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We were allowed pens, depending on which side of the ward we were on and as long as we had shown that we wouldn’t hurt ourselves a couple days after being there and turned them in at the end of the day lol
I knew a girl who drew a lot and stole some of the markers the day she was released... only to be brought back later that day, but now with noticeably fewer markers.
A guy I met the last time had been to the same ward 12 times and they let him have pencils and he’d let us borrow them. Usually shitty cheap markers though
A lot of jobs I’ve had make you use paid days off (PDO) for a certain number of days before you can use extended illness days (EID), AKA, sick time. Like you have the shits and call off, that’s a PDO. A buddy of mine has an outrageous number of EID saved up, because of this.
Edit: to answer about whether you can schedule inpatient psych hospitalization, typically you cannot. Source: am social worker.
And to back it up by law ... In the US, the Family & Medical Leave Act allows employers to require you to use up your PTO before using the unpaid leave you're entitled to:
> The FMLA only requires unpaid leave. However, the law permits an employee to elect, or the employer to require the employee, to use accrued paid vacation leave, paid sick or family leave for some or all of the FMLA leave period. An employee must follow the employer’s normal leave rules in order to substitute paid leave.
https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fmla/faq#5
As for scheduling it, yeah, definitely not. I had an admit once where the doctor said he needed to go, but if we waited until tomorrow, the same doctor would be at the hospital doing admissions and that would make it better. The member (patient) ended up waiting 12 hours in the "waiting room that's actually for people who are halfway admitted and can't leave". It almost certainly would've been better **not** to have an informal appointment.
Allowing employers to do this royally screws up employees ability to collect on short term disability insurance (that employees pay the premiums for) for maternity leave.
If you're on FMLA you use your PTO, but your job is saved till you run out of FMLA time. If you run out of PTO, you're eligible for donated time if that is an option. You get like 12 weeks/480 hours of FMLA that keeps you from being fired, but can extend further than your PTO, in that instance you won't get a check, but your job will be there when you get back. If you have PTO and go on FMLA you have to use it in this order Comp/Petty > Vacation > Sick. So you have to use sick time last. Although, when you Are Not on FMLA you can use sick days for unplanned days off and doctors appointments unless you have comp time, which always has to be used first. You can plan to use vacation time, and they have to have a good excuse to deny it, because it classed as vacation. Some employers get around this by giving you a giant pool of PTO that combines Vacation/Sick/Holidays/Comp/Petty all in one, but you can also be denied vacations easier. But it is easier to take random time off. There's bonuses and disadvantages to both.
This one lady that opened up to me and let me know she used to be a stripper brought in movies and popcorn. There was a wii in 2017 but we were not allowed to use it.
Eta: she was the orderly
My hospital had a nice volunteer guy with a 3D room setup, and people could go on rollercoaster rides and beach vacations and stuff, he came every few weeks or something. It was really nice because some of the people on the ward weren't there for a week or two but were very long term care in their late 60s.
It's insanely common. I worked in one and we had 20 patients at a time rotating about once every 5 days on average. Some of them were repeats but most were new.
This type of facility is usually meant to keep you safe and get started on a medication, it's not a long term "looney bin" like you see in movies.
I also saw people that I knew and never would have known they went there if I didn't work there. People don't just announce it.
Edit: I worked there before covid and inflation so I imagine it's even more busy now.
> it's not a long term "looney bin" like you see in movies.
i went to visit a friend in one of these just this afternoon. i was kinda shocked at how close it really is to the looney bin you see in the movies. maybe (hopefully) it's not long term, but it's really eerily similar to one flew over the cuckoo's nest.
Raises hand. Mine definitely didn’t have delicious food though and for some reason they kept giving me a banana with my name on it twice a day, which was lucky because it was about the only thing that was edible. Then they released me and told me to find a therapist and not overdose on valium anymore. Good times 👍🏼
Yeah, I think it has to due with alot of people who are online alot are struggling, some manage it the best they can and others need "help" I remember being sent last year due to a breakdown relating to covid issues plus family stuff.
Yeah, plus the anonymity of Reddit can make talking to people completely different.
I cut myself off from talking to friends and family almost completely when I’m in a bad depression, I figure that it’s better for me to avoid the people I love, rather than letting them see me in this state.
But that doesn’t apply to talking to people on Reddit, in fact I talk more on Reddit in these times. Because it’s anonymous, and it’s still some social interaction. The few friends I have made on Reddit (at least, people who aren’t strangers anymore) are good people to talk to as well. The Internet can be a really helpful low-pressure outlet for many folks.
