Lived Experience Forum

[MrMayfair]

In my experience the hospital mental wards major purpose is to stop someone dying. So once you are in the hospital there is no therapy, no structured activity (any there is is a leaflet with the genral mental health omformation on it.
The staff are usually loveky in the voluntary wards.the staff are terrofied in the scheduled warda.
I was scjeduled when i was 18. At that pouht nurses woukd sit and have ciggs or just sit ith me and just chat.
When i was scheduled about ten years later to the same facility. They stayed behind their enclosed glass office. Any dissent or fristration showed my patients resulted in either being put into a seperate area ( i got this punishment for testing if the front door opened). Despite posters on the walls signifying when various group activities and tberapy sessions were there was none. Tneur was a pool table, which seemsa ridiculous choice of entertainment in a place eith unstable people.
I saw a girl on the phobe with her father. She started scteaming wt him,she was upset, none of us knew what was said. But those cliche twi security guards in white coatsforced a needld sedativein her and took her off tk a different place.
Theu are notjing more then gentle prisons. The most that can besaid for them is that they put you in a plscr you cant harm yoursekf.
The hours go by slowly in tbere. Meds and s are only things tbat break up day.
So if you are in there because of recent trauma, you have 24 hours if an empty day to have it in head. Forme they've been unhelpful. In the crisus moments are the momenrs i can understabd critscm and advice more then in my normal mood. But if i tell them my truth tvey force inject me with new drugs. And ud rather be lije this. As shit as i makeit.
The staffare usyalky well neanibg. Unless u have bpd. Though its mainky in the main part of hospitals where the nurses have those attotudes.
Theu serve a purpose to divert suicide attemots. Other then tvat its just a monoyous gentle prison.and notjing as ibtersting as Wentworth

[Phoenix_Rising]

@MrMayfair your experience definitely fits with my experience. My first psychiatric admission was in 1997 and the most recent was in November 2016. Painfully little has changed in that time - at least for someone with a BPD diagnosis.

[MrMayfair]

It shows a remarkable bias in professionals supposedly trained to treat anyone in need. If the diagnosis wasnt on my records I wonder how much faster the physical problems would have been dealt with. 

If I treat someone like I dont believe what they say, if i expect them to be arrogant, that is how i will see whatever they do. This is how my hospital experiences feel like. 

[MrMayfair]

I believe its gotten worse. Its somewhat understandable as there is much publicity whenever a health worker is abused or worse by a mental patient. Any headline reporting that is prominent.

The second time i was scheduled to that place was shortly after a well publicised death of a nurse. So the staff are on edge. 

Many nurses Ive met socially say mental health is the worst and sacriest. It wouldnt surprise me that when a nurse comes across a mental patient in the "normal" part of the hospital they are annoyed. If the fact of someone annoys you, again you are only going to see them as annoying. 

It doesnt matter to the nurses if they hurt or mentaly damage someone as they always have another patient. Yet some of the interactions I have had in hospital have stayed with me and prove that the things I think about myself as negative are true.

[Ayesha]

I've been hospitalised lots of times and yes I'm that 'psychotic' patient and yes with a form of schizophrenia but you know what???? I'm the first person who would reach out to you and help you and make you feel welcome and not scared.

Like @Kurra said we are all people

[MrMayfair]

You remind me that often one of the unexpected delights of a scheduling is the other patients. One hairy fellow told me that "in these places we heal each other". And he is right. I live a hermit life and the last time I was inside was more sociable then id been in years. So there are silver linings and benefits to these places. 

[Phoenix_Rising]

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@Ayesha wrote:
I've been hospitalised lots of times and yes I'm that 'psychotic' patient and yes with a form of schizophrenia but you know what???? I'm the first person who would reach out to you and help you and make you feel welcome and not scared.

Like @Kurra said we are all people

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@Ayesha I have met oh-so-many lovely people with schizophrenia, in the psych ward and learnt a lot from them. Yep, people are just people.

[Former-Member]

Hi Mr @MrMayfair

I have to totally agree with what you say about public psychiatric emergency hospitals as my daughter was held in one after a suicide attempt. And she experienced exactly what you described.  They serve their purpose to stop someone harming theirselves again at the time but offer no real treatment for their mental issues long term, and yes, they are like prisons. Many, like my daughter, pretend to be well just to get out of the place.

A disgrace that is sadly evident of a lack of funding and duty of care of our governments towards the mentally ill. This lack of mental health resources have to become a priority in this nation to address the ever growing suicide rate.

[JasJac]

@Atalanta i think because of the community based recovery concept (rather than hospital based), hospital staff really try to keep people in the community even through sucidal ideation, when it comes to suicidal planning or action they may keep you however that is for the shortest possible time. It's supposed to be for the shortest period and least restrictive practice, with community based long or short term follow up. this is where people fall through the gaps when providers change.

I personally think that hospital based support has gotten soo much better and community based support just isn't working just yet. I'm made friends from hospitals. what it was like after the hospital well it was about 24 months of recovering, maintaining my home, changing work because of my symptoms and then eventually getting back to being socially interested again.

I was told during my last admission 'don't be scared' and I really didn't have anything to be scared of. the staff and the facility was just amazing. i definitely got a lot out of the admission especially the self belief that the nurses instilled in me. very very grateful.

i would say don't be scared to you too and really hope that if you do need a short hospital stay that it is a great hospital you get into. being pleasant can also really work in your favour in nurses giving you friendly attention.

[Atalanta]

Saw my therapist today. He said that he wasn't in a position to offer crisis intervention...I guess he meant that he wasn't connected to any hospital or community services. That while we could explore suicidal ideation as part of therapy, if it got serious again in future, I had to consider the fact that hospital might have to be an option. It was a good, frank talk. Still not going to hospital but it was nice to know he cared...that I am not invisible.