Have you ever been in a psychiatric hospital?

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i was bi polar and it was extremally scary m parents took me in and i was so hurt but now i thank them for what they have done for me

Reply 21

Anonymous #2

For 4 months, as an inpatient. I was severely depressed and my parents kinda forced me to go. Looking back on the experience, it gave me the help i so badly needed and the motivation to turn my life around, but it was utter, utter hell. I was discharged in December 2006 and i still have some horrible memories of my time there that i don't think will ever fade. Thank **** i was only a day attender.

Anon as even though i'm 'cured' now and lead a perfectly normal life, i would never have the balls to go public with this. None of my friends or my girlfriend know, and i don't plan on ever telling them.

Reply 22

Anonymous #3

I have once for a month and once for a week. It doesn't scare me looking back on it at all, I felt quite safe there because people were there to look after me if anything went wrong. I think the worst time in my life was battling alone with my mental illness before being admitted, rather than actually being admitted for treatment.

Reply 23

Anonymous #1

Original post by Anonymous

I've told a few friends. I wouldn't go as far as to call them supportive, as they wouldn't know what the hell to do, but they were understanding to some extent and don't think any less of me for it. I wouldn't ever admit it on a public website like this or to an employer though.

Reply 24

Liv1204

Original post by Anonymous

Cheers for you response. I'd struggle with a long one because it is such a blur. I remember a few patients (particularly the sociopath!) and some staff but I was on a huge dose of nitrazapam and had been given lorazapam once or twice to calm down, so it's all a bit of a blur and comes back to me in patches. I basically stayed in bed for a week worrying about paranoid delusions and trying to stop myself from escaping, which would have been extremely easy if it weren't for the snow and ice.

Yeah, I guess it must be a blur with medications. I wasn't on any medication when I was in the unit (they offered me diazepam and I think lorazepam(?) on my first night, but I didn't want it), but I was literally the only person in the unit on no medication, which felt a bit strange.

But yeah, I can relate to considering escaping! The only thing stopping me sometimes was that they'd filled in a 'patient information sheet' so they had a detailed description of me, places I go to, my car registration etc to give to the police if I ran. I'm glad I didn't though, because it did keep me safe staying there just for that few days.

Reply 25

Anonymous #1

Original post by Liv1204

I'm glad I didn't though, because it did keep me safe staying there just for that few days.

Same. As awful as the whole experience was it was necessary at the time.

Reply 26

Sabertooth

Original post by Liv1204

I was voluntary but on the basis that I would be sectioned if I wouldn't go in

They did that to me too, I thought it was illegal for them to threaten it, but they still did. :dry:

I was in one a few weeks ago also with psychosis. It was pretty awful, I've got mild claustrophobia so spending time on a locked ward absolutely did my head in, it was horrible. I couldn't do anything except try very very hard the whole time not to smash the window and escape (think that's more the claustrophobia than the psychosis :tongue:

), I was constantly pacing to try to get rid of the thoughts, until they drugged me so I stopped. I felt incredibly anxious, constantly stressed, couldn't sleep, couldn't eat, thankfully the new meds they put me on fixed me up fast and damn well so I got out quick. OP, I know what you mean about scaring the **** out of you, I fear going back so so badly. You wanna know the worst bit? I'm back in the states now and over here they still put people in straitjackets and chain them down rather than just inject them. My fear of going back is.....indescribable. Thankfully the drugs I'm on now have made such a massive difference, across the board my symptoms have massively improved.

Reply 27

Ministerdonut

I worked in one of the old style asylums that was and still is meant to be closing but they have never totally shut it. I think now all is left is the top secure part for prisoners (peter sutcliffe was there for a spell apparently) and a small unit for those who have been sectioned. But the estate is huge,had large numbers of seperate buildings, had an operating theatre, mortuary, church, parade of shops it's own powerplant, under ground bunkers because of ww2. It even had a street of normal semi detached houses for the married staff, villas for the psychiatrists and a large nurses home. Even a graveyard.

I was out doors most of the time, as I was a security guard and the hospital had problems with chavs, mainly coming onto the site and freaking out the patients who were allowed out in the grounds. Got to know some of the staff and some of the patients. The grounds were beautiful, great place to sunbathe and the only nasty thing was the adders in the more overgrown parts.

But aside from the pleasant surrounds, I found the place a bit unsettling , as all the facilities meant this place was used ,certainly in the past to keep people in for the rest of their lives in many cases. However since I stopped working there, it's become clear to me that care and the community is very flawed and perhaps places like this are not as bad as they first seem particularly for those who are very seriously ill. If you like they keep the patients safe from all the sane people outside! I know the staff I spoke to there, really seemed to care about the patients and were very sad the place was closing. Because they would not be getting the same levels of care 'in the community'.

Reply 28

el scampio

I used to work as a nut case bounty hunter. We had to run around the city with a big net and cattle prod, looking for escaped mental patients.

Reply 29

emeritus2011

Original post by el scampio

I used to work as a nut case bounty hunter. We had to run around the city with a big net and cattle prod, looking for escaped mental patients.

