What are your guys’ experiences with Mental Hospitals?

[glided~hydrangea]

I just wanted to get on here and gauge where other people are in their perspectives and views on mental hospitals and other mental health institutions (psych wards, asylums, etc.) in relation to effectiveness, rehabilitation, experiences, professionalism, corruption, abuse, etc.

When I was a teen, I was admitted after telling a teacher I was going to ctb, and I spent about a week there and it was some of the most stressful, overstimulating, and life-altering times of my life. It was there that I was diagnosed and medicated for depression, anxiety, and PTSD. And I was SA'd by a teen guy around my age, who was also a patient, and I remember feeling so helpless and angry. I didn't report it or tell anyone out of fear that they would tell my parents—so I've just carried it for awhile and it honestly shaped the person I am today. We didn't receive any personal therapy or counselor services nor support, other than just repeatedly being forced to tell various staff and techs why we were there and what we think is wrong with us. Additionally, there was virtually no actual help given to any of the patients, it was more comparable to jail, as opposed to a supposed rehabilitation and care place for kids. We weren't allowed to take naps and it really just seemed like the staff found us all to be such a burden. It's genuinely like we're getting punished for being sad.

Everyone I've spoken to, now even in my adult years, has similar bad experiences with these types of places. I wanted to see who else had input and things to share.

 

[sanctionedusage]

does literally a single person on planet earth enjoy the MH system? and especially on a platform dedicated to free will and bodily autonomy that the concept of a ward is built against?

 

[glided~hydrangea]

does literally a single person on planet earth enjoy the MH system? and especially on a platform dedicated to free will and bodily autonomy that the concept of a ward is built against?

No it appears definitely not. I've yet to hear a SINGLE good experience. You'd think by the mass reports of abuse and neglect that patients have received over years that something would be done, but like anything, that's clearly never going to be the case.

 

[no-hope-no-future]

It felt to me like I was in jail. It was a case of take your meds and if your a good little boy then you will be released early. They made out they care but once released I was forgotten about very quickly.
If you have ever watched any documentaries about the prison service then I think that is pretty close to how it looks from the outside. They even walk around with massive key chains full of keys, only if they haven't upgraded to digital security or RFID entry systems.

Edit
I think the food is cheap microwave meals too.

 

[BillyBob]

Horrible. Unable to do anything at all. There was no activates to do but watch day time tv on the screen.
Wasn't allowed music or similar things to listen too. All that happened was got thrown lots of medications my way and that is all.
If you act out expect to have your stay extended.
You have no rights or freedom in there either.

 

[sanctionedusage]

No it appears definitely not. I've yet to hear a SINGLE good experience. You'd think by the mass reports of abuse and neglect that patients have received over years that something would be done, but like anything, that's clearly never going to be the case.

its just an industry, to be fair

psychiatry is the weakest study of all time, built on semantics and preconceived biases to see what you're looking for in any given data. in practice with patients & in large scale research.

Rosenhan experiment - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

it's why mental health resources don't fix or change anything besides the simplest (not mildest, but simplest) issues simply caused by isolation compounding on other struggles; the biggest benefit of resources like a hotline or therapy is the sole fact that you're talking to a human being who you feel you can trust on depend on. it does wonders for human health and the benefits of judgment free relationships is hugely understated, but that means they can keep you hooked on the fancier concept of certain theories, approaches, and specific therapies.

 

[heatnormal]

Everyone I've spoken to, now even in my adult years, has similar bad experiences with these types of places. I wanted to see who else had input and things to share.

the only thing i learned in the psych ward was that the next attempt has to be successful. half of my mind was lost to forced sedation. "the system is working as intended".

 

[glided~hydrangea]

Horrible. Unable to do anything at all. There was no activates to do but watch day time tv on the screen.
Wasn't allowed music or similar things to listen too. All that happened was got thrown lots of medications my way and that is all.
If you act out expect to have your stay extended.
You have no rights or freedom in there either.

