Have you ever visited a mental ward, but not been committed?

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I've never. But my father has. He went to see his friend. He said the guys there sat in a room watching TV, a lot of them doped up, and they would all be excited, saying hi, asking "How's it going?", excited that something out of the ordinary was happening in their incredibly boring lives... even if it was just one visitor. He felt sorry for them.


Do you ahve any more in-depth stories to add?

I haven't but I would like to.

I worked in a psychiatric hospital for a few months as a physiotherapist and I loved it.

I used to treat musculo-skeletal injuries and prescribe exercise programs. I would also educate people with addictions to pain-killing medication about the nature of chronic pain.

I enjoyed it because everyone was so open and would share their stories.

I found the patients were just ordinary people with an illness. Some had had terrible things happen to them.

Currently I work with people with chronic lung diseases, but if the opportunity came up I would work in a psychiatric hospital again.

Helen

Ive sorta been in one. My older sister went when she tried to commit suicide, and on one of my visits I got like halfway inside. The rest we couldnt go through but the doors from that point on were locked anyway.

Um, yes, I am just visiting. That's a good story.

Why am I wearing a straitjacket you ask? Don't you know they are the latest fashion?

Nope. only ever been committed. worst ever situation of my life. extremely traumatic.

I checked myself into a Charter Palms after a horrible acid trip. This was in Austin. I was there almost three days and didn't get any sleep. The doctor who saw me in the morning on the second day had a thick Jamaican accent and I was having a hard time understanding him. I agreed to a prescription of Remeron and was diagnosed with anxieties, addiction, guilt, alot of stuff. Most of the time they had me sequestered in a small room (cell) with a bed and an empty clothes drawer. No mirror, no window. The few minutes of freedom I had were spent chain-smoking in an empty atrium with windows on all sides and a camera to monitor me.

On the morning of the third day, in the cafeteria, after I got my tray of OJ and Jello and eggs, I saw the janitors wheeling a giant metal trolley out a side door which screeched a horrible alarm if left open too long. They came in and out. I left my tray and just followed them out. Just like that! I guess no one saw me leave. I was free. I spent a nerve-wracking hour in front of the facility hiding near the horrendously smelling trash bins, waiting for the bus to finally arrive. I was tired and hungry and crashing from a trip, and I swear the bus ride home was worse than my acid hallucinations. I spent a lifetime on that bus. At one stop a kid in a wheelchair had to be carefully brought aboard, which took 30 minutes. At another stop the dapperest damned old black man in a crisp, pressed suit and tie got on, and I swear I thought he was the devil. I almost screamed. I wanted to jump off the bus into traffic. When I got home my friend Joel called me and said everyone thought I had killed myself after I freaked out and ran from the party, then no one heard from me in days.

Anyway, he had an extra ticket to see Beck in concert, so I took my meds and downers and saw an awesome show in the most altered, stoned, exhausted state I've ever been in. Beck did the robot on "The New Pollution." He even sang "Satan Gave Me a Taco" after protesting "Homie don't play that!"

And that's my story of how I busted out of the nuthouse to see Beck.

Lucky. I couldn't escape. I tried to and they wouldn't leave me alone. I ran out into the hall, and I was so upset, they got some woman to bother me and i hit her. (all because they were sexist jerks, mind you) the huge black guy (not that it matters hes black, but now i'm afaid of large black men, and large men in general.) grabbed me hurting me and forced me into a tiny little room, where I spent two hours screaming for them to let me out. call my mom, why did they make her leave, and then they called security to come back in. Then I screamed "she wouldn't get out of my space, i was trying to calm down! i have aspergers syndrome, I don't like people in general!" and they pushed me on the bed, pulled my pants down and shoed a needle in my butt.

it's because I had a huge meltdown and freaked and called the cops.

it was awful. and at the regular hospital they had to take my blood. i'm deathly afraid of needles. I said No, and they called my mom out of the room. I repeatedly said no. they got three male nurses to come in and hold me while I flailed, with them trying to stick me. I had no bra on, and they saw my breasts. They also ripped my earrings out of my ears. I cans till remember the sound of me saying "NO! I said NO!" and trying to kick them in the groin.



it was awful. never should have happened.

I have worked in one during my nursing training. It was an eye opener. Some of the nurses were nice - but others had a real "us and them' attitude. They were so inappropriate - they were judgemental. Really they had no idea. Very sad and disappointing.
Most often life experience is the best teacher.

I liked the patients - nice people.

Slink, what a great story - I love it!

I remember one day when I was at work at the psychiatric hospital, one of the patients had escaped.

The psychiatrist was extraordinarily stressed - the most stressed I think I've ever seen anyone - including the patients in the pscyh hospital.

I remember thinking - hmmm - he's a shrink - surely he shouldn't get so stressed!

Helen

I have only been in a psyche ward when committed. It was awesome. They keep crazy people there. They booted me out early because I was a threat to their "system". If you ever dose again Slink just remember that acid is highly based on suggestion, if you think you're freaking out you will. Thats why the good ole' CI of A thought they could use it for mind control...

I saw some psychos and psychics at one (the same hospital I stayed at for a few weeks); that's where their offices were.

Shady, that's horrible! You should sue the living s**t out of those ignorant slimeballs, for being ignorant!


Oh yeah; I talked to this woman once who worked in a mental hospital... she said the patients feel safe there, there's a barbershop, smoking is prohibited but some people sneak off to smoke in the bathroom, only the people who are really out of it and don't know where they are and are acting crazy are tied up, and she said some other stuff too.


Or at least that's the story she told.