Wishing you all the very best.
Most of the staff were very good. Some of the staff were not good (they were not kind, rather than being abusive or a danger to us). But as patients we looked out for each other and so when an unhelpful staff member came on shift, it was flagged up to us. Patients would say things like: "There's a checked shirt to your left". This meant that a particularly unhelpful staff member had come onto the ward, who almost always wore checked shirts.
We all had our own bedrooms - no sharing. Each bedroom had a bathroom with shower attached to it. This was an National Health Service psychiatric unit (funded by the state, not a private hospital.) I was really surprised by this - that we all had an ensuite room.
I never felt threatened by any other patients.
Boredom was a problem. But patients in there currently tell me that they now have access to the internet, which I didn't have when I was in there. So they can watch films and stuff and connect with people through social media.
I was taken to the shops (accompanied) to buy food because I struggled with the food there.
There are activities and art therapy and stuff. Some psychiatric hospitals provide psychological therapy, but not all of them.
Being in psychiatric hospital protected my life, at a time when I would otherwise have taken my own life.
It is a different experience for everyone. Wishing you all the very best.
I do wonder if the cultural difference between the big, brash, sensationalist America and the calm, quiet, understated British behaviours cause a difference in:
A) How people explain their experiences
B) How patients are treated
C) How patients treat each other.
I always like this story to explain the difference between how the British and American's express themselves.
Who, specifically, is being over-dramatic? Whose accounts of being harmed greatly - in both the US, the UK, and elsewhere - are therefore lies or just don't matter because we're not human enough?
I try to be as clear as possible about my experiences accordingly. I can go into further detail about what I specifically found to be condescending, but in summary the techniques were a psychiatric triage in the same manner as American crisis hotlines: the goal is to minimize resources spent on patients having temporary emotional crises, and the techniques used were not effective on the chronically depressed and suicidal.
Some examples include:
-Demonstrating and explaining Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.
-A handout of a survey conducted on Harvard graduates that said life was worth living.
-"Would you rather"-style questions framed to give a desired response from the patients and keep an eye on those who did not provide the desired response.
Limited art therapy in the form of coloring books.
-A single meditation session, meant to occur twice weekly. The second one was canceled without notice during my stay.
-Worksheets introducing coping mechanisms.
The overall effect was a focus on people in short-term crisis and with limited education. It was not effective on patients who were more familiar with being in the hospital, who treated it as routine, or with patients more familiar with the "meta" of therapy and counseling techniques, as I and a couple of other patients were. I expect they would not be effective with many regular posters on this forum.
There was a PICU for high risk patients, but a temporary overnight stay on my first day seemed to indicate it was for people in deep dissociative and violent states who couldn't control their actions instead of a place for people to receive sustained counseling when the basics proved ineffective.
The most understated way I can frame this is that while I wasn't abused, the experience was an inconvenient and ineffective use of my time given my problems. I hold most of my anger towards the evaluating psychiatrist who recommended I be sent to longer-term care after my 72-hour hold, and towards my psychiatrist at the main facility who seems to, in hindsight, have purposefully put me on a prescription with severe and swift withdrawal symptoms to ensure I would not stop taking them once I was out of their care. I therefore can't recommend the experience to others, and it's why I linked the article I did which tries to recommend outpatient therapy.
