Discussion Psych ward? Bad or good?

[Bad-luck]

how do people get into a psych ward? Is it really as bad as people say it is?

 

[coolbreeze56]

I've never been but have only heard horror stories.

 

[Neogoloid]

I've heard of people being sexually abused in psych wards, definitely not good. Also from what I've heard they can treat you like shit at times.

 

[Kit1]

I have never been admitted to the psychiatric ward, but.spoken to enough people who have. So far, all the feedback has been negative and no one seems to have come out feeling better.

 

[underscore_nine]

I've heard of people being sexually abused in psych wards, definitely not good. Also from what I've heard they can treat you like shit at times.

"but it's better than death!!!" fuck i hate prolife advocates sm

 

[Mr.Tristesse]

how do people get into a psych ward?

They either admit themselves or they are forced in. If they end up in the ER as a result of self-injurious behavior, they are usually getting admitted.

it really as bad as people say it is?

It can be as bad as the worst you've heard. It really is a gamble as to what your experience though it is reasonable to lean towards it not being great.

As one former user put it:

Tried it once; big mistake. I won't go into the details, but I was held against my will and mocked by the staff. Cost me my career as a nurse. I never imagined such inhumane treatment was possible.

Want to end up more depressed and hopeless? Ask for help.

The whole thing really is just a game for the people who work there and for the people who own the hospitals (in America at least) giant cash-cow dairy farms.

 

[ropearoundatree]

It depends largely on where you live (country) & then also, what kind of facility or place you're checking into. So I'll go with what I'm familiar with here in the states. With many admissions under my belt. You can go in through the ER. Where the general criteria will be, that you (a) have a plan & (b) a time, or dead line - presumably sometime soon... If both of those criteria are satisfied, and they firmly believe you - ER doc, etc. Then the only other question or potential is the number of beds, or limited space for intake. If you're deemed to be given a 72 hr. hold. This is now for involuntary admission, by the way. You will be transferred to another facility which can then house you. Sometimes it isn't even about the number of beds available, but the number of staff (i. e., nurses).

Only other way that I am aware of, is voluntary admission (& this is much, much harder). Or, if you get your p-doc to send you there. As far as how it is in there. Well, maybe your experience will be better than most of mine, but don't expect to be treated with anywhere near the same respect (level) as any other dept. in the joint/or hospital. Expect the nurses & other staff (but not necessarily psychiatrists or psychologists) to treat you like your not deserving of their care, or that you are worth less than the average - you know, "normal" - human being. Is it as bad as a criminal is treated in prison? Good question, I have never been...

That said, it can do wonders for you IF you are interested in averting a serious attempt, and the only way out of that, is to be given a bit of a scheduled break, from the everyday monotony of things. So sometimes, what is quite common for patients to experience is: & this is even more so just depending on the matter & the level of 'crisis,' that they are in. . . but this "time-out," can relieve a lot of stress. And they can then feel more at ease, and dare I say "happy?" Maybe not that far, but even if only (more) normal, as in normalized or neutral - then that may feel to you like positive used to~

However, very often upon release it will hit you like a cold slap in the face. Once you walk out those doors and have to return to the realities of life. As far as, what goes on inside? Can be chaos, or not. Depends on who else is in there. They do have drugs to inject into you if you get too out of line & present a threat. And they are all trained in restraining you by manual means, or by their own team of bodies. I will say when I hear accounts of other stories from other countries it doesn't sound anything near as bad or as uncomfortable as what I have witnessed myself. They seem to enjoy a lot more freedoms. But the goal here is generally to just keep you from killing yourself in that moment, and not so much about helping you to rehabilitate yourself.

