[WishfulThinker66]

Just an observation but it seems to me everyone tends to stay away from the psych ward and fails to visit their friends and loved ones. This both saddens and irritates me.

I have always been fortunate with several visitors daily when I have been in. However, I note that most everyone else is terribly terribly alone. Even spouses don't bother to show up. It makes me cry.

I right now have two people in the hospital who I have been visiting and attending daily. They have no one else. No one there seems to have anyone. Anytime I am there I appear to be the only visitor in the entire ward.

Why? Are people that uncaring? Self absorbed? Scared perhaps? Do you think staff ought to get involved and demand people actually show up?

[SlumberKitty]

I think there is still a lot of stigma involving psychiatric care. So while someone may feel comfortable going to the hospital to visit someone who had surgery for example, they don't feel comfortable going to a psych hospital to visit. And then there is a whole group of people who don't like hospitals period. But I think it is sad that more people don't have visitors when they really could use the support and friendship of loved ones at that time.

[splitimage]

I agree with slumberkitty. I think it's a combination of stigma and being really uncomfortable with the idea of a psych hospitalization, and maybe fearing not knowing what to say.

I've been IP 3 times, and never had any visitors. When I was in one time, there were a couple of poeple who had visitors but they were always close family and they never stayed on the ward, they always went out for coffee, but most people didn't get any visitors.

I think it's sad.

splitimage

[yagr]

Originally Posted by WishfulThinker66

Do you think staff ought to get involved and demand people actually show up?

How would staff have the authority to do something like this? Regardless, absolutely not.

[unaluna]

I once called a friend at the urging of another friend. The friend in the hospital explained to me he was there to get away from his current environment and to please leave him alone. I didnt want visitors the last time i was in a hospital for physical health reasons. So maybe different people have different needs.

[WishfulThinker66]

Originally Posted by yagr

How would staff have the authority to do something like this? Regardless, absolutely not.

You absolutely have a point. But, when the time comes to briefing family you would think they would urge them to attend.

[WishfulThinker66]

I suppose I just don't get the fear factor. But that is me not them. Yes, I too believe it is stigma that is a reason. A shame that in this day and age we live in that kind of world. I get so upset by this. I want to grab the family member and give their head a shake.

The two I visit perk up with joy when they see me which is great. What isn't is seeing those already sad then get disappointed.

I think not visiting a friend and loved one is cruel.

[Bill3]

I wonder if people realize that it is permitted and welcomed to visit patients who are in the psych ward.

[ArtleyWilkins]

You are assuming every patient wants visitors. Or, perhaps family is one of the reasons they are there and not having contact is perhaps better. I only allowed my husband to visit, and there were times I asked him not to come because I just wasn’t up to visiting. Some patients never tell anyone they are going inpatient. Lots of factors.

[ArtleyWilkins]

Originally Posted by Bill3

I wonder if people realize that it is permitted and welcomed to visit patients who are in the psych ward.

But often it is fully up to the patient to specify visitation. In my hospital, no one could even know you were admitted without your specific permission much less get on the floor for visitation. In fact, even my husband had to have a specific code that I gave him to even call the floor and ask to speak with me. Security can be very tight for privacy and safety.

[neverending]

I called the people I wanted to call. I only gave my code out to 2 people so they could call me. Normally I prefer NOT to have ANYONE visit. Including family. That's me.

Even in the regular hospital I prefer not to have visitors. If family visits I prefer them to be very short and infrequent.

[bpcyclist]

For shorter hospitalizations, I can understand maybe wanting some privacy and not to have many/any visitors. In longer stays, though, as the months march on, loneliness and isolation can become a real problem. My longest hospitalizations was considerably longer than a year and virtually no one visited. I felt forgotten, unloved, and unwanted. Like a piece of garbage discarded. We have invisible diseases that do not show up on any CAT scan. A substantial number of people do, in fact, actually blame us for our diseases. Like, if we were just 'stronger,' none of this would have ever happened. Maybe some day that will change.

[sarahsweets]

Oh but @WishfulThinker66, didn't you know? Mental illness is contagious. One droplet from our crazy mouths can contaminate a whole room full of normal sane people.

[WishfulThinker66]

Originally Posted by sarahsweets

Oh but @WishfulThinker66, didn't you know? Mental illness is contagious. One droplet from our crazy mouths can contaminate a whole room full of normal sane people.

isn't that right.