DO ONE

Reply 30

emeritus2011

i think its fair to say that you guys have educated me with your experiences and hope you all succeed in whatever career you will choose upon completion of your studies, i also think this would be sticking two fingers up at those like el scampio and many other uninformed fools who falsely think if one has/is suffering from a mental illness is somehow a write off..im going to look into this topic further and maybe see if i can do more to raise awareness as a feel theres alot of people out there just like me who would benefit from this info. so once again peoples thanks :smile:

Reply 31

sweety0471

what are the psychiatric units like? How bad do you have to be to be put in one?

My friend is just recovering from 2 years being in units, and she seems okay now.... About to be discharged. Didn't realise you could have times short as a week. I feel really sorry for her, and wish it was me there and not her, she iss soo lovely

Reply 32

Liv1204

Original post by Sabertooth

They did that to me too, I thought it was illegal for them to threaten it, but they still did. :dry:

It's so frustrating isn't it? Like...you have the choice of either being admitted or being admitted. So it's not really 'voluntary' at all (although it's far better to go in voluntarily if the choice is there).

I'm glad your symptoms are improving now. :smile:

Original post by sweety0471

A lot of admissions will be longer than a week, especially if someone is sectioned or is there for treatment rather than assessment, for example. But sometimes shorter stays can be used if medication is being changed or if a crisis situation occurs. I stayed for four days because I was taken in by the police on the Friday, and ithey couldn't arrange any real help over the weekend. The hospital weren't convinced I'd be safe over the weekend so they kept me in to keep me safe until they could sort out some more help basically (the 'help' they arranged was an assessment from someone who then gave me an appointment for a month later, which wasn't a huge amount of help tbf, but that's another issue!)

How 'bad' you have to be can depend - there's a huge variety in the types of illnesses in a general psychiatric unit. I was there just because I'd wanted to hurt myself because I wasn't coping, but I still wouldn't have considered myself as 'ill' - although I guess they must have disagreed at the time. And on the other hand there were people in there who just 'seemed' very ill, if that makes sense. Hospitals will generally try to avoid an inpatient admission as much as possible. But for some people it is necessary, either for a short-term admission and assessment in a crisis situation, or for longer-term treatment in a safe place.

Reply 33

noniona

Original post by el scampio

I used to work as a nut case bounty hunter. We had to run around the city with a big net and cattle prod, looking for escaped mental patients.

How the **** is that funny?

A few years ago I went through a really scary time. I was depressed and self-harmed a lot. My mum eventually found out and was so upset. She told my tutor who had a 'talk' with me and I was very nearly admitted to a psychiatric hospital. I manged to 'turn myself around', ie. Bottle everything up and try to forget about it. Every now and then I get relapses (the worst of which was about a month ago), but I never tell anyone when they happen, and my friends have no idea about any of it. I'm terrified of seeing a doctor because I don't want to be admitted. But I know I have some sort of mental disorder, and it's awful to live with; I wouldn't wish it on anyone.

Reply 34

fire2burn

Yes I have several times both on sections and as a voluntary patient because of psychosis. The last time I was sectioned was last year, I was section 136'd by the police, and then put on a section 2 once in hospital. The last voluntary admission was January this year, I say voluntary but it wasn't like that at all. I was told I either went voluntarily or I'd be sectioned, not much of a choice really. The psychiatric unit I go to isn't too bad as it's very modern and was completely rebuilt when they recently upgraded the general hospital nearby. All patients have their own rooms with an en suite bathroom for privacy which is nice, means if you want to get away from everyone you can. There were cooking, arts & crafts, and relaxation classes during the day, and in the evening they'd have dvds on. Also there were laptops with wifi internet access for patients to use as a reward in the evenings if they'd been good during the day.

It's not too bad a place really. But some of the other wards are utter **** holes. I don't miss the old ward at all.

Reply 35

fun_fun

I went in one when i was in year 8/9 and it was in Pakistan, because my uncle runs a psych hospital. It was so scary because there were patients at the stairs when we were going up and they just stare at you..

Reply 36

animalnitrate

Original post by sweety0471

Hey,
Bipolar is manic depression, long periods of mania (i.e. extreem happinesS) and periods of depression. From what I can gather, the medications are to lower your mood in mania situations or anti-depressants to increase moods. Medications won't be used for everyone, but they may be on them for a long time.

As for the second bit, GPs are able to refer and diagnose conditions. There may be some counselling and things to identify the condition, and questionnaires are also used. I've been thinking about going to them and trying to get a diagnosis for something.

The periods of mania are not necessarily extreme "happiness", they are "distinct periods of elavated moods which can take the form of euphoria", there is a subtle difference.

Antidepressants have not been found to be very useful as medication for bipolar because they can make the disorder worse or trigger a manic episode. Usually mood stabilisers such as Lithium or Anticonvulsants are used instead.

Reply 37

Anonymous #1

Original post by Sabertooth

You wanna know the worst bit? I'm back in the states now and over here they still put people in straitjackets and chain them down rather than just inject them. My fear of going back is.....indescribable. Thankfully the drugs I'm on now have made such a massive difference, across the board my symptoms have massively improved.

That's dreadful. Would you say that mental healthcare is better in the UK? There were a few aggressive patients in the ward I was in but as far as I'm aware they were given medicine to control that orally.