Hopefully that helps! :)

Oh, and if you're lucky (or "Un!") You can get your 'shock-therapy,' done there as well... this will require a much longer stay, however~ ;D

 

[caninecomposer]

In my experience, psych ward workers have no ability to give proper care to patients, and often have a lot of misconceptions about what people are even struggling with. And in the U.S. they like to keep people way longer than necessary for insurance money, even if it causes them harm or significantly damages their life and wellbeing. And as a teen, I also got bullied to the point of crying by staff who wouldn't let me eat food, causing me permanent trauma that comes up as PTSD memories or nightmares every so often.

 

[just dave]

It depends. I've been brought in twice against my will and really for me where I am I was given a room and allowed to keep my phone. No one bothered me until morning. Not even to check on me. Once I had just been sewn back up after an impulse try at slashing my wrists. Next day I was seen by two docs and brought some food. It was actually kind of a nice break.

So tldr, everyone has a different grippy sock vacation. Figure out what it's like in your area if you want to be clearer about what it's like there.

 

[Bad-luck]

Man this sucks. I have thought of going but seems like a awful idea

 

[Mr.Tristesse]

Man this sucks. I have thought of going but seems like a awful idea

What are you hoping to get out of a stay there?

 

[oddetoad]

ive been to them a few times and it's just neutral experiences for me personally I guess I expected more care from them but it just felt like a prison imo.
They didn't treat me bad per se .. but they were kind of condecending sometimes now that I look back on it
what more can you expect from NPCs huh? They're just programs anyway.

Man this sucks. I have thought of going but seems like a awful idea

I know the feeling. You're trying to find answers and or support but this place (our reality) isn't going to give you any.
There's nowhere to turn here.

I mean, you can still go and see for yourself right? At least then you know its bad or good after you've done it.

 

[Werewolf]

I suppose it depends largely on which country you're in. I can only speak from personal experience but where I live it's pretty good actually. (Scandinavia)
Many years ago I was in for two weeks voluntarily, so I could walk out if I wanted to but I was in a really bad shape at the time so for me it was a nice break.

Had my own room, without door lock tho so people could walk in at any time. Non-suicidal ppl were allowed to move about 24/7, there were flatscreens, Xbox 360 (new at the time) lots of books, board games, magazines and that sort of things, outdoor prison-like courtyard you could access whenever.
Actually good food, and a lot of it, met a few interesting people and many more very sick people.

Of course there were a lot of restrictions, everything is locked, no cords, no hose in the shower, no shoes (only slippers), basically no nothing that can be used to ctb. Phones, laptop, really any electronics were allowed, I even brought my guitar which was allowed weird as it has strings? I guess they do individual assessments on what items you can have.

If you're there against your will then I suppose the experience will change dramatically, and there were a few ppl there on "suicide watch" and they were NOT happy. They were in their own wing, and only was allowed out in communal areas on specific times.
24/7 surveillance, no phone, locked in their rooms most of the time and they basically only allowed to have the clothes which are provided (pants without any form of strings and unrippable etc).
Forced injections in some cases and some ppl were medicated into zombie state. Belted beds if you went crazy (only for one hour max tho) Basically prison but worse. Also a lot of screaming.

They WILL keep you locked up until they decide that you're no longer a danger to yourself which could be months. One girl had been there for over a year. But this could be different depending on country I assume.

I guess the experience is individual, I was "only" burned out and severely depressed so for me it was like a mini vacation not having to deal with ordinary life.

 

[Abyssal]

You're going to get a lot of negativity towards psych wards on here. If someone walked out of a psych ward better they wouldn't be planning to ctb, after all.

Psych wards are good for those going through psychotic episodes or have disorders that relate to delusions, depersonalization/derealization, and can be a great place to monitor certain disorders to…well…determine a cause and a label (this usually involves physical symptoms that don't have any obvious cause or a misdiagnosis of some other disorder). The whole being locked away thing isn't what helps so much as it gives an educated person/team to help find more effective treatment solutions in a setting that allows for monitoring so that they can be sure that improvement is actually occurring.

