Yes, although you can't wear clothes with strings and no shoelaces. You need some warm clothes and comfortable ones. It's generally cold in hospitals. Last year I forgot this and only took short sleeve shirts and wore a jacket without washing it the entire time I was there because I was freezing. I take comfortable clothes like yoga pants and fleece shirts and slippers.

I've never had them look at my nails but mine are short. I think others have had long nails.

3-5 days is typical for a lot of places. I go to a mood disorder unit that the average is 5-7 days. I've been in 9 days, 7 days, 13 days. 6 days and 14 days different times.

I've had a private room once and double rooms the other 4 times. The last time they kept me without a roommate because I was too sick to tolerate one. You can shower without supervision. THey will supervise if you want to shave. They do checks every 15-30 minutes but it's pretty low-key and you won't know. They check rooms once a shift but are respectful of your thing, they just look for things you aren't supposed to have. At night I think checks go to hourly.

No phones at my hospital. My unit has a computer for patient use but that's not super common. Some hospitals have different rules about electronics. Mine doesn't allow anything with a charger or cord. You can take some books or puzzle books or a deck of cards to keep busy with. Adult coloring stuff is probably ok if that helps you feel calm; my roommate was allowed colored pencils I know.

It's not so bad. I don't mind where I go at all. I mean I'd rather never need it but I'm glad it is there when I do and I feel safe and comfortable there. It's usually a relief to get there and be somewhere safe and where I'm taken care of.