I spent the better part of three years in hospitals. Many of the stays are blurry, most were marked by more grief/suffering than out of the hospital and I didn’t really see any of them as positive experiences. Possibly that’s just my personality and/or my version of the illness.
Wondering what others think of in-patient care and their forced hospitalizations?
I’ve been hospitalised twice which were both 1 month in length. Medication is mandatory as well as an interview with the hospital psychiatrist. As long as the medication takes its effects you are good to go.
All the forced ones likely kept me alive, so they can’t be all bad. Pretty much all my hospitalizations started out really right but turned out okay by the time I left. Most.
my hospitalizations in the first two wards were o k but they didn’t hold me until I stabilized. the state hospital I finally landed in held me until I was stable…I was still a hair unstable when I was let out because I lied on my tests they give you before you get out.
I had to be Hospitalized because I was getting to be a threat to my loved ones.
I’ve been institutionalized 5 times for a week each against my will and nothing was positive about them except for one where I found a good dr as a result. Bah hate those wards
My first hospitalization was in a private psychiatric hospital, and it lasted a year. It didn’t help much because I didn’t know how to tell them what was bothering me. After that I was hospitalized repeatedly in public hospitals. Back then, my average stay lasted about four months or so. It wasn’t bad, unless they put me on a typical antipsychotic. Then it was miserable. One time when they put me in the hospital I just kicked back and used it as an opportunity to do some reading. The aids would find me wrapped up in a blanket sitting in a comfortable chair and reading at four in the morning. They didn’t like that. We weren’t supposed to get too comfortable there. My attitude was, since those guys brought me there against my will I might as well make the best of it. The later times I was hospitalized the length of the stay was shortened dramatically. It seemed to coincide with the advent of the atypical medications. They’d give me Geodon, and I would say, “Sure, I can take this”, and my symptoms were under control while I was on med’s that didn’t make me miserable. That was the most beneficial thing that happened to me during my mental illness - finding med’s that didn’t make me want to kill myself.
When I go in, I feel bad. Once I am inside it makes me feel worse. There’s always like an almost visible palpable cloud of craziness that hangs over head constantly, you can’t escape it.
Both helped and hurt.
I’m very greatful I was not allowed to run free and psychotic in another state and was hospitalized till my parents picked me up. My stay was pretty fun. I did all the laundry and bed making to earn points, went to activities almost every day, enjoyed the meals and playing cards and watching tv with residents. It comes back as one of the good memories in my life and not a stupid one.
Isn’t there janitorial staff that take care of the bed making and laundry in the hospital?
It didn’t really provide any long term benefit but I needed it at the time. I was very unstable and it helped me calm down and gave me more structured time.
I never liked being hospitalized but had no choice as I was sick. The last time was almost 10 years ago and I hope it will be the last time. It was different in that I finally realized that I was hospitalized because of my psychotic behavior and that that would have to change. So I did modify my behavior to comply.
Yes they definitely helped me and hurt me. Short term they kept me out of danger. But I brought a lot of baggage home from the way I was treated. And the way everyone there kinda fed my delusions. I will try really hard to not go back.
The hospital made me worse the first few times. The last time I was out of my mind though so I guess it was a safe place.
I don’t want to go back.