Unfortunately depression, anxiety, and personality disorders don't show serious improvement after people spend time at a psych ward. I'm not an expert on medications and idealized treatment (and frankly my studies push Cognitive Behavioral Therapy so far up everyone's asses that you wouldn't know there are other treatment forms of therapy)but many medications used to treat mood disorders take a long ass time to go into effect, if they even do anything at all, so the draw of having that inpatient monitoring isn't so effective. For many people who fall into this category, the psych ward is a prison-like timeout center aimed at punishing the patient so hard they don't try again.

As for horror stories, if you don't know any then….you haven't read the other replies for some reason and that'd be weird. If you want to know how psych wards can be absolutely awful this is the correct site, use the search bar idk I'm sure a thread will pop up on the topic eventually even if you don't.

For those that have improved from psych wards, I can't say I've met any. I mean, people don't really go around talking about it casually so every time I hear about psych wards it's in a textbook or a suicide forum of sorts which is not where you are going to find the most positive reviews. From r/suicidewatch (point and laugh as my arguement loses all credibility) I have seen…fairly positive stuff. While the whole being forced away thing isn't actively working towards recovery, stresses in life can bring us to the point of suicide and a 2 week chance can help us recognize the cause and adjust so that we can recover or at the very least not want to die as badly. I've also noticed more than one person mention that there's a sort of honeymoon effect after getting out. You get better for a little while and then remember why you got there in the first place.

Something something everyone is different blah blah not everyone improves yada yada the effectiveness depends on the psych ward staff…I think that answers your question? Hope that helps.

 

[Bad-luck]

What are you hoping to get out of a stay there?

I was hoping to improve my situation and get help but I guess not.

 

[undecided]

how do people get into a psych ward? Is it really as bad as people say it is?

It depends on which country you're in, I suppose. But, why do you want to be admitted?

 

[Mr.Tristesse]

I was hoping to improve my situation and get help but I guess not.

Do you need or want help with medication management?

 

[Stardustheaven]

i just got out of one and am basically back to square one, maybe worse off than when i went in.

 

[OhWellDerp321]

just remember that the psych ward is the definition of jail. as soon as you go in, you lose your rights to leave volunteerily

 

[no-name9859472882]

Their horrible and the staff will gaslight you to think everything you say makes you crazy, they will also scam your health imsirence for as much momey as possible then go after you for the rest, phyc wards are just profitutions trying to make money off you before you ctb they don't give a shit if you ctb they only care if they can catch you before you do so they can pad up a bill on you.

 

[Bad-luck]

Do you need or want help with medication management?

No I mean to stop being so depressed all the time

 

[Lostindespair3]

I've been in 3 times, and as many others are saying they aren't great. I'm in the US, and I feel like 2 or the three stays actually caused more harm than good. There is a ton I could say about the conditions, but I'll just give a couple examples. When I was in in August, after I was taken in, and put in a gown (paper underwear), they put me in a small room with 10 other people. I sat there for 5 hours waiting to be taken upstairs to the ward. It was hot and smelly, and people were sleeping in chairs and on the floor. Patients were talking to themselves and others were moaning. They would give you water if you asked.

When I finally got up to the psych floor, I was taken to my room (it's now after midnight), and there is a strong foul stench in my room. One of the aides investigates after I complain and my roommate (who was laying there, fetal position, shaking) had completely soiled herself. I think she was detoxing. The aide went and got a second aide and they dragged the roommate into the shower. After cleaning her and the bed, they put her in a diaper and left. I couldn't sleep and they wouldn't give me anything that first night bc I missed night med distribution. It wasn't sanitary and patients weren't forced to shower so you can imagine the smells! The days were soooo long. Posh Porcupines post gives a pretty good schedule summary. There are regular meals and "group" which is usually arts/crafts/puzzles or talking about coping skills. You go out to a courtyard once a day for 30-45 min. You get no cellphone access or any other tech besides the TVs in the group rooms that are behind a plastic box. I could go on but as it's been said it's basically prison without bars (or doors really- the bathroom has a partial door).

