Experiences with Being Hospitalized for Mental Illness?

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dragonsanddemons
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07 Nov 2017, 7:49 pm

Since I realized how bad my most recent round of depression, self-harm, and very serious thoughts of suicide got, I've been very afraid of ending up being hospitalized for something like this sooner or later, yet at the same time I kind of wonder if I should have been/should be. What I'm most afraid of is being trapped among a bunch of people (especially if I'm forced to have a roommate) and unable to leave if I want to. I thought maybe it would help if I know what to expect if that should happen. If you have been hospitalized for mental illness and are comfortable sharing, I'd like to hear about your experience.


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MjrMajorMajor
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07 Nov 2017, 10:28 pm

Mine was not pleasant. I think the hardest thing was that no one explained anything to me as I was a minor at the time. I sensed a lot of contempt from some of the staff, and I felt lost in what they expected of me.

I think art therapy helped the most, but it didn't solve anything as much as having someone actually try to understand how I felt,



TornadoEvil
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08 Nov 2017, 8:01 am

Billing was... out of network and more expensive than initially anticipated.

Oher than that, its a very non-confrontational, controlled environment, without pressures, to help get you back on your feet.

Your mileage may vary depending on location though.



Sarahsmith
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08 Nov 2017, 2:51 pm

I was hospitalized for mental illness. It was involuntary. It was really boring. I had a roomate once during the stay. We got along okay but sometimes I could hear her mumble things about me under her breath. They didnt tell me how long Id be staying there although I didnt ask. When crazy or dangerouse sounding people were there I just avoided them and stayed in my room. I found the most difficult thing was boredom and lack of privacy. It was a bit stuffy. There was always people around. Since I was involuntary I wasnt allowed to leave or go outside unless accompanied by staff. They didnt take me out very much. Once when I first got there I tried to run away because I wasnt used to it.

The food was okay. Most of the staff were nice although one was a grouch. Sometimes they could be condesending though. I had to take anti psychotics when I was there because it was involuntary. After awhile they made me quite constipated. I could barely poo. I wasnt expected to take them after the hospitalization, instead a needle injection every two weeks which only side effect is weight gane.



kraftiekortie
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19 Nov 2017, 9:39 pm

I've never been hospitalized----but my ex fiancée was, multiple times.

There were some lousy hospitals---but, once, she stayed at a place called Payne Whitney, which was really nice, and had grounds where the patients could walk.

There were places where the therapy aides would ask for sexual favors from her. Sometimes, she didn't mind; other times, she did. Lousy places, like I said.



elbowgrease
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20 Nov 2017, 1:32 am

At least four times, right off the top of my head. At least one of those was outpatient. All of them as a minor, and more than twenty years ago at this point.
It wasn't the worst thing in the world. I always had a room by myself. Nearly constant observation bothered me. The outpatient one had a bunch of other kids, but I wasn't really allowed to interact with them. Or may not have wanted to. Probably a bit of both. That was the only one that involved a group of other people.
Other than that, I only remember one guy from another trip to the ward. Inpatient that time.
It was never voluntary, and it never helped for me. I think it made things worse. But they were always focused on the wrong issues with me then, and trying to adjust meds to deal with it. I'm never going back.



Shakti
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20 Nov 2017, 1:45 am

I have been hospitalized twice after suicide attempts, once at age 12, once at 26. Both were awful. I was put into isolation for self harming because I wouldn't eat the meat that came with dinner, I'm vegan. That's not self-harming.


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Embla
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20 Nov 2017, 4:17 am

I was emergency-hospitalized to prevent me from committing suicide. For me it was both good and bad. The actual stay was awful. I was at the geriatric ward (for people over 65) so it was just me and a bunch of dementia-patients. The age and condition of the other patients didn't bother me, I kept to myself anyways. But it smelled weird, all the food was extra soft and chewing-friendly, and the nurses had no idea how to deal with a young person.
I was miserable in there. It was terribly boring, and being locked up like that just made me worse.
However, I see now that it was really good for me to get in there, because I really needed to be looked after at that point.
Since then I've never been as low as when I got in there, because being let out was the most fantastic experience. Even if I was let out to sleep on the streets, the freedom was the most amazing thing. I was dancing around for two days, and still, almost four years later, I'm really happy about being out of there. I still have suicidal thoughts sometimes but I think those are mostly just a habit of mine now. The world is actually pretty nice to be in.

Another good thing about the stay was that my autism was pointed out to me. Took me three years to actually get a diagnosis and accept it, but hadn't I gotten hospitalized, I still wouldn't have known. I know this doesn't apply to your situation, but it's just to lift up another positive about it.

