I was Involuntary admitted twice.
Once this past August and recently in October of this year.
I did not enjoy the experience but I’m pretty sure that it had to happen this way.
My psychosis was hitting me hard.
A week in the psych ward isn’t so bad. Most don’t realize they’re psychotic when they are so it’s good to be forced to take APs. Also better to be in ward than letting it get carried away and ending up in jail.
If they could just force u to take meds without commiting u seems like a viable alternative.
I fought a commitment in court at least three times that I remember. I lost every time. In Oklahoma you have a right to a jury trial with six jurors if you want to dispute a commitment, but to me it seemed a little like a kangaroo court because I had only a day to prepare myself for the trial. I acted as my own attorney because I trusted no one else to represent me at the time.
I think it’s one of those things that is never going to be perfect. It can definitely be improved a great deal, but it will never be perfect. There will never be a time when everyone receives the help they need, and the ability to force help onto others is never abused for nefarious purposes. I really don’t think there is any perfect solution. Sort of like how there is no foolproof governmental/political ideology. There will always be an inherent struggle.
Involuntary commitment saved my life.
It saved my life, too. Twice.
Involuntary commitment both saved my life and was severely traumatizing at the same time.
I do think very often there is another way…e.g. before my first involuntary commitment and involuntary drugging I had been begging for help (voluntary commitment, therapy, protection against my abusive ex for my son and me, etc) for a year at every place I could think of: GP, psychiatry, child protection services, police, etc, etc. Nobody did a thing. They let me walk around dead scared, traumatized and borderline psychotic for a year, with the fulltime care for my son. Three days after they tried to force contact between my ex and my son I collapsed into fullblown psychosis and was involuntarily committed. If any of these people I asked for help had really helped in the correct way and at the right time, no involuntary commitment had been needed.
you know what’s funny. sometimes a patient can voluntarily admit himself into the hospital, and then not be able to leave until the hospital allows him to leave. maybe I’m wrong, but I’ve heard a lot of patients say similar stories.
in my opinion, voluntary is an illusion…
also the longer you stay in the hospital, the larger the hospital bill becomes, which you need to pay.
Involuntary commitment, only with checks and balances to me is a idea that we should have.
I once went in fearing indefinite detention by secret agents. They let me in after a threat of self-injury (they refused to let me in, said no voluntary admits, we’re full). Anyways, I handed them the pocket knife I’d been about to slash my wrist with and walked in. The first thing they handed me was a paper that said homeland security could legally take me away if they felt like it!
I immediately said, “not signing this, can i have my knife back? I want to go.” They kept me for months. 
Not my greatest moment.
My first episode was involuntary , it was pretty traumatic mainly because there was little explanation to me. I was extremely paranoid. Don’t know how much it would have helped but it would have been nice to be informed about what I would be put through. Instead of herding me through like an animal. My third episode i got a ride in the police car to the hospital but I did agree to go just to get checked. Then was at there mercy to leave.
Involuntarily twice… First one was easy so was the Girlfriend. 2nd was a nightmare the girl just as bad. I really got to stop picking up in the hospitals.
I remember a young guy on a mental health training course saying, “It’s easier to be released from prison than it is to get released from a mental hospital, even if you were a voluntary patient. I know because I’ve been in both”.
This is something that was also bothering me. Nobody explained a thing to me. Almost none of the nurses and psychiatrists treated me like a human being. They locked me up, put me in a police cell in a building secured by heavily armed soldiers, put me in 4 point restraints and kept me in them for a long while, etcetera (i was never violent or threatening)… and they treated me like a thing…not even an animal. Nobody even tried to talk to me and explain anything about what they were doing to me, why, how long it would take, what was coming next, etcetera. Some of the nurses were even making humiliating jokes and remarks about me while I was half naked and being injected with drugs. Or a nurse would violently pull my arms with all her power to make me join dinner when I was frightened. That was their way of communicating with me. I have volunteered in a jail and I found the way they talked about and treated inmates more respectful than the way they did about us patients. Involuntary commitment in psychiatry was the most dehumanizing experience I have been through…and I have been abused in all sorts of other ways.
If I ever recover enough I wish I could change something about psychiatry and make sure people there are treated better.
My deepest sympathies. We believe you and support you. I complained to the department of civil rights for the disabled here in the US about how the EMT’s restrained me without cause and they sent me a letter saying they weren’t going to investigate my complaints of unnecessary use of restraints. What we need is a massive, multi plaintiff lawsuit.
I had similar experiences with EMT’s unnecessarily restraining me with leather cuff. I was sexually assaulted inside the ward by other patients and they covered it up and I had to use the ward’s phone to call the outside administration to deal with it–they didn’t do anything and I had to live alongside my attackers for weeks.
I had a tech treat me like crap, ignore me when I talked directly to her asking for toilet paper and towels. She yelled at me for hiding in the bathroom because I was afraid of another sexual assault.
I was threatened by violent sociopaths in the ward and everybody watched and ignored it because they didn’t see me as a human with civil rights. It’s disgusting.
I am not surprised that prisoners get more respect than we do. Meanwhile, us law-abiding sz’s are being mistreated on a daily.
So sorry for your experiences. I do think something should change. I just don’t know how. It’s difficult to prove things like these.
I btw must add - there were some nurses that really tried to do their best. Not all are bad. Especially when I had recovered a bit and they felt like they could talk with me again. I don’t think they realise even the most deeply psychotic person hears what you say…
I would rather there be options for people. It does help people who are suffering and can’t distinguish that they are dealing with symptoms of schizophrenia. Very scary for my mom. It was painful. And after that she stayed in a step down unit until she could function better. It was amazing how much work they put into helping her, and she now talks to family and friends, uses her iphone. She is so happy!! She has her family back, not afraid of everyone. Gets to talk to her mom and dad. She’s about to start driving again. I’m so so so happy she has her life back. This is what I prayed for. Her delusions were non stop she wasn’t aware of what was happening and she was afraid from it.
People who help those like us with schizophrenia I am very grateful for. I am grateful things have improved and we are seen as having a sickness not as horrible people. I wish she didn’t have to suffer through it but she is doing well and that’s all I ever wanted was my mom back.
yes, it;s easy to forget the good ones who genuinely make an effort. I am grateful for the ones that did things like do bring art supplies onto the locked ward outside of art therapy time, that made a huge difference.
Thank you for reminding me that there are good, decent people in the mh world!!