Yeah, it reminded me of elementary school on crack.
If you behave well and are well-mannered and liked by staff and all around an "A plus" patient (which is stupid, because to be there you already have to be in a bad mental space) you'd be let out in a decent timeframe. But if you had even one bad day, breakdown, or stressful moment, immediate extension of stay and coldness followed.

 

[GodzillasBiggestFan]

always horrible. i've been in regular mental hospitals and a residential treatment center (for mental health reasons) and it was always so awful.

 

[Bethlehem]

They babied and patronized me when I was right and held me accountable when I was wrong. I got the name of a drug wrong and she went on a two minute long speech about how dumb i was basically. I got kicked out for trying to speak to the other patients. I tried to kill myself for the first time in there. The food is slop. I enjoyed being away from the world though. In a controlled environment.

 

[deadgirlwalking]

When i was child I had naked pictures of me taken as a child by mental health workers in a hospital. Surprise surprise that hospital was also extremely abusive in other ways. I had to go there other times for ER visits as an adult (not my choice ofc) and when I very politely and kindly asked for water I got screamed at so loud my ears started ringing. I recently went to a different ER where I was actually treated with compassion and kindness by the staff but that was a very very rare case of a mental health hospital treating me with dignity. Sadly it was only a place that did 72 hour observations max so if I had to fully be admitted I would probably be in a dangerous situation again. Don't go unless you are absolutely forced to. The only reason they exist is to keep you from ctb. I personally encourage anyone to exhaust their options before ctb even though it is a personal choice but if i personally had the option of ctb vs being admitted and retraumatized i would just ctb.

 

[persepexa]

I was actually brought to a mental hospital from prison as the prison psychiatrist felt I couldn't be managed in the prison environment. It was a welcome change from prison but I hated it there. Especially as a forensic patient you have absolutely no say in anything. All they do is talk about your offence. Most people are there for years. We weren't even allowed phones or laptops. There were computers on the ward but the actual computer part was locked inside a box and we had to look through a piece of clear plastic to see the screen. We were allowed leave but as they felt I was dangerously I got leave more slowly than everyone else, I also got less leave, was restricted in where I could go on leave, and during my time there they regularly took my leave away without warning. I hated every minute to be honest. Not just how restrictive it is but the way they spoke to me. I didn't feel like a human being. Never going back.

 

[Bethlehem]

When i was child I had naked pictures of me taken as a child by mental health workers in a hospital. Surprise surprise that hospital was also extremely abusive in other ways. I had to go there other times for ER visits as an adult (not my choice ofc) and when I very politely and kindly asked for water I got screamed at so loud my ears started ringing. I recently went to a different ER where I was actually treated with compassion and kindness by the staff but that was a very very rare case of a mental health hospital treating me with dignity. Sadly it was only a place that did 72 hour observations max so if I had to fully be admitted I would probably be in a dangerous situation again. Don't go unless you are absolutely forced to. The only reason they exist is to keep you from ctb. I personally encourage anyone to exhaust their options before ctb even though it is a personal choice but if i personally had the option of ctb vs being admitted and retraumatized i would just ctb.

Yeah luckily the ones at mine were total pushovers (because they legally have to be and and all the girls from the rough suburbs would keep them in check). Those girls were fairly nice to me. We'd play boardgames and watch tv but I'd leave when they did their rhinestone picture making. I escaped the mental hospital. I had one near escape prior. My childhood nickname was Houdini for this exact reason. The staff would be as mean as they were legally allowed to be tho. Idk if they would've been nice to me out in the real world but I miss them and it was kind of us vs the staff. We would joke about storming the place and escaping. I broke all my shit out of my locker with handmade tools. Good times, from nostalgia only. I was a teenager when I went there. Haven't been to the adult ward because I wouldn't survive in there.

