is the physic ward really that bad?

[porkyminch98x]

So, for a long while now, from people I've seen on Reddit and others close to me, I keep hearing that a psychiatric ward (at least in the US) takes away a lot of your rights and treats you as if you are a prisoner. Can anyone actually confirm this, or is this an uncommon thing?

 

[trying ungracefully]

It is really hard to go through and it may feel dehumanizing. That doesn't mean you shouldn't go.

I've been to around 10 inpatients throughout my life and I've had good and bad experiences. Like when I was 12 in one place we couldn't even have books in our room. In another place at the same age (this is embarrassing) when they took my pee the nurse saw how unhealthy it looked and made sure I was drinking water for the whole day, many just overlooked it. And that same nurse also was sweet and helpful when I was on 1on1 and had to shower and felt humiliated, it may seem small but those little acts of kindness in your lowest moments are nice.

When I was 19 at the sane nice place as when I was 12 I was being truly a bitch. Even then they treated me with kindness and only sedated me once when I couldn't calm down and was getting truly out of control. But I was at another place where I saw them sedate people for minor yelling and putting down a woman who couldn't shower.

Body checks can be humiliating too.

If you are going by choice look at reviews of places because it can tell you how they operate. It can be an iffy thing but you never know what can happen unless you research and go yourself.

 

[SchizoPolyGymnast]

So, for a long while now, from people I've seen on Reddit and others close to me, I keep hearing that a psychiatric ward (at least in the US) takes away a lot of your rights and treats you as if you are a prisoner. Can anyone actually confirm this, or is this an uncommon thing?

The start of it can be rough, but once you develop a rapport with staff and other "guests," it tends to get better. The waiting in the ER is the worst part. At the actual facility where you get treatment, there are often activities, you can go outside, etc.

You can send me a PM if you want. The last time I was in the psych ward was one of the happiest times of my life.

 

[iLikeFrogs]

my stay was quite decent, but the beginning was so hard I had to spend 2 weeks on benzos. it's the er that was the worst for me,

 

[Star67]

I went when I was 25 and it was a great experience for me personally though I was a voluntary patient. I'm sure it's different if you're involuntary, I saw a patient there try to escape as he was formed. I made some friends on the ward and the food was fine. The main downside was that this was during Covid so we couldn't leave the ward. My life went back to shit after I left because I didn't practice anything I'd learned.

 

[fallendevil]

Depends on your personality type and the type of institution it is, and the goals you have for your future. Emphasis on the last one.

You likely will be blacklisted from the military (not that I support, especially the US one,) a lot of healthcare and government jobs, teaching, etc.

Figure out what you want to do and if it's worth risking. Sometimes it's absolutely necessary and you need to accept that you aren't mentally apt for the above mentioned jobs.

 

[yotaka]

I actually thought the psych ward was kind of nice. The problem is that I was there for less than a week and ended up getting billed about $16,000 USD. My financial situation has gotten even worse since then, so there's no way I can do that again.

 

[LittleJem]

I hated it, and now I miss it. Lol.

It feeds you, and Im not well enough to look after myself.

It gives you some level of social life. Not much fresh air. The meds dont work for me, but you do get benzos on tap in the uk. Till tbey disvharge you.Then no benzos.

 

[fadedghost]

It is really hard to go through and it may feel dehumanizing. That doesn't mean you shouldn't go.

I've been to around 10 inpatients throughout my life and I've had good and bad experiences. Like when I was 12 in one place we couldn't even have books in our room. In another place at the same age (this is embarrassing) when they took my pee the nurse saw how unhealthy it looked and made sure I was drinking water for the whole day, many just overlooked it. And that same nurse also was sweet and helpful when I was on 1on1 and had to shower and felt humiliated, it may seem small but those little acts of kindness in your lowest moments are nice.

When I was 19 at the sane nice place as when I was 12 I was being truly a bitch. Even then they treated me with kindness and only sedated me once when I couldn't calm down and was getting truly out of control. But I was at another place where I saw them sedate people for minor yelling and putting down a woman who couldn't shower.

Body checks can be humiliating too.

If you are going by choice look at reviews of places because it can tell you how they operate. It can be an iffy thing but you never know what can happen unless you research and go yourself.

see, i read this and think, if this person had never been humiliated by inpatient care, would they have grown up to be okay?

