Forums » Smalltalk » AMA - I spent 6 days in a psych ward

I couldn't really think of much this year so here's this. I spent 6 days in a psych ward. For those of you who have never been to one (or have and just want to compare), feel free to ask anything because I have so much to say about that place.

Did they make you wear the special socks?

Did they have those bendy pens? did you take any home?

love those socks

They did. And I got to take a pair home ヾ(⌐■_■)ノ♪

They only let us use the bendy pens when we had to fill out our safety plan on the fourth day we were there. We couldn't take them out of the room and once the paper was filled out they took them from us. All we could use otherwise was markers. But it's actually kind of fun to draw with just markers, doing a sketch in yellow and outlining in a darker colour.

In one of my wards, we were permitted supervised electronics three times a day. In another, there were two online linux laptops that could be used until 11:30pm (they were in cases). What were the electronics privileges, if any?

Did you guys have phones in the halls that just anyone would answer, then try to find you? We had a whiteboard we'd jot names down on for people who missed calls. There was weird peer pressure not to ignore the phone when it was ringing if you were near it.

We weren't allowed to have any electronics at any point. If you wanted to call someone, you had to ask the nurses or techs and they'd write your name on a paper because multiple people wanted to make phone calls. Then you went to the nurses' station outside the dayroom where they would dial the number for you. You could only have two numbers/people you were allowed to call and their names and numbers were written on the admittance sheet. You couldn't call anyone but those two people, but others who weren't one of them could call you. You could call any time of day but there was a specific time in the evening dedicated to making phone calls. But we weren't allowed to have any electronic.

Did you keep in touch with anyone you met there? Last time I was in for um... 8 weeks which is way more time to establish connections with people than 6 days. There was a rule against visiting the ward for 6 months once you left. I was told by a nurse that the demographic was shifting younger in that particular ward and that the rules were changing because of it. I still follow a few people I made friends with on social media. But, I don't really contact them.

Well (yes), but I'm not supposed to. A lot of patients bended that rule. In the psych ward I went to, one of the biggest rules from the nurses and techs was to not give out socials or anything that would cause any of the patients to meet again outside of the ward in any way, shape, or form. This was a rule because we didn't necessarily know why the person was in there. As in, they could say they were in there for depression but they were really in there because they were homicidal. And the nurses and techs wanted us all to be safe and knew some people who kept in touch were put into danger after they left whether or not it was because of the other person. So it was specifically stated that we weren't allowed to trade socials, but a lot of us did anyway. We just don't share addressed or where in the area we're from.

I'm not sure how to word this, but my question is generally... Did you feel like it helped? Were you safe and well cared for there? Or was it just sort of a 6 day imprisonment?

I have Complex PTSD with suicidality disorder.

they do let me have a bendy pen because I draw ALLOT in the hospital it is just how my brain recalibrates it self. I have been hospitalize 5 times in my life.

I feel like this should be a less taboo subject to talk about my last hospitalization was for a month in an all female ward for woman with PTSD. its was like a really long sleep over. where all in our PJs talking about our lives, watching movies, even did karokie dance party. it was weird but at time time I needed it. Maybe if I was not so scared of the concept when I was younger I would have gotten more help earilar.

I am curious about how it felt the first day out? I always feel like that every thing is a bit too technicolor the first few days. did you go into After care?

A little bit of both. But I feel like my issues were only enhanced while I was there. But they sent me home on new meds which helped, and some of the group activities helped too. But I got real homesick at one point and it just felt like imprisonment.

Once I left, that was it. There was nothing like after care, they just sent me home with a safety plan. It just felt really weird because my routine was all messed up and the real world just seemed so weird to me even if I was only gone for 6 days. It was kind of like coming home after a long vacation across the country or something.