Please can someone who has been in a mental hospital write to me ? Thanks

Agnia

 Please could I kindly ask someone who has been in a mental hospital to write to me to have a chat if is possible?
 I like this forum  
 Thank you 

Cher_Alumni

Hello @Agnia

Is this in relation to yourself or a past experience you had? If you feel comfortable speaking openly about it here, we'd be more than happy to chat through any thoughts or worries you have  

leeCal

What do you want to talk about @Agnia?

i have bad memories of a stay in mental health unit. Just when you need the most help you’re in an unfriendly environment and feeling threatened by other ‘care users’. Of course that was just my experience, there are many mental health units in the country and I expect one or two of them are nice places to be in. 

Having said those things, they are the best pace to be under certain circumstances and the care is twenty four seven after all. I found some nurses to be extremely empathetic and others not so, they are quite pressed for time so can’t spend too long with each person. I also found that if I spoke to them in a civil way they were equally civil to me, luckily I am naturally civil so there wasn’t a problem. In my experience mixed wards seem to be a bit better than single sex wards, but then I’m a male. From what I could tell the female wards are very nurturing places to be. 

Agnia

@Cher_Scope Thank you for your response I never been there and I’m scared 
@leeCal Thank you for your response I would like to talk how is there how patients are treated 

leeCal

Patients are treated well really, especially in a female ward. You receive regular meals and medication is done at a regular time before bed time. Sometimes you can strike up a closer relationship with one of the nurses and they’ll chat with you. This is important because the days can be quite long, especially at the weekends when it can be very boring, unless you like reading. There’s usually a tv room and you can watch tv any time. Sometimes smoking can be a problem, you have to do it outside and sometimes the ward doors are locked to the outside exercise areas. I gave up smoking so that wasn’t a problem for me. There’s usually a kitchen area where you can get a hot drink. There’s also a laundry room where you can wash your own clothes and dry them.

its not really a holiday camp but you’re there to get better and the ward psychiatrist sees you regularly during the week to assess your progress and how you’re responding to the medication. Often now an occupational therapist will arrange some games to play, I’d recommend doing that as it relieves the boredom. Also there are sometimes art therapy or music sessions and relaxation sessions where you meditate. In the one I was in there were also pottery classes which again was a break from the tedium of just sitting around on the ward. You can even take in a tablet these days which at one time wasn’t possible. Ie they have WiFi.

When you first go in it can be a bit scary to be honest, but if you give it a few hours you soon settle in. If you need treatment it’s the best place to go though if you’re borderline some units let you come in during the day and go home at night, that option may not be always possible though. 

Any other questions you might have just ask please, I’m happy to help. You can always private message me if you need to, if you want it to be a private conversation. I’m not online constantly though so there may be a delay in reply.
take care. 

Agnia

@leeCal Thank you 

Agnia

@leeCal

Please could you read I found it from the internet 

https://www.nsun.org.uk/psychiatric-hospital-left-me-suicidal-and-homeless-we-need-a-human-rights-based-approach-to-mental-health-care/

leeCal

I’ve read the article @Agnia, it’s quite upsetting. I can relate to some of what she said about her experiences. Unfortunately for her she had very serious psychiatric issues and it’s true that sometimes people are retrained and medicated against their will, that doesn’t happen very often but the staff are allowed to do it if it’s absolutely necessary. 
It’s also true that some other service users or patients can be a problem sometimes. They can be aggressive. Mostly this doesn’t happen but often there are one or two people who are noisy and disruptive. you have to keep your nerve and ignore them. 

A female ward should be better than a mixed ward. 

Is this information for yourself? 

Agnia

@leeCal Thank you 
Yes  it is for myself 
im highly sensitive and the author of this article wrote : 

Psychiatric wards in the UK are not safe places for vulnerable people. When I was psychotic, I was terrified of other people, particularly male staff and patients

Agnia

@leeCal  and I did read some reviews about mental health hospitals which is based not in UK the reviews are really scary 

leeCal

Well, all I can say is that I didn’t have too much trouble while in their myself. I think the thought of the places are worse than the reality. That’s about all I can say really.
they are to be avoided but if you’re unwell it’s the best option. 

