|
What is inpatient like? I have been in 6 or 7 times (I honestly cannot remember.)
Does it vary according to the individual hospital? Yes, absolutely. I was at a total of 3 different hospitals. In some ways they were all the same but in others they were different.
Can you take your computer? Your cell phone? No computer and no cell phone. Don’t even bring your computer. Sometimes the nurses gave me my cell phone, not to use but so I could look up numbers.
Do they really ban things like sneakers because of the strings? Not with all patients, only if you’re suicidal, typically. They also have most people on fifteen minute checks, so every fifteen minutes, you have to be accounted for. It kinda gets annoying, honestly.
What do you do all day while you're there? Constant therapy? Group? Time to rest and deal? Again, depends on the hospital. I was in one that was super structured (art therapy, group meetings, mental illness education, group therapy, smoke breaks, meals, walks outside – at a certain privilege level.) We only had free time in the evenings or for a few minutes after meals. There was no option to skip the planned activities. The worst hospital I was in, there was almost no structure. People would lay in bed for hours, or watch TV for hours. It was awful. I hated it. When I am depressed, I need structure.
Do they let you have visitors? Yes, but only during visiting hours. And if the visitors brings presents, they have to be screened at the nurse’s station.
What if the one person who triggers you more than anyone else in the world wants to come and cry and tell you to just snap out of it, as she has done for years? Will they keep people like this away? Yes. They threw my mom out once when she was getting difficult with me. But later, I felt bad, because they were kinda rude about it.
Do you interact much with other patients? It all depends. For me, I was usually quiet the first day, first to adjust, and second, to watch the other patients. Then, I would interact. In fact, I still keep in touch with a few people I met in the psych ward. Depending on the level of structure, they might make you speak up in group therapy – well not *force* you, but strongly encourage you.
Let me say this: There are good psych wards and bad psych wards, good nurses and bad nurses, good staff and bad staff. It varies a lot. I think it depends too on how much you want to get better and how much you put into things like group therapy. Be open. You can learn a lot from other patients. It was probably the least judgmental group of people I have ever been around, and also, some of the bravest.
And finally, two big disadvantages: 1) In a psych ward, you’re usually going to have high functioning people and low functioning people. Due to a variety of reasons, both groups and usually treated the same, and the difficult patients get the most attention. 2) Insurance does not want to pay for psych visits that last more than 3 days or so. Therefore, many times you will feel pressured to leave before you’re ready.
Sorry that was so long, but I have a lot of experience with psych wards. Hope I helped!!
|