Has anyone else had a traumatic experience with mental hospitals before?

[iicookieii]

I've been hospitalized several times in two different mental health facilities, and every time gets more traumatic than the last. I find myself being less open to talk about any suicidal thoughts, even with a therapist. With each suicide attempt, I feel myself getting...I don't know, better? Better at hiding, better at planning.

The actual process of being 'mentally evaluated' honestly made me go mad. It was essentially being locked in a glass box and being stared at for hours.

My last experience was terrible, and I had my arm twisted badly from a rough handed police officer that left it hard to use for a month afterwards. I was forced to take some sort of tranquilizer that made me dizzy and nauseated and unable to hear properly. I refused to eat for two days and the pain was the worst thing I've ever experienced.

I didn't feel safe at all where I was the actual conditions were terrible. The staff didn't care, the food was shit, and the whole experience just changed me completely. I understand the fact that it's essentially just a place to hold people and keep them safe, but seriously?

Please tell me someone else feels the same way

 

[total eclipse]

I am sorry that you had such a negative experiance with mental health team and the police too. It is so frightening to even watch let alone be the one being abused i am sorry but yes i have seen trauma happen to people to people close to me that were roughly handles by both staff and security and left quite bruised to No necessary what they do it isn't not all facilities are that way

 

[raincloud]

I had a really traumatic experience when I was 15. I'm 35 now and I will never ever EVER mention anything about suicide to a professional ever again. No matter what. Objectively speaking, my experience wasn't even that bad, but it still traumatized me.

 

[Petal]

Gosh! That is awful. I am so sorry you went through that. I did not find the psych ward that bad although I did once hit a nurse when I was on a one-to-one (I was on that for my safety and the safety of others). I an not a violent person at all. But she wound me up so much that I hit her so hard I had a bruise on my hand. When I ''came around'' to being myself again, I felt very ashamed and I apologized directly to the nurse, she said to forget about it that it's part of her job. Also, one time a nurse was looking after me and she was definitely on something, she was drowsy and ugh just trust me I knew she was on something and when I said to to staff I was shouted at really loud to ''keep it to myself'' that really pissed me off 'cos they are often accusing patients of being on drugs (no-one is searched entering the psych ward here-I don't know why, maybe its a legal thing i don't know) but if the table turns and we say they are on drugs, we're screamed at. Another time I was accidentally given someone else's medication, oh and whose fault was it? Mine of course- I really lost it that time, I said ''we put OUR trust in ye to do your job, something as serious as mixing up someones medicine''. Thank god it wasn't anything too serious. I've been the psych ward a good few times and tbh I think the best help in there is talking to the other patients, some nurses are really nice, and like I said some are on something, and some look bored and don't want to be there but I have not had any exceptionally bad experiences.

 

[iicookieii]

Yeah, there's always that handful of really amazing and dedicated nurses that really care about patients and try their best, and then there always ends up being a ton more staff that doesn't give a damn.

 

[iicookieii]

I had a really traumatic experience when I was 15. I'm 35 now and I will never ever EVER mention anything about suicide to a professional ever again. No matter what. Objectively speaking, my experience wasn't even that bad, but it still traumatized me.

I feel the exact same way. Like I don't think I will ever tell anyone I'm feeling suicidal again, simply because everyone thinks that they're helping by sending you to a mental facility and it always ends up traumatic for me

 

[DrownedFishOnFire]

I was put in against my will few weekend ago. Im still pissed off about it. I was just discharged from a weeks stay at hospital and it was like few weekend later I went in for interview for day hospital program to get more intensive services and next thing I know im sent to er and threatened by nurses ill be tied down if I left my bed. I was put in middle of bay. Stripped down to gown and not given privacy while waiting for bed to open at a psych floor. I am not a violent person or did anything to try to escape. Then never seen a psycharist until next day when I am admitted to different hospial. When admitted was threatened to stay 2 weeks guarantee d if I refused to sign myself in. Took gamble of being discharged as soon cleared by pysch.

Ended up refusing to clear me until I was able to prove I wasnt a danger to myself. I explained I didnt say any thing suicidal and the admissions for day program twisted my words around. Didnt believe me that a psych at the er didnt see me either. Geez. Worst hostage siutation all around. Am thinking of consulting a lawyer as my rights were violated all around. The weekend was worst. Groups were so lame nurses were focused on themselves. The psycch doc was a foreginer hard to understand his accent. Screw them.

For that reason im never willingly going near a hospital again or talking to anyone about my suicide plans. Atfer all I do want to succed the next time.

