Psychiatric Hospital?

Question

Can anyone tell me, preferably from experience, what it's like to stay in a psychiatric hospital? Are you expected to follow a schedule? Can you wear your own clothes? Do they take certain things away from you like shoelaces, belts, razors, etc... If you go voluntarily can you choose a discharge date? Are you allowed to make your own decisions regarding treatment? Are you housed with other patients that have similar problems? Anything else you can tell me would be helpful.

Answer 1

I've helped a lot of people get admitted to psychiatric hospitals and I've worked with a lot of previous patients, so I will try to answer your questions as best I can.
1. Psychiatric hospitals are very structured, so you can expect to follow a schedule that includes individual therapy, treatment planning, group therapy, and structured activities. There may be some free time (about an hour or so), but many psychiatric inpatients respond well to the predictability of structure, so expect every minute to be pre-planned.
2. You can wear your own clothes, for the most part. Many tv shows and movies portray psychiatric inpatients wandering mindlessly in hospital gowns. This is not the case. Unless there is a serious reason, like they suspect you may hang yourself with your own clothes, you get to wear your own stuff.
3. They do take certain things away from you. Every hospital has their own policy. The hospitals I worked with confiscated lighters, knives, razors, pins, and sometimes belts. Basically, if you (or any other patient who can get into your belongings) can harm themselves with it, they take it. One hospital once had to remove staples from all the magazines because a woman kept sticking the staples under her skin. After she was discharged, magazines on the ward returned to normal.
4. If you go voluntarily, you can leave whenever you want. You may not get to choose a discharge date, because it depends on your insurance and how long they'll pay for you to be there. However, if you go in voluntarily, you can request to be discharged in 3 days and they can't keep you, unless they can prove that you will be an imminent risk to yourself or others (in this case, they may then hospitalize you involuntarily).
5. It is your treatment, so you can make decisions. Again, unless you are involuntarily hospitalized and found to be incompetent to participate in your own treatment by a judge, no one can force you to take medications. However, I have to ask, if you go into the hospital and refuse to take meds, what are you expecting to happen in the next few days? Hospitals are about crisis stabilization and improvement with therapy can take weeks or months. Very often, they highly encourage you to take meds so you can stabilize and return to the community to continue treatment on an outpatient basis.
6. It depends on the hospital, but people are usually housed together. So, if you go into the hospital with depression, you may room with a person with schizophrenia.

What else would you like to know?

Answer 2

I am assuming you are an adult. I do not have personal experiences, but I have worked with many children that have. Usually there is a scheduled routine that is followed every day which would include things like community groups, individual counseling, recreation time, and meeting with your psychiatrist. Usually you can wear your own clothes but they do not allow you to have shoe laces, belts, razors, any glass objects, any type clothing with strings, etc. If you are on suicide precautions, they may not even let you wear your own clothes. If you go voluntary, you can work with your care team on a discharge date that you have in mind, but if they don't feel you are ready, you won't get discharged. You should have some say in your type of treatment. I don't know about your particular psych hospital, but usually there are certain units that work on certain issues. Hope this helps. Good luck!

Answer 3

First, I can say I wish I did n't know the answerst o these querstions but I am not embarassesd to say that I do. In some hospitals a strict schedule is followed 'for recovery' where as other places ther is way too much free time filled with watching tv.Yeah I wore my own clothes, somethings were stolen from me so don't go with yer favs. THings were taken from me, we had to use an electric shaver we got from the nurse's station, checked in and checkd out - that was a privledge earned too. Can you discharge yourself? depends on the laws of state and what the dr says about you . If you are deemed a threat to yourself or others they usually won't let you go.There are some decssions regarding treatment you can be a part of jus tdepends upon the structure of the program. I wasn't with anyone who had my particular problem but there were similar definately. It depends upon what you wnat to do with your time there. ALl the tools are there to really help you make changes, it's just what you wnat to take advantage of or no tthat either makes it a waste of time or not. Mostly it removes a lot of distractions so you can acheive your goals. Oddly enough just not having to make your own meals or eat alone and having a waking and bed times set can alieviate a lot for many folks.

Answer 4

Jumper,

My understanding is this: Adults cannot be held against their will. Yes, you can be placed somewhere for observation; you can submit to a 'program' on a 'temporary' basis.

But one of the reasons our streets are full of homeless people who some are not "all there' is because of these NEW rules. They began in the 50's and 60's and have progress to this present state of "equality'.

Truth be known, because of insurance (and the want to empty the bank) there are ways of 'holding' a person - by changing paperwork - shuffling stuff around - injunctions - maybe even pleas from and to a judge - but that is all temporary. In the long run . . . there is no 'power' to hold someone or 'make' them do something.

Answer 5

i dont personally know but my husband has stayed in one before, i do know he said it is boring yes you have to follow a schedule, you can wear your own clothes,yes they do take shoelaces away and razors and belts etc.,they say you can choose if you go on your own but that is a lie. you can make your own decisions on treatment but you should have a loved one help you, the doctors like to pull fast ones on you alot.you are housed with alot of different patients with different problems. be careful. and try to go to the classes and eat, that will help you get out faster.

Answer 6

I was in one. Anita, though she hasn't been in one, pretty well nailed it right on the head. I was on suicide watch, so I had to wear an icky hospital gown.... they took everything from me and examined my ENTIRE naked body for weapons, bruises/cuts/, pills, etc. It was not the most pleasant experience I've ever had. I would strongly urge anyone heading that way to opt for outpatient therapy, if at all possible. In my opinion, that hospital did more harm than good. Although, on a pleasant note... I still use that experience, almost two years later, to motivate me to keep my thinking on the right track.

Answer 7

speaking only from experince it was a pleasant stay for me and jj uncle that where we got our helments cool huh! 3 hots and a cot to all at the tax payers expense.call it a free vacation and use your imagination.hey jj say high to your uncle.gotta go recieving call from outer space

Answer 8

It's better to go voluntarily than to be committed...