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has anyone been to a mental facility? (may trigger some)

Discussion in 'Chit Chat' started by MerBear, Mar 16, 2014.

  1. MerBear

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    and if so, what is your experience? and how long did you stay?

    this is MY experience (you don't have to read this) and it absolutely sucked. By the way, i stayed 4 days. but a week total in the hospital itself

    Okay so mine was because i had well attempted suicide, my friend called the cops on me after she found out and this crisis lady gave me an option which by the way was stupid. she said if i didn't talk to her...i would have to be admitted ...but truth was, that I was going to have to be admitted anyway because I had attempted suicide and like the only way, i wouldn't be admitted was if she thought, i was safe enough and with someone who just attempted suicide, that obviously wasn't going to happen so she threatened with admitting me and so i ended up just kissing the lady's ass and volunteered. so long story short, i went to the ER ... and talked to psychiatrist who also said i should be admitted, and i ended up staying downstairs in the ER for two days because upstairs in the mental facility, it was full so i had to basically wait. downstairs....i was being watched 24/7 ..even at night, they had to come in my room and watch me and i hated it because i couldn't sleep. The safety attendants that were watching me were really sweet, nicer than the people up stairs. that's for sure. i had talked to some counselors and stuff, which didn't do me any good while i was down there and so finally on....Wednesday (3/5/2014), i kept my bracelet as a souvenir ^_^ ...i went up stairs to my death bed basically. when i first got there, they made me strip to see if i had bruises, cuts, etc. and then they made me put on these scrubs and then my roommate came in. The schedule was basically this

    wake up at 8:30 - eat breakfast ,vitals, medication
    after that - showers
    after showers - Group sessions
    after group sessions - school for 2 hours (thank god, i graduated already)
    after school - go to the gym
    after the gym - rooms/ lunch/nurse changes
    after lunch - individual therapy sessions
    after that - visitation
    after visitation - snacks (which fruit bars and apple juice)
    after snacks - long distance/local phone calls
    after that - basically go to sleep at 10:00 which they call lights out which was very strict.

    My first day was weird because like i didn't know anyone besides my roommate and so i kind of just hung out with her for the first day and then found out, there was someone from my old high school there and felt more comfortable and ended up meeting more people and hung out with them and i felt happy, i met a girl named Emily there who i personally thought was beautiful and i'll talk about her later but the facility had ended up making me have an anxiety attacks because of how closed in it was. it was just a small wooden floor (basically a track to walk around to check on the patients) and rooms, a cafeteria and that was it and i was going crazy, i was getting irritable with the nurses and cussing them out when they tried pushing my buttons. i couldn't write with a pen or pencil unless i was in 'school' or supervised and there was a point where i had gotten mad because i was in group session and i had offered a suggestion to one of the nurses holding the sessions and he went ballistic on me, telling me...he doesn't have time for what i have to say and i told him to kiss my ass and get over it. and this other incident was with this when i was in my doorway writing in my journal and the guy told me to get out of my doorway and i asked him why and he told me not to ask why and i still why and he started yelling at me and then ended up just leaving and i was pissed so then the next day, i yelled at this guy about wanting to leave and got upset and everything but then calmed down a bit but i still hated it there, you know? the one thing, i did love was the psychiatrist there, she was really reassuring about everything and got me to stop crying and everything and was like the perfect therapist but unfortunately can't be.

    ANYWAY she put me on two medications topamax (mood stabilizer) and celexa (Anti-depressant) ....i got out on the 10th, and about the girl Emily, she was beautiful to me and i thought she seemed lovely and she gave me her number which you aren't allowed to do in the facility, you aren't allowed to share contact info but she gave me her number and i texted her and she seemed excited to hear from but then stopped talking to me after a couple days of talking to me.In the end, the facility sucked because it was just enclosed, no sunlight, just very tight and cramped and the food obviously sucked and i ended up actually not pooping for a whole 6 days. so ...yeah hahaha, my therapy starts on the 14th of April which is stupid because my 18th birthday is on the 24th of April so then i'm just going to stop going legally. i don't do therapy. the medication isn't doing anything besides getting rid of my headaches more. if anything, i feel 10X worse? My main problem is i just don't feel i do anything right...so yeah my experience is over ..god,

    now you can tell me yours, if you read mine....i hope you enjoyed
     
  2. MerBear

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    i knew my story was too long ugh
     
  3. I read it; I just didn't have a similar experience to share. The closest I've gotten to that was being taken by police to the ER for "suicidal ideation". I managed to convince them that I was well enough to be let go and was released about 4-5 hours after being admitted. I even managed to keep it a secret from my parents, which wasn't easy.

    I'm sorry you had such a bad experience. I was terrified that that would happen to me. My biggest fear was my parents finding out, because I don't think they would have taken it very well.
     
    #3 IphisAndIanthe, Mar 17, 2014
    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 17, 2014
  4. i did when i was very young 12 or 13 i think.