I was actually brought to a mental hospital from prison as the prison psychiatrist felt I couldn't be managed in the prison environment. It was a welcome change from prison but I hated it there. Especially as a forensic patient you have absolutely no say in anything. All they do is talk about your offence. Most people are there for years. We weren't even allowed phones or laptops. There were computers on the ward but the actual computer part was locked inside a box and we had to look through a piece of clear plastic to see the screen. We were allowed leave but as they felt I was dangerously I got leave more slowly than everyone else, I also got less leave, was restricted in where I could go on leave, and during my time there they regularly took my leave away without warning. I hated every minute to be honest. Not just how restrictive it is but the way they spoke to me. I didn't feel like a human being. Never going back.

Question: what did you do to end up in jail? Don't answer if you don't want I'm just really curious. That sucks a lot. I don't want to go to the adult ward and I'm glad I haven't ended up there yet. They've threatened to send me there but I never ended up there thankfully.

 

[Bethlehem]

I was actually brought to a mental hospital from prison as the prison psychiatrist felt I couldn't be managed in the prison environment. It was a welcome change from prison but I hated it there. Especially as a forensic patient you have absolutely no say in anything. All they do is talk about your offence. Most people are there for years. We weren't even allowed phones or laptops. There were computers on the ward but the actual computer part was locked inside a box and we had to look through a piece of clear plastic to see the screen. We were allowed leave but as they felt I was dangerously I got leave more slowly than everyone else, I also got less leave, was restricted in where I could go on leave, and during my time there they regularly took my leave away without warning. I hated every minute to be honest. Not just how restrictive it is but the way they spoke to me. I didn't feel like a human being. Never going back.

Question: what did you do to end up in jail? Don't answer if you don't want I'm just really curious. That sucks a lot. I don't want to go to the adult ward and I'm glad I haven't ended up there yet. They've threatened to send me there but I never ended up there thankfully.

 

[Bethlehem]

Yeah, it reminded me of elementary school on crack.
If you behave well and are well-mannered and liked by staff and all around an "A plus" patient (which is stupid, because to be there you already have to be in a bad mental space) you'd be let out in a decent timeframe. But if you had even one bad day, breakdown, or stressful moment, immediate extension of stay and coldness followed.

Yeah same. They'd just add an extra day whenever I was for lack of a better word naughty because they treat you like a toddler.

 

[peacecomingsoon]

Oh man I'm in one right now. Coming up on being here for 2 weeks tomorrow. It really, really sucks. Absolutely mind numbing places honestly. They either have absolutely nothing to do (the current one I'm in) or they have a bunch of groups you're forced to attend or else you're not 'engaging'. It's always worse when you're involuntarily admitted too, you truly have very limited rights and freedoms.

In my current one, there is nothing to do but eat (at set meal times), watch TV, draw, read a small selection of old books they have, go out in the tiny fenced courtyard and sleep. The doctors/treating team see you every day of the work week surprisingly, but only the registrar every day and the consultant (who actually makes decisions) once or twice a week. They do nothing but force meds. Medications are the only 'treatment' here and they don't even have any social workers or psychologists (other hospitals I've been to have had before). As an involuntary patient, if you're not sleeping at night and want to do something (even just drawing), you're sedated either voluntarily taking a sleeping pill or forcibly.

I came in off medications personally and was forced to choose between forced meds or forced ECT. Obviously, I chose the medications… and hopefully I'll be out of here soon. These places help no one. The nurses are understaffed too and just box tickers for the doctors in the end. Unfortunately I even had my involuntary order extended for up to 6 weeks the other day and there's nearly nothing you can do to fight it until that period is up. Pretending and just accepting the least intrusive 'treatments' while you're in here is the easiest way to get out.

These places are torture! Can't wait to get out and succeed in CTB - being here has made me only more certain I need to succeed next time :)

 

[persepexa]

Question: what did you do to end up in jail? Don't answer if you don't want I'm just really curious. That sucks a lot. I don't want to go to the adult ward and I'm glad I haven't ended up there yet. They've threatened to send me there but I never ended up there thankfully.

