"my body my choice" isn't the way it works though, because of how death is viewed in most cultures.
by and large, people fear death, and suicide is viewed either as taboo or obligatory (taboo in western culture). the old chestnut of "can a sane person commit suicide?" has imo been cracked millennia ago, but in many systems the short, incorrect answer is "no, because there's something wrong with death". what is termed wellbeing is, by default, given over to life alone because of this delusion, with the suffering inherent to life being viewed as a pathology to cure, rather than life being viewed as pathological in its own right. it's understandable, if disagreeable, to me.
i've had at least forty psych ward admissions. they were everything from a bed and meal after a stint of homelessness to forced antipsychotics, some of which are very unpleasant. i believe will-to-life is a biological imperative and its resultant hierarchies aren't as conspiratorial or inexplicable as i've seen them viewed here, and don't have as bleak a view of others' intentions when it comes to telling authorities about suicidal ideation. i've evidently been force-fed a lot of kool-aid.
i believe a lot of the staff i've met in my stays at psych wards were genuinely compassionate people who wished an end to my suffering, but the blunt-force trauma of "but death!" and the biological will-to-life was stamped indelibly on their views of how to acquire it. i've had many discussions with nurses about my views that life's inherent pathologies were a clue as to how to end them, and was usually met with a warm stare of incomprehension and the offer of antipsychotics and a cup of fetid tea.
the laziest nurses would routinely tell me that "suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem" -- as if a permanent solution WASN'T BLINDINGLY THE BEST CHOICE IN THE MORASS OF EVERY OTHER _TEMPORARY_ SOLUTION! it's easy to be blindsided by the sheer force of life; i do admire it on biochemical grounds, but consciousness is imo the greatest tragedy to strike the universe. still, it's difficult to begrudge others their enjoyment of life when expecting them not to begrudge me my dissatisfaction with it.
treatment schedules depends on one's status regarding suicidality. when actively suicidal, i was placed on mental-health act "forms" -- involuntary detentions limiting various freedoms and forcing various "degrees" of treatment, necessitating either a change of mind or lying to the doctor regarding one's view of suicide. by and large wards are broken up into voluntary and involuntary sections; involuntary sections have been very secure/restrictive in terms of movement (though i'll never forget seeing a professional acrobat crawl his way over a ~4m fence by boost-jumping off a garden lamp) and belongings (no belts/shoelaces/cigarette lighters, plastic cutlery, etc.).
involuntary sections were occasionally dangerous, with violent patients in various stages of psychopathy harming others, twice severely. with the rise of methamphemaine use i've seen involuntary wards become increasingly full of addicts. it was sad to see people who had deep-fried their brains more than ect ever could, and occasionally there was no "coming back" for such cases -- patients who'd been in for years and were still deep-fried.
i've had six courses of 12 ect treatments and don't understand its view as a "lobotomy". it's my understanding that it's not done without adequate anaesthesia or muscle relaxants these days. in voluntary wards, patients routinely come in for "top-up" ect treatments that they've had for weeks to decades with no impairment to their mental capacity, at least in my conversations with them. many say ect has given them their quality of life back. i LOVED my ect treatments and wouldn't mind having more -- the feeling of the methohexital taking over, for the brief couple of seconds it lasts, felt better than heroin.
regarding money in psychiatric wards, in my country there are social workers who can help you with acquiring some government assistance, but until then patients remain penniless. i would routinely come in without adequate clothing and this was provided (basic trackpants, shirt, socks) and without money for a few weeks. when i was homeless i would routinely come in and leave without a cent to go back to homelessness -- "i'll stay with a friend" is easy to say. patients in countries without government assistance to their patients are dependent on friends/relatives, to my understanding.