If you're thinking of getting hospitalized, I think you have a good chance to get something out of it. When it comes out of nowhere and by force, it's all just shocking and it's hard to adjust to the environment. But if you're the one who decides to get in there, you see the purpose of it and can use the time constructively.
If you live somewhere where there's more than one hospital, and you're able to choose between them, you could do a little research to find out which one is best for you. Maybe there's a way for you to know whether or not you might have to share a room, or if there are sections of the building where it's possible to be alone. I know this isn't always a possibility, but just in case. That's what I would do if I needed to get hospitalized again.



dragonsanddemons
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20 Nov 2017, 10:07 am

Embla wrote:
I was emergency-hospitalized to prevent me from committing suicide. For me it was both good and bad. The actual stay was awful. I was at the geriatric ward (for people over 65) so it was just me and a bunch of dementia-patients. The age and condition of the other patients didn't bother me, I kept to myself anyways. But it smelled weird, all the food was extra soft and chewing-friendly, and the nurses had no idea how to deal with a young person.
I was miserable in there. It was terribly boring, and being locked up like that just made me worse.
However, I see now that it was really good for me to get in there, because I really needed to be looked after at that point.
Since then I've never been as low as when I got in there, because being let out was the most fantastic experience. Even if I was let out to sleep on the streets, the freedom was the most amazing thing. I was dancing around for two days, and still, almost four years later, I'm really happy about being out of there. I still have suicidal thoughts sometimes but I think those are mostly just a habit of mine now. The world is actually pretty nice to be in.

Another good thing about the stay was that my autism was pointed out to me. Took me three years to actually get a diagnosis and accept it, but hadn't I gotten hospitalized, I still wouldn't have known. I know this doesn't apply to your situation, but it's just to lift up another positive about it.

If you're thinking of getting hospitalized, I think you have a good chance to get something out of it. When it comes out of nowhere and by force, it's all just shocking and it's hard to adjust to the environment. But if you're the one who decides to get in there, you see the purpose of it and can use the time constructively.
If you live somewhere where there's more than one hospital, and you're able to choose between them, you could do a little research to find out which one is best for you. Maybe there's a way for you to know whether or not you might have to share a room, or if there are sections of the building where it's possible to be alone. I know this isn't always a possibility, but just in case. That's what I would do if I needed to get hospitalized again.


I'm sure the experience is much better if one is hospitalized voluntarily instead of involuntarily - it's been on my mind a lot recently, so I've looked around a bit and have time to try to mentally prepare myself, and I've read that if it's voluntary, you can also check yourself out as long as you aren't a danger to yourself or others, which would help me feel better about it. And while I'm already diagnosed with autism, depression, and anxiety, it's entirely possible that I have some other stuff going on that I'm not aware of but that they'd pick up on. I should definitely look around and see what the options are near me - any information they'd have online would probably help me feel better about the possibility of being hospitalized, if nothing else because I'd have some idea of what to expect.

Thank you, everyone, for sharing your experiences.


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Yet in my new wildness and freedom I almost welcome the bitterness of alienage. For although nepenthe has calmed me, I know always that I am an outsider; a stranger in this century and among those who are still men.
-H. P. Lovecraft, "The Outsider"


dragonsanddemons
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20 Nov 2017, 10:58 am

dragonsanddemons wrote:

I'm sure the experience is much better if one is hospitalized voluntarily instead of involuntarily - it's been on my mind a lot recently, so I've looked around a bit and have time to try to mentally prepare myself, and I've read that if it's voluntary, you can also check yourself out as long as you aren't a danger to yourself or others, which would help me feel better about it. And while I'm already diagnosed with autism, depression, and anxiety, it's entirely possible that I have some other stuff going on that I'm not aware of but that they'd pick up on. I should definitely look around and see what the options are near me - any information they'd have online would probably help me feel better about the possibility of being hospitalized, if nothing else because I'd have some idea of what to expect.

Thank you, everyone, for sharing your experiences.


I looked around, and the only promising place I found only treats children, teens, and the elderly, so I'm not in the right age group. Every other place I found was for substance abuse or eating disorders :hmph:


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Yet in my new wildness and freedom I almost welcome the bitterness of alienage. For although nepenthe has calmed me, I know always that I am an outsider; a stranger in this century and among those who are still men.
-H. P. Lovecraft, "The Outsider"


elbowgrease
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20 Nov 2017, 12:18 pm

It can be really rough, to try to find help, and only find options that really aren't help.

I don't know what to tell you, but I hope you can find what you need.



dragonsanddemons
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21 Nov 2017, 12:59 am

dragonsanddemons wrote:
dragonsanddemons wrote:

I'm sure the experience is much better if one is hospitalized voluntarily instead of involuntarily - it's been on my mind a lot recently, so I've looked around a bit and have time to try to mentally prepare myself, and I've read that if it's voluntary, you can also check yourself out as long as you aren't a danger to yourself or others, which would help me feel better about it. And while I'm already diagnosed with autism, depression, and anxiety, it's entirely possible that I have some other stuff going on that I'm not aware of but that they'd pick up on. I should definitely look around and see what the options are near me - any information they'd have online would probably help me feel better about the possibility of being hospitalized, if nothing else because I'd have some idea of what to expect.

Thank you, everyone, for sharing your experiences.


I looked around, and the only promising place I found only treats children, teens, and the elderly, so I'm not in the right age group. Every other place I found was for substance abuse or eating disorders :hmph:


A deeper search revealed more places (which I expected since I live near a major city), but all the ones I found have bad reviews and sound like exactly the sort of place I'd be terrified of being stuck in. So much for reading about places easing my mind.


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Yet in my new wildness and freedom I almost welcome the bitterness of alienage. For although nepenthe has calmed me, I know always that I am an outsider; a stranger in this century and among those who are still men.
-H. P. Lovecraft, "The Outsider"