To be honest I haven't spoken about my exact crime although I have been open about being an ex-con and former mental patient. But I suppose there's no harm in just posting the actual conviction itself. I stalked another man for 6 months. Upon release I broke my restraining order twice. I'm currently serving a suspended sentence of 2 years which will expire next year.

 

[Lost Impact]

My first psych ward stay when I was 19 was legitimately one of the best experiences I had. I met so many interesting and cool people and heard so many stories. I felt happier. I still think about these people to this day and wonder if any of them are still alive. I willingly admitted myself there after a suicide attempt.

My second and LAST visit to a psych ward was a completely different place as my previous one couldn't take me anymore and it was so traumatising I've tried very hard to never end up at one again. I went there against my will. I was stalked, harassed, sexually assaulted and just in general fear I was going to die there. The staff was lovely (most of them anyway), but oh my GOD. The patients. Some were cool and I have funny stories from my stay there, but it was just so disgustingly abhorrent of an experience. I've tried so hard to never get caught talking about my self-harm or suicidal ideation to avoid going there again. Any place that still allows quiet rooms/white rooms/whatever are reprehensible. They were doing so many things there to keep us crazy. How is a place supposed to "help you" if they are literally inducing psychological torture like that? Just... awful.

 

[elenaboo25]

Most of my PTSD comes from things that happened in mental hospitals, and now the PTSD and related symtoms are the main reason why I want to ctb.

 

[ummagumma]

was involuntarily hospitalized after an attempt. it was alright. just really really boring (no phones) and the food was very nasty. but stuff members and other patients were pretty cool

im from russia, live in moscow btw

 

[qwert3948]

i spent very little time there, but it honestly just felt like prison. it always sounds like an exaggeration when i say that, but it's true.

i remember some medical residents being there. i asked a girl from the resident group if it was okay for the nurses to treat the patients so badly and to curse them, and if that wouldn't intervene and make their treatment worse, and she just dismissively and said "yeah but.. then the nurses just suffer in silence right?".

they don't care about you at all. they fully expect you to stay there for life and they just want you to be quiet like an empty shell while you suffer.

 

[outofthisworld2]

My first psych ward stay when I was 19 was legitimately one of the best experiences I had. I met so many interesting and cool people and heard so many stories. I felt happier. I still think about these people to this day and wonder if any of them are still alive. I willingly admitted myself there after a suicide attempt.

My second and LAST visit to a psych ward was a completely different place as my previous one couldn't take me anymore and it was so traumatising I've tried very hard to never end up at one again. I went there against my will. I was stalked, harassed, sexually assaulted and just in general fear I was going to die there. The staff was lovely (most of them anyway), but oh my GOD. The patients. Some were cool and I have funny stories from my stay there, but it was just so disgustingly abhorrent of an experience. I've tried so hard to never get caught talking about my self-harm or suicidal ideation to avoid going there again. Any place that still allows quiet rooms/white rooms/whatever are reprehensible. They were doing so many things there to keep us crazy. How is a place supposed to "help you" if they are literally inducing psychological torture like that? Just... awful.

pretty much had the same experience with psych wards! The first ward I went to (I was also 19 at the time) actually helped me bounce back up, it was nice and clean, overall I'd say it was a pretty chill time. It was a ward at a small, private clinic.

Last stay at a psych ward I got sent to a huge public psychiatric hospital: worst experience of my life, ended up running away and attempting suicide. Got sent back there after a couple weeks in the ICU… never, ever do I want to be in such a place again. Next time I won't fail.

 

[Lycan]

I just wanted to get on here and gauge where other people are in their perspectives and views on mental hospitals and other mental health institutions (psych wards, asylums, etc.) in relation to effectiveness, rehabilitation, experiences, professionalism, corruption, abuse, etc.

