This may be the best thread I've read. Gotta love art therapy.

I will also add.

If you smoke, bring a LOT of extra cigarettes. Although smoking is prohibited in most hospitals, for some reasons, a lot of exeptions are made for psych wards/hospitals and you usually have a lot of time to "smoke em if you got em" and you will make friends easily with more cigarettes, as well as keep away any enemies. (In my first hospital stay, they actually had a cigarette lighter IN THE WALL, that you would press a button and it would light up - I was too short to reach it and had to stand on a chair or have someone else light my smokes )

If you don't participate, you don't go home. If you go into the hospital and then don't go to the groups and just sit in your room, you will stay there until you start going to the groups so you might as well start going.

Don't "hook up" with anyone that you meet there. I'm not saying that there aren't nice people of the opposite sex there, but let's face it, we're there because we are sick...and they are there because they are sick...it might feel good and you might think you are getting away with it but really, everyone knows.

If your roommate tells you she wants to kill you, take it seriously. True story...and her file said she had "homicidal tendencies" (yes, I snuck a look at it) I don't judge her, but i didn't want to be alone with her either - she hated me.

Be nice to the nurses - they are the ones that really run the place. And give you your meds, and can get things done for you. Nurses don't get nearly enough credit.

Lydia said don't pet the geese...I will add, don't feed the squirrels. They are so cute with their little squirrel hands taking the food and eating it....the last place I stayed we would all sit outside smoking and the squirrels would practically take food out of our hands. We got yelled at all the time...i'm sure someone might get bit at some point and need a rabies shot.

You will meet some very interesting and different people. Try to relax and just be there for yourself. If you make friends, great. If you don't that's ok too - you aren't there to make friends - you're there to get better.