 

[n0tokay]

I am 16 years old, i suffer with skitzophrenia, Bordaline personality disorder and very severe depression. I have been sectioned 11 times, and put into an institution for 8 months. During that time i was hardly ever conscious as they couldn't control my actions, i would hit my head so hard off the walls i would knock myself out. I had to be held down and given sedative several times as i wouldn't hand over a sharp object

 

[passionfruit3]

Ive experienced a lot of abuse in the mental hospital mostly I brought it upon myself but I think mental health workers should be better trained when dealing with difficult cases like myself bending ones arm behind ones back is not necessarily a great form of restrainting someone.ive also experienced verbal abuse.one lady at the mental hospital called me the b word.at the er theyve threatened to throw my clothes away if I left.theyve drugged me to the point were I couldnt walk.ive been restrained forced tubes down my nose the works so yes the mental hospital needs work the mental health system needs work until then its best to avoid them and if you cant then try to do as they say

 

[JmpMster]

There are far more good experiences than bad experiences in mental health units UNLESS the patient is being uncooperative. If you are being hostile or dangerous to yourself, other patients, or staff- you will be treated in a manner needed to ensure your, other patients, and staff safety. I am absolutely 100% certain there are times when staff in any position including mental health field go overboard and are less than perfect- certainly there are some that are just plain abusive- but the vast majority of the time if you are acting in a reasonable way so will they. I have seen the way they treat people in both very nice private care facilities and in long term state facilities that exist off medicaid. In all of them the coarse of treatment and the overall standard of care is more often dictated by the patient than by the facility. Very often the real shock is when these people have seen all of these things hundreds and thousands of times they are not at all impressed or surprised by them. Where the actions that got attention and sympathy from others in schools, some hospitals, and from family instead got impatience and frustration with the people that see it every day. The one word of good advice in this thread is to try to cooperate with the care givers. If you think this is unique to mental health hospitals I can assure you being non -cooperative in a regular hospital about physical conditions also results in bad attitudes and and gruff rough care. When it comes to police and their transporting you to these facilities- lack of cooperation is going to result in treatment you would rather not get. We can try to claim "inability to help it due to mental state" but very often that is not actually truth- it is simply a decision we make to not cooperate. In the end though whether it is intentional or not or can be helped or not- if you are making a huge issue and physically resisting or being verbally abusive while they should be professional enough to ignore that reality is nobody can ignore that forever.

 

[ATLAFlame]

I've never been to a psych ward but from what I've heard from a lot of different people from a lot of different places around the world, they're something to be avoided at any cost. I hear a lot of stories about people being abused and the majority of time they're not even believed by others outside the mental health services about being abused, let alone by those in the mental health services
All in all something I'm trying to avoid and will do anything to stay away from

 

[total eclipse]

No excuse for any professional to harm others just no excuse and it is very sad when it happens The professionals that are trained properly do nothave to resort to violence to take care of their patients The police are not trained they truly are not trained to handle people with mental illness and they should if known if a person is mentally ill they should have a professional brought in to deal with the situation No excuse there is just no excuse for these professionals to harm the ones that do enjoy having power over others and they abuse their power they do.

 

[shadowonthewall]

No excuse for any professional to harm others just no excuse and it is very sad when it happens The professionals that are trained properly do nothave to resort to violence to take care of their patients The police are not trained they truly are not trained to handle people with mental illness and they should if known if a person is mentally ill they should have a professional brought in to deal with the situation No excuse there is just no excuse for these professionals to harm the ones that do enjoy having power over others and they abuse their power they do.

Involuntary detention of someone who simply wishes to take control of their body and their choices is by its very nature harmful and violent. That goes for the psychiatrists and the police. Help should be offered to those in crisis. If the 'help' cannot be refused, it is no longer help but coercion.

 

[shadowonthewall]

There are far more good experiences than bad experiences in mental health units UNLESS the patient is being uncooperative. If you are being hostile or dangerous to yourself, other patients, or staff- you will be treated in a manner needed to ensure your, other patients, and staff safety. I am absolutely 100% certain there are times when staff in any position including mental health field go overboard and are less than perfect- certainly there are some that are just plain abusive- but the vast majority of the time if you are acting in a reasonable way so will they. I have seen the way they treat people in both very nice private care facilities and in long term state facilities that exist off medicaid. In all of them the coarse of treatment and the overall standard of care is more often dictated by the patient than by the facility. Very often the real shock is when these people have seen all of these things hundreds and thousands of times they are not at all impressed or surprised by them. Where the actions that got attention and sympathy from others in schools, some hospitals, and from family instead got impatience and frustration with the people that see it every day. The one word of good advice in this thread is to try to cooperate with the care givers. If you think this is unique to mental health hospitals I can assure you being non -cooperative in a regular hospital about physical conditions also results in bad attitudes and and gruff rough care. When it comes to police and their transporting you to these facilities- lack of cooperation is going to result in treatment you would rather not get. We can try to claim "inability to help it due to mental state" but very often that is not actually truth- it is simply a decision we make to not cooperate. In the end though whether it is intentional or not or can be helped or not- if you are making a huge issue and physically resisting or being verbally abusive while they should be professional enough to ignore that reality is nobody can ignore that forever.