Agnia

@leeCal Thank you for your response 

Agnia

@leeCal
i did read some terrifying reviews that people leaving the hospital with more trauma 
I’m scared because I’m on my own with everything 
i never stayed in hospital  in uk 
and I did read and heard some scary reviews about polish mental hospital 

leeCal

I didn’t leave with more problems than I went in with @Agnia, I was assessed by the psychiatrist and given the right medication and I was fit to leave after a few weeks. I think it sounds worse than it is. Generally speaking the staff were kind and helpful. I don’t know about Poland but here the mental health units are closely monitored by the nhs and things are different I’m sure. There’s even an organisation called PALS who can help if you need them whilst you’re in hospital if you feel you haven’t been treated properly or you have any complaints. 

Try not to worry, I hope this helps but you might talk to your GP, Doctor, about your concerns. Take care and best wishes Agnia. 

janer1967

Hi 

Is there any reason why you are asking about mental hospital are you being admitted to one 

Agnia

@leeCal Thank you 

Agnia

@janer1967  Hi not yet 
I got a call from a different surgery and the doctor asked if I ever been to the hospital 

loz_

Hey @Agnia,

I have had six stays in psychiatric hospitals, one of which had a stay in a secure ward for a couple of months. All of which treated me very well and were very helpful although I wasn’t aware of that when I was in the acute phase of my condition during the first couple of months there! Some stays are usually a month maximum depending on your condition, I have had much longer stays than that in some of my admissions but they try and keep you in for the shortest amount of time possible.

Good luck and feel free to message me with any questions

anisty

I was on a psychiatric ward after the birth of my daughter 30 years ago when i had puerperal psychosis. They treated me how they had to treat me to keep me and my baby safe - though of course i fought against them all the way!

They put me in my own room and i kept my baby with me. Initially, they gave me haliperadol to calm me down and then they made me sign a consent form for ECT.

I was fighting with them all the way - i don't really think i was in my right mind to consent to anything tbh.

Anyway - turns out it was the best thing as, after 6 ect treatments, i was back in the real world.

In my case, i dont have a mental health history; it was a one off period in my life triggered by childbirth.

I stayed in just over 3 weeks and was then discharged home with a CPN.

There was a teenage girl in the room next to me. She'd been in a lot but i dont know what her diagnosis was. I was the only one with a baby. It was all ages in there. From teenage to very old. I was the noisiest and most disruptive person.  I was pacing around at all hours!

To sum up - they did do all treatment against my will but, once i recovered, i totally saw why. They did the best thing and i was totally psychotic so there was no reasoning with me in that state.

I went on to have 4 more children and it was in my plan that i WANTED ect if it happened again! I ended up so glad i had ect as it cured me super fast. The other option would have been lithium.

Fortunately, i was never ill again.

anisty

Ps i have now read the article and can relate to it as i was psychotic too - i wasn't allowed out either and was watched all the time as i was at risk of harming myself and my baby.

Staff have to do what they have to do. Yes, they did inject me with sedative against my will but they had to - i was rambling and pacing all right. I did not have awful flashbacks as i do not come from a background of trauma.

I certainly have vivid memories of what it was like to be psychotic. It is actually very frightening to think what would have happened had i not been taken into hospital and sedated. I was at high risk of suicide and infanticide.


So - for the lady in the article - try to keep in mind that she had to have the treatment she had to have. 

When i got better, i had full insight and returned to excellent mental health. The lady in the article has not.

Acute psychosis is a psychiatric emergency so staff will restrain and medicate to ensure safety. I am really glad they did with me.

Agnia

@loz_  
@anisty
Thank you for replying