[WishfulThinker66]

Originally Posted by bpcyclist

For shorter hospitalizations, I can understand maybe wanting some privacy and not to have many/any visitors. In longer stays, though, as the months march on, loneliness and isolation can become a real problem. My longest hospitalizations was considerably longer than a year and virtually no one visited. I felt forgotten, unloved, and unwanted. Like a piece of garbage discarded. We have invisible diseases that do not show up on any CAT scan. A substantial number of people do, in fact, actually blame us for our diseases. Like, if we were just 'stronger,' none of this would have ever happened. Maybe some day that will change.

Just witnessing this very thing. And the people who should be supporting their loved one turn it around and make it about themselves. "She is being so selfish." "How could she do this to me?"

[bpcyclist]

Originally Posted by WishfulThinker66

Just witnessing this very thing. And the people who should be supporting their loved one turn it around and make it about themselves. "She is being so selfish." "How could she do this to me?"

I know. There is just so much ignorance about mental illness. People are scared of us. They think we're all dangerous. Like I said, they want to blame us. Many of them I believe don't know what to do and the default position is then to do nothing. Because it has gotten so very much press over the years, addiction--at least in the States--is really very widely accepted as a thing people can recover from, even by regular lay people. Maybe someday, we can get to that place with mental illness, too. I'm not holding my breath.

[sophiebunny]

I never have wanted visitors. I don't want anyone seeing me psychotic or severely manic. I'd just rather them know I'm ill and when next they see me I'm doing better. Privacy is crucial to me.

[FluffyPuppy]

I have an interesting take. I've been hospitalized a number of times. Last time I was inpatient over about a month ago I told the hospital not to allow my own mother to visit. Because sometimes a visitor or family member may be a contributing factor you're in a situation where you've had to be in a psych ward. My mom involuntarily admitted me and she was sick herself at the time with her own mental illnesses.

[sophiebunny]

I'm kind of the opposite. I don't want visitors when I'm admitted to the psych hospital. I'm usually manic and psychotic. I don't want anyone in my outside life remembering me as being as sick as I am when in patient. I just want them to think I got sick and when next they see me I'm fine. I like being isolated.

When I was undergoing cancer treatment I allowed visitors. All I kept praying was that I didn't throw up in front of them. Sometimes I was so ill I didn't want to talk. No fun for them and not helpful to me.

[pachyderm]

Originally Posted by bpcyclist

A substantial number of people do, in fact, actually blame us for our diseases. Like, if we were just 'stronger,' none of this would have ever happened. Maybe some day that will change.

One ward psychiatrist told me that it was my own fault for being there.

This was decades ago.

[pachyderm]

Originally Posted by sarahsweets

Oh but Mental illness is contagious. One droplet from our crazy mouths can contaminate a whole room full of normal sane people.

[susannahsays]

From what I remember from my hospitalizations, it wasn't like everyone on the ward was local. If they didn't live in town but were from an hour or more away, it makes sense that they wouldn't have a lot of visitors.

[HD7970GHZ]

I haven't read everything, so I apologize if I repeat something already shared.



Stigma.


Embarrassment of being seen in the company of someone in the psych ward.


Family Dynamics - Sometimes family is the abuser. Perhaps the family feels they would trigger the sufferer and make matters worse if they show up.

Mental Illness is very personal and because of the social stigma surrounding it, I would assume that most suffering from mental illnesses would want privacy and perhaps a little bit of visitation. I wouldn't want much. In saying this, perhaps despondent family and friends are avoiding because they truly empathize. It might not seem this way, but if the family member feels empathic towards the sufferer, the family member might feel that showing up might make the sufferer uncomfortable. Because if the family member would feel uncomfortable in the sufferer's shoes, why would they do it to the sufferer? Weird how sometimes we can mistake avoidance of family members for malice - when in reality it is a product of someone who is extremely empathic.


Also.


A tendency for, "healthy folk," to fear seeing someone they love in turmoil, and in the unsafe environment depicted in the cinematic psych ward. Like movies that show abuse and whatnot - yes it happens, everyone knows I will not attest this. They may not know what to expect. IS the patient dangerous to others, are they delusional, are they brain dead, etc.


Fear. A lot of people are scared of what they don't understand. So they avoid.


Anyways,


HD7970ghz

[SlumberKitty]

I just got out of the hospital last week. I was lucky. My parents visited every night and one night I had a friend visit as well. Some of the barriers for people coming to visit me is that the hospital was over an hour away from where I live: between one and a quarter hours to one and a half hours, and also the visiting hours were only 6:15 PM to 7:45 PM. So that was a barrier for others. Also since I couldn't have my cell phone, a lot of my friends didn't even know I was in the hospital until afterwards because I don't have their phone numbers memorized. I would have liked to have more visitors more often but the hospital didn't allow that. HUGS Kit

[Bill3]

((((((((SlumberKitty))))))))