    *may trigger*

    i was planning on ending it all (in a weeks time or something, i was preparing stuff) and somehow my mum found out rang a psychatrist and then i had a meeting with him the next day.

    i went in to speak to him and i had a choice between get admitted on my own free will, or get admitted under section thankfully even at 12/13 i could make the best descision for myself which was to give it a try so i ended up not going on section (woo).

    basically i ended up going there the next day it was all really quick as i was an emergency apparently idk and staying for 2-3 months and got released a week before xmas. it was awful!

    our routine was get up at 8.30 do chores if you had any (table lay/table clear)
    shower
    breakfast
    meeting
    school
    meeting
    lunch and chores
    meeting
    free time
    dinner and chores
    free time/vists
    10pm bed

    first few weeks were really hard i kept asking to go home. i hated the alrm when someone ran away. i made a few life long friends though, still keep in contact with a few to this day!

    i was released and had no idea still how to cope with being thrown into the big wide world again. i hated it, it didnt do me any good but didnt help me at all to deal with what i was going through a lot of my problems got pushed under the carpet and they just put me on some meds. if they had listened to me i probably wouldnt of later become anorexic cuz while i was there my eating was hella messed up but everyone turned a blind eye even though i was telling them about my eating problems. if it was adressed, i probably would of been a lot healthier. hindsight is a great thing though.
     
  5. Hexagon

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    If I'd told anyone about my self harming and suicide attempts, I would have been admitted. I didn't, and so I wasn't. Anyway, sounds like a bit of a sucky experience. Sorry about that :frowning2:. But honestly, give the therapy a try. Even if it's just for the one session, just try opening up a little.
     
  6. phoenix89

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    I have never been in a mental facility, but I have had friends who were. You story sounds very similar to them. I am sorry that I could not help you more, this was a lot for me to read through. It scary for me being on the second hand, I cannot imagine what it was like.
     
  7. rainmustfall

    rainmustfall Guest

    seven times, yes. I was sexually abused and was suffering from PTSD, but no one made the connection between what had happened and my mental state. Getting locked up compounded the trauma, and then later I was sexually abused again, making it even worse. The put me on a wide range of medication with had all sorts of side affects but did nothing but make me numb and stupid, then after all that I tried to kill myself. That was the turning point when I started working out my own problems, and eventually I figured out what was going on and dealt with both my gender dysphoria and my trauma. I still get panic attacks when people push my personal boundaries, but other than that I do ok. So here I am, almost 33 and never been in a relationship, never really expect to, but I am happy and live a full life, aside from some recent drama.
     
  8. newfish

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    Makes me really hope no one opens my notebook where I wrote about suicide and self-harming.

    Actually I should probably make sure those pages aren't readable.
     
  9. rainmustfall

    rainmustfall Guest

    Trust me on this one, unless you really, really, need to be in there, you don't want to be put in one of those places. I don't know anyone who goes through the experience and looks at the world the same way again. They reveal a scary truth about the human condition that can't be unseen.
     
  10. Bolin

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    I've never been to a mental facility, but I was admitted to the ER for posting online that I planned on killing myself the next day, which I was probably actually going to do. You can read more about it here.
     
  11. apostrophied

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    I'd suggest you get help before a mental facility is the only option left for you, notebook or no notebook... =/ Your life is worth living, even if it doesn't seem so right now. Please consider talking to someone.

    *hugs*

    As for me, no, I've never been to one. I knew a girl who spent a good 13 months in such a place because she had anorexia. We never talked about it openly, but I know she hated the place. She was lucky, she was young enough to be in a children's hospital. Otherwise, she would have been sent to an adult psychiatric hospital, which is surely even worse.
     
  12. newfish

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    It was a few weeks ago by now. I go through these weird patches that only last a few days, or even a few hours. I don't think I 'd ever hurt myself seriously (most I've done is a few cuts that I stopped).
     
  13. brokenpoetry

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    Clean from self harm: 2 months
    I have been to 2 intensive outpatients, 3 in patient hospitals, and 1 residential. Finally, the residential was the first facility to actually help. After a month there I was on my road to recovery. During my first hospitalization someone tried to rape me, during my second was hazed for my sexuality and received death threats, needed to be transferred. During my residential I made some of the closest friends of my life and got real help. I'm actually going back next week to talk to the residents there.
     
  14. rainmustfall

    rainmustfall Guest

    This.

    Seriously, get a support network and people you trust to help you before the system makes everything a hundred times worse. Have lots of hobbies, enjoy life as fully as you can, and do everything in your power not to reach that point. There are a heck of a lot worse things than being slightly different.
     
  15. newfish

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    Like I said, it's only really small time periods where I stress out and blow things way out of proportion (especially school). Then I realize my life is pretty great and I feel fine again. Sorry to kind of derail the thread.
     
  16. apostrophied

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    Glad to hear you're not seriously harming yourself. So when these patches show up, how about you reach out to someone? Either a friend or a hotline, in order to keep yourself out of trouble while it lasts and hopefully shorten the duration of these episodes. Don't give them a chance to get worse by not actively working against them.
     
  17. MerBear

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    pretty much like mine! except your stay was longer which i'm truly sorry for, god...i would hate that and yeah, i'm sorry about them not listening to you, nobody in my family really listened to me nor my friends...that's how i ended up there, i mean...i didn't feel i did anything right, they told me..how i did everything wrong so i felt i was no need in the world and attempted 3 times. and now i'm back in the same place, you know? except i'm on medication. anyway, thank you so much for sharing. i do appreciate it
     
  18. Foxface

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    I've never been to one, but I have sent many clients to them as it is my job. I thank you for this story. It gives me a better insight into the decisions I make for others when I have to take away their rights and make decisions for them
     
  19. Tarok

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    I've been to one. They call it "High school" and it's horrible.
     
  20. IsThisAName

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    I almost got admitted to one. It was a couple years ago--I was on anti-anxiety medication that had really bad side effects of me having really powerful suicidal impulses (had never had those before). The doctor at the hospital suggested I be admitted and highly suggested I go to at least an outpatient program but I refused because I knew once I stopped the medication it would go away, and it did. They made me sign a form to say that they weren't responsible if I did act out on anything. It was powerful stuff.