That's ridiculous. People have every right to be uncooperative when their liberty is being taken away simply because they want to exercise control over their own life and body. My personal experience is that I was very cooperative and the staff treated me reasonably well. HOWEVER, this is because I knew that I was not empowered to fight against my enslavement and knew that I needed to acquiesce to their rules and tell them what they wanted to hear. It was extremely disturbing and disconcerting to find out that the notion of self-ownership is a lie and that I was a slave, so I certainly wouldn't blame anyone who were not acquiescent when being deprived of their liberty for no justifiable reason.

 

[PezKraft]

There are far more good experiences than bad experiences in mental health units UNLESS the patient is being uncooperative. If you are being hostile or dangerous to yourself, other patients, or staff- you will be treated in a manner needed to ensure your, other patients, and staff safety. I am absolutely 100% certain there are times when staff in any position including mental health field go overboard and are less than perfect- certainly there are some that are just plain abusive- but the vast majority of the time if you are acting in a reasonable way so will they. I have seen the way they treat people in both very nice private care facilities and in long term state facilities that exist off medicaid. In all of them the coarse of treatment and the overall standard of care is more often dictated by the patient than by the facility. Very often the real shock is when these people have seen all of these things hundreds and thousands of times they are not at all impressed or surprised by them. Where the actions that got attention and sympathy from others in schools, some hospitals, and from family instead got impatience and frustration with the people that see it every day. The one word of good advice in this thread is to try to cooperate with the care givers. If you think this is unique to mental health hospitals I can assure you being non -cooperative in a regular hospital about physical conditions also results in bad attitudes and and gruff rough care. When it comes to police and their transporting you to these facilities- lack of cooperation is going to result in treatment you would rather not get. We can try to claim "inability to help it due to mental state" but very often that is not actually truth- it is simply a decision we make to not cooperate. In the end though whether it is intentional or not or can be helped or not- if you are making a huge issue and physically resisting or being verbally abusive while they should be professional enough to ignore that reality is nobody can ignore that forever.

I wish to respectfully disagree with some parts. My perception is that you are speaking out of care and concern for both patients and workers. On one hand you are giving strategic advice for potential patients to help them avoid as much maltreatment as possible, and on the other hand you are empathizing with workers who have been mistreated by patients who could have controlled themselves much better.

Where I voice disagreement is in your final assertion, that no worker can ignore such behavior forever. In my opinion, not only can workers do so, but it is their ethical duty to do so. If a worker feels that they might lose control, then in my opinion it is simply time for them to either temporarily or permanently leave that line of work.

There is definitely a tendency in hospitals, facilities and so on to understaff. I know this very well, having worked as a CNA in dementia care settings. However, I also know that despite the reality that residents with dementia could be incredibly hostile 24/7, (A) I never allowed my emotions to have a negative impact on my residents (B) I quit the field when I started having anger/patience struggles, and (C) I would have reported a coworker in a heartbeat had they behaved in a rough or otherwise mean manner towards any of my residents.

Caring for patients with mental illness is extremely difficult, under-appreciated and underpaid work, but in my opinion we must not allow this to mean that standards of care are dropped, but rather that pressure is put upon government and corporation alike to ensure adequate staffing, training and supplies.

 

[JmpMster]

There is a huge amount of space between abuse and simply doing ones job and no more. What I am addressing is that area PezKraft. The bottom line is in any situation in the world that involves 2 or more people interacting, if you are belligerent and disrespectful and intentionally making a persons job more difficult when able to control it then you will get far less "kindness and caring" than somebody that is attempting to treat the workers with respect. There is never a time when it should cross over into abuse , though it does- in any field from teachers to healthcare to police to receptionist in a business office- and no - that is never acceptable. But particularly in healthcare and mental healthcare there is a very large space where they can be doing their jobs within all guidelines and professional standings and yet the perceived care is of a vastly different quality. The difference between a few kind words while and a little more patience, taking a minute to talk and treat you as a person rather than as a patient and a job. That is the area where the actions of the patient will have a huge effect on the overall feel of support and caring. I am in no way saying or implying if you treat people badly they are justified in abuse or anything less than their full job and duties, however they are also under no obligation for anything more than their job and required duties with any patient and if you get nothing but the required performance of services for 7 days because you are so difficult to be around by intentionally acting out using your state of mind or mental illness as an excuse to verbally or physically abuse staff then you will find the level of service far below that of somebody that acts differently and still not in any way abusive. This applies to virtually any interaction between people in any setting. There is a place for making noise and demanding things as a way of advocating for ones self, but that place is with the people able to make the changes you want , not the person that is there to simply as a worker. All the training , supplies, funding , and staffing in the world do not change these things.