So, for a long while now, from people I've seen on Reddit and others close to me, I keep hearing that a psychiatric ward (at least in the US) takes away a lot of your rights and treats you as if you are a prisoner. Can anyone actually confirm this, or is this an uncommon thing?

yes it is that awful, the rumors may even understate how bad it is. mental health care pretends to be nice when you're choosing to pay them, but when you're on the hook for the bill and don't have a choice to leave they treat you like subgarbage.

I actually thought the psych ward was kind of nice. The problem is that I was there for less than a week and ended up getting billed about $16,000 USD. My financial situation has gotten even worse since then, so there's no way I can do that again.

Mental professionals NEVER care about financial realities. It's all about extracting money from people, real world impacts be damned. I'm so sorry you were fucked over by this evil and exploitative industry.

 

[trying ungracefully]

see, i read this and think, if this person had never been humiliated by inpatient care, would they have grown up to be okay?

Definitely messed me up a bit. I have memories that I think about still (two in the ER though when it was involuntary and those were the worst). But it helped me in ways too but the biggest part was safety and medication, they can monitor you better than an outpatient psych so you can get to a stable level quicker.

But I would have never grown up okay, I have bipolar 1 with it being very obviously genetic lol. And I think even if I never did experience anything from inpatient or even have bipolar I wouldn't be okay because my issues started before than like I think most peoples do.

 

[cbtvvxxvvv]

i literally just got out of one today.

they take away all your possessions but your rights aren't being violated or anything

you have to follow a routine for eating, meetings, etc and if you've never been to a psych ward or like jail it may be shocking at first

 

[thermosgrenadine]

when i went to the psych ward (5150'd) it was horrible and i was terrified. i was also like, 15 years old? i just wanted to go home. it irreversibly changed my entire life. i would be someone/somewhere completely different had i not gone. in retrospect though i kind of miss it. sometimes i want to go back.

 

[dhk96]

I hated it. Voluntary, my ass if you're being threatened with "voluntary VS involuntary."

You shouldn't be forced to feel like everything is a privilege you have to bend over for.

 

[fadedghost]

I hated it. Voluntary, my ass if you're being threatened with "voluntary VS involuntary."

You shouldn't be forced to feel like everything is a privilege you have to bend over for.

yep. there's so much degradation by default in there, and the pain and psychological suffering people endure is NEVER factored into the equation. It's their rules, they know everything, and who cares if you're kept in a room for 48 hours that's cold with nothing to even read or watch or anything.

Being in that place made me realize how much everyone is in indifferent to my suffering and absolutely no one cares about me. That's what I got from my locked "care" experience.

 

[porkyminch98x]

Depends on your personality type and the type of institution it is, and the goals you have for your future. Emphasis on the last one.

You likely will be blacklisted from the military (not that I support, especially the US one,) a lot of healthcare and government jobs, teaching, etc.

Figure out what you want to do and if it's worth risking. Sometimes it's absolutely necessary and you need to accept that you aren't mentally apt for the above mentioned jobs.

I don't know, sounds like a interesting trade off. For now, I decided to lay it off.............. but i'll keep it in mind :)

 

[whywere]

I live in the U.S. and have been in the psychic ward numerous times.

At least in my experience, it all hinges on the hospital. the 1st time, it was HELL!! At 10:30pm a person HAD to be on bed and feet off the floor or all hell broke loose. Then they came around every hour and shined a flashlight into my room. The food was HORRIBLE! The staff was even worse than the food, hell on earth.

Now the 2nd time, this was after a very nasty car crash, the hospital and the staff were GREAT! The food was very good, and the nurses were so caring. one night the car crash pain was hell, and I went and sat in a chair out in the hall. Before I was put in, I had opioids for the pain but did not have them with me when I got put into the ward. A nurse walked down the hall and asked why I was sitting out there. I told her everything, and that no one in the ward would give me opioids for the pain. She disappeared and came back with an opioid pill in a small paper cup. I took it and sat there. She came back in about a half hour and asked me how the pain was and said it helped but still bad. She disappeared again and in about 10 minutes, she came back with a doctor, and we talked and he wrote a prescript for opioids for me for the length of my stay.

That nurse was and is an ANGEL!

So, it all depends on the hospital.

But overall, it was good, as it gave me time and space to regroup and not have life triggers around me.

This was when I was still married and she was a HUGE gambling addict and drained all the bank accounts, so getting away from her was a blessing.

Walter