I saw a psychiatrist once during my 10 day stay and a counselor (1 on 1) twice. Based on my experience, psych wards are not therapeutic or rehabilitative. They are just to protect you from suicide. Do not recommend unless you just want to prevent ctb.

 

[eashanm]

I don't know, but to me it seems that Psych Wards have governmental nod to rape and murder.

I was kidnapped, tied with ropes, then beaten up. Soon, I was coerced and raped too. They said they've got permission from government and my parents.

In short, I won't trust the psych wards or the medisin they give.

 

[Dmoore3232]

My roommate shot himself in the throat, we used to play cards. I would think having a good roommate is important.

They don't do enough blood tests and other tests in my opinion.

 

[until death]

I was in the psych ward for a few weeks and it just made things worse

 

[cold_severance]

ideally they should be used as a crisis management i guess, something like treating a singular psychotic episode. theres nothing else they do, that cant be done via a therapist/medication. and in other regards its pretty much a prison, only worse. from my stay there over a month i can say, its was totally pointless, same for other people who were there.

 

[mutt]

im clearly in the minority when i say that i didn't have a bad experience. my first admission was from the er after i od'd, and i got put on a 72 hour involuntary hold. ended up being there for 2 weeks. violent fights broke out pretty much everyday, and if you werent breaking the phone or throwing chairs, you were probably doped up, incapable of stringing together a coherent thought.

they would also give us high doses of benadryl every evening so the staff didnt have to deal with the patients bs at night, which im pretty sure is illegal

but there were a few people who were fine to be around and have conversations with. they were there either from suicide attempts or people that got into the wrong kinda trouble. there were a couple transfers from juvie. there were plenty of tolerable people too, like one guy who dapped me up on the way out even though we didnt talk much. this leads me to why i think it was a positive experience at the time

i felt supported in ways i never felt on the outside. i didnt really feel judged (by the patients at least), i got 3 full meals a day, but most profoundly there were people i could actually talk to. it was so natural to talk to other people there and listen to their stories. there was also someone who ended up confessing their love for me after 10 days or so days but thats a whole different story.

it pretty much felt like a well timed escape. my other psych ward experience was way different but this one had pros that outweighed the cons.

and for those wondering how it affected my suicidality, it made more knowledgable and more suicidal but it didnt matter bc i felt i had a good time. a part of me really does miss it

 

[enslavedinbody]

how do people get into a psych ward? Is it really as bad as people say it is?

ive been to three different psych wards and in my experience none of them have been too bad it can be a hit or miss with the people you meet there but the staff are usually mid when it comes to the way they treat you but with the places ive been too theres been more good staff than not ive been to havenwyck and health source (white pine) in michigan michiana behavioral health in indiana to get into one you could admit yourself (walk in) or be admitted by a hospital

 

[stillmirenai]

how do people get into a psych ward? Is it really as bad as people say it is?

From personal experience, vocally express some sort of feeling of worthlessness or desire to stop being alive, or something that could be interpreted as the possibility of you harming yourself.

As far as is it good or bad, my personal experience was absolutely awful, since as with normal therapy, they tend to prioritize treating the symptoms and not the underlying problems. Going off of other user's experiences I've read while browsing through the site, there's roughly a 60% chance you'll have a bad time in a psych ward. That doesn't mean there's no good psych wards, they're just very far and few between, like my reasons to keep living on this planet.

 

[tvoisluga]

It depends too much on location, friend. I saw a uk tiktoker with a very clean and pretty private psych ward but in my country they have legit barbed wire and are like taken from a 50s movie so we are all either "blue pilled"(hate that term btw) and rawdogging it just for the sake of it, alcoholic or smoking a lot of cigs(weed is very demonised here, stupid i know) or succumb to our mental illness if we cant make it. Mental help is abysmal no wonder most dont seek it out. And culture doesnt believe in mental illness combined with too stupid politicians who steal creates a disastrous feedback loop.