 

[DrownedFishOnFire]

Was to the hospital two more times and both were good. Staff was ok but there was good ones with the Boring ones. The boring ones was non engaging and tried to look busy while good ones asked how one was doing every once in a while.

 

[True-Lee]

I was in a private hospital for 7 Weeks, I did not know what to expect but I received the best treatment that I could. I don't know what more I could have gotten. There were a few times that I had issues, for example I had a roommate on 1 occasion and this person did not sleep quietly. Now our rooms were not locked and I had been told that the common area (Near Control Desk) was "always "open" anytime we were having a problem or just wanted to sit and read (whatever) we could. So this night I came out due to noise from roommate. I was told after 2 min I had to go back to my room, I repeated to them what I had been told. They (this Person) told me in no uncertain terms they did not care what I had been told. to get back in my room or I would be put in restraints and put in the padded Room. I did make a formal complaint the next day, but whereas no physical action was taken I would have to file another complaint, I chose not to. Other than this I had a very pleasant stay.

 

[pp272]

All of my problems I have with depression an anxiety were caused because I was forced into a mental health wing at a hospital. When I was in grad school, I went to the counselling center to try it out because I was feeling a little tired and stressed, and my friend suggested it. Previously, I had never ever been to a counsellor, or therapist or anything like that. I was very happy, high functioning and never felt down or depressed in all of my 25 years. BIG MISTAKE to go. I was seen by another grad student who started talking in hypotheticals about how I 'could' be a danger to myself if I continued on this path (whatever that meant) and that I 'could' be going to a place of depression. Before I knew it, university police turned up to my counselling appointment, and whisked me away to a mental health wing. I was so scared; what had initially been something I had done out of curiosity, turned into the most traumatic experience of my life. While I was in hospital, i did have a complete breakdown because I didn't understand why I had been locked up in this place. I thought I was never getting out, and it was all very shocking and scary. My mind just completely folded after a couple of days.
Since then, I have been fearful of just about everything, I have massive issues with trust, I can't form relationships with people, I expect the worst from everything, and live in a near constant state of anxiety. So yes, going to mental hospital was just about the worst thing that ever happened to me. I still don't understand why some student in a counselling center was given the power to send me off to a place that just completely broke me and fundamentally altered my life.

 

[fishman]

Well I was handcuffed and patted down, and shoved into a police cruiser in front of my children even though i committed no crime or hurt no one. I was told by the police i had to self enroll myself in the hospital or else they would arrest me and force me into the hospital. After they got me in the car, the state police officer who had little man syndrome decided to open the back door of the cruiser and give me a pep talk that really was him just wanting to insult, belittle, and taunt me. I am still waiting to run into this guy again on the street. Anyway I then had to be medically cleared at a normal hospital first so they threw me into the detox room at the ER even though I was not under the influence of anything while they gave me meds to lower my blood pressure. When I got to the ER my handcuffs were so tight that both my wrists were bleeding...no not just red marks but I actually had blood running down my hands. The detox room was this glass room so everyone including the guards could stare at you and make little jokes. I'm a large guy and the scrubs they gave me were about 3 sizes too small so my belly hang out for people to stare and joke at. They had a bathroom with shit all over the floor literally. I had to tip toe with no shoes through the shit just to take a piss. While at the ER I was visited by someone from the mental health facility. She never asked me why I was there just again stated that I had to sign the forms to enroll me in or I would be forced in and then it would be on my record.
So I eventually made it to the facility and the depression wing was full so the first three days I was in the Bi-polar with drug addiction wing even though I have no drug or alcohol addictions I had to sit through group therapy sessions and listen to others talk about their addictions and then would laugh when they asked me to share my problems with addiction. I thought I had problems til I was in that wing. They only finally got me to the right wing after my sister came down there in person and bitched till i was moved. So I saw a psych the first night I was there and then again the last day when I was being discharged. Many patients that had been there numerous times stated that I would be held for one week because that is how long they could keep me for insurance reasons. I thought it was bull but on exactly the seventh day I was discharged. Was I better...no...I was 10x worse and will never recover the humiliation. I know now that I will never let that happen to me again. I know now I cannot trust anyone. Not even your loved ones. They think its the best thing for you. Really all those places are there for is so they can say they tried to help you. I am forever changed by these events. Now I'm left with the emotional scars of that place and a 1500.00 bill from the ER and 2000.00 bill from the mental hospital. I'm basically broke and losing my house right now anyway so they can stand in line for the money. I called my family while I was there and complained and the hospital told my family that I would try and say anything to get them to take me out of there so they believed them over me. I remember going into the hospital feeling so bad but in the beginning I was hopeful that I may get the help I needed, boy was I wrong.