When I was a teen, I was admitted after telling a teacher I was going to ctb, and I spent about a week there and it was some of the most stressful, overstimulating, and life-altering times of my life. It was there that I was diagnosed and medicated for depression, anxiety, and PTSD. And I was SA'd by a teen guy around my age, who was also a patient, and I remember feeling so helpless and angry. I didn't report it or tell anyone out of fear that they would tell my parents—so I've just carried it for awhile and it honestly shaped the person I am today. We didn't receive any personal therapy or counselor services nor support, other than just repeatedly being forced to tell various staff and techs why we were there and what we think is wrong with us. Additionally, there was virtually no actual help given to any of the patients, it was more comparable to jail, as opposed to a supposed rehabilitation and care place for kids. We weren't allowed to take naps and it really just seemed like the staff found us all to be such a burden. It's genuinely like we're getting punished for being sad.

Everyone I've spoken to, now even in my adult years, has similar bad experiences with these types of places. I wanted to see who else had input and things to share.

I know what you mean. I was in a Mental Hospital after an attempt back in 2018. I befriended a fellow suicide who I sadly never saw again. Many of the staff were nice enough, but there were some real shits among them, especially This cunt doctor/nurse who verbally abused me one day. I still think about it often. I should have killed that fucking bitch then she never could have done it to another patient. I left that shit hole worse than I went in. They should tell every new patient that if a member of the staff mistreats you, do not hesitate to report it.

 

[MyLifeisHell]

Hell. Just left me worse for life. extremely emotionally abusive.

 

[lanadelreyisgod223]

leading up to actually getting into the psych ward is awful. being escorted by police as if you're a criminal is literally traumatizing and humiliating. being forced to stay in a hospital room without a door, phone, or literally anything for 24 hours was awful. actually being in the psych ward wasn't terrible but not having a phone and feeling like i was in prison was really hard. i just wanted to leave. it definitely didn't make me feel better, well actually i guess i felt better when i was discharged LOL

 

[stardusted]

i got incredibly lucky with my experience. i spent two weeks in the psych ward after i got caught during an attempt and i actually look back on that time quite fondly. all my interactions with the professional mental health staff were pretty shitty but the… stewards? i guess? like the people that were looking after us in the majority of the day-to-day activities were alright. the food sticks out in my memory; the portions were always very generous, there were tons of options to choose from, and it just helped my mood a lot to have designated mealtimes and be encouraged and helped to eat healthy. they also took us to the gym for games like kickball and stuff and getting regular exercise from that was also really beneficial. all the other patients were really nice and i dont understand why but i felt a lot less social pressure in there, like i didnt have to "perform" all the time and i could just be my normal cringey self comfortably. maybe cause all of us in there were a little fucked up lol. the obvious things were still bad, like how you cant have any of your shit and you have to have your door open all the time and everything is designed all weird to prevent you from hanging yourself. but between the healthy structure of my days and the fact that i felt like my parents cared a lot about me since they came to visit so often, overall it was a positive experience, especially compared to my regular lifestyle. those weeks were the most hopeful ive ever been for the future. occasionally i wish i could go back.

 

[fadedghost]

horrible, degrading, debasing, treating me less than human, less than animal, treating me like i'm worthless, lying to me, incorrectly recording many things in medical records, copying from one patient's chart into mine to save time, leaving the patients name, absolutely being treated like scum of the earth for pointing out when emotional abuse was occurring, taking away the last little bit of hope or dignity I had left, leaving me with nothing.

 

[weeping<3willow]

honestly they're the only places where i can function and enjoy my life haha. something abt the structured environment just helps me create a system for living. if i could live in one forever, i would

 

[Sphinxi]

I liked it. Every day I had meals planned for me, I was free to read and play cards all day. I probably would've wanted to go on walks or go birdwatching if I stayed longer, but I was only there for a little under a month.

I didn't really get any mental health care, don't expect that. It was nice, though, to be in a controlled environment where I was unbothered by the world.

 

[stardusted]

honestly they're the only places where i can function and enjoy my life haha. something abt the structured environment just helps me create a system for living. if i could live in one forever, i would

waaah this makes me feel a little less weird for feeling that way…. im glad someone else understands