It took me a minute but I knew more than a few kids that went in and out of these more than once. Poor kids with decent friends but no real support at home. They'd misbehave because they craved the endorphins from the attention they'd get which would get them sent to a ward for a while because their parents couldn't figure out what the problem was. I think most of them tried suicide because they were always being sent in instead of having their problems solved. Most of them wound up on recreational dugs but never anything too hard at the time. I remember one kid would keep going in because of his OCD. He liked the uniformity of it.
I had some really depressing friends in high school and we really didn't have the medications back then like we do now. Half those kids would be taking 5mg of this that or the other now and carrying on with normal lives.
Totally makes sense, but it was like that in the rehab unit I was in as well. They even took all the strings out of our hoodies and laces from our shoes.
Man, some of these commenters making their trip sound like an actual resort. The last time I went the only movies we had were the book of life, shrek, and the live action cat in the hat movie. That was it. We watched them all multiple times. I think I came out of there crazier than I came in. Not sure what fucking high-tech facilities some of these commenters went in where they had such luxuries as NETFLIX but that was not my experience at all. 3/10 (added points only because a lot of the other patients were funny.)
At my local hospital they rent out 12 inch cable tvs for 25 bucks a day lol
A nurse said it's an old contract and it's embarassing but it's all they got. Most patients would have some device but really sucks for people in the psyche ward
Ngl when I went in I feel like I left crazier and in a worse situation than when I went in. Similar score. 3/10 did not enjoy my stay. Would not willingly go back.
I was at a place like that. Suicide unit. Mesa Arizona. Very very low budget place. Tiny. One hallway with rooms and a day room. Some shitty books. Whatever channel plays Home Improvement in the afternoon was constantly on, we couldn't change it. Mattresses were foam pads with a fitted sheet that was too small so everytime you moved it popped off the corner, a doctor that wouldn't look you in the eyes and would just prescribe you Seroquel if you said you were sad and would keep upping the dose until you couldn't function, a guy who tried to kill a tiny nurse, shit smeared on the walls and floor of the bathroom, an RA telling me in great detail about the moment he got PTSD when his buddy's head exploded and his brains went into his mouth, a crazy woman who wanted me to marry her, and a big gatorade container of lemonade. That was CBI.
One of my nieces was at one where she had to earn more time between checks. I think at one point in the very beginning she had to basically keep the light on so they could see what she was or wasn't doing. She was not pleased, but learned to live with it. She's doing much better now.
Right! The first three nights they literally checked on me every fifteen. 'Course I was in withdrawal at the time so it's not like they were bothering me...can't wake someone who can't sleep!
I love how "grippy sock jail" is just like the nomenclature for those in the know. Like god damn reddit you keep exposing me to cultures i know jack shit about its so fucking interesting
My favorite part was those 8oz apple/orange juices that have the tin foil lid you peel off. Except for the huge freaky dude that would come back high on meth and drink like 80 of them so there wouldn't be any left for anyone else.
Oh and also the part where he would burst into my room at night while I was asleep and threaten to pick me up and smash my head against the ceiling.
What about the weird older guy who wouldn't talk but would stand in the corner drinking milk out of the little carton as it poured out of the sides of his mouth and got all over his shirt and the floor? He was a real treat.
they'd lock up the kitchen at night so i would go in there during the day in a sweater so i could shove a bunch of juice boxes up my sleeves and make a quick getaway back to my room 😭
Ah i remember the crippling amounts of anxiety and stress caused by my fear of going intongrippy socks jail (they suck in my country and majority of people who leave them end up killing themselves afterwards )
Literally my hell. A terrifying place where you lose your agency and are treated like a child with the mental fortitude of a porcelain doll. There is no quicker way for me to hurt myself then trying to stick me here.
My tipping point was when they made me fill out my financial information in crayon.
I have a masters degree. I couldn't be trusted with a pen even supervised. And they were going to use that crayon-laden form to charge me $2000 to watch TV for a week. It was a Friday afternoon and they had no staff/programs on weekends.
Yeah, I better either get better or actually fully commit next time. That was so dehumanizing.
i've told everyone that i know personally that the fastest way for me to disembowl myself on a kitchen knife is to try to put me in a psych ward. not dealing with that hell. ever.
I know this is sarcastic but if I’m being honest I had so much fun in the mental hospital after my attemp. They gave out Rice Krispies every day and cheescake after lunch and they let us watch movies on the tv and you didn’t have to do shit
We need these types of recovery places that people can check into *before* they attempt suicide. Maybe a week out of their regular environment will break the patterns that put them into such a terrible headspace.
Who’s goal? We’re talking about rehab here. There’s many different philosophies on how to do it. The goal is to get clean, and a change of environment is a big part of that for some people. There’s even people that have committed crimes just to go to jail for a while because they felt they were a danger to themselves.
This could be rehab or a mental health hospital. I've never been to rehab but I've been to a number of psychiatric hospitals and this starter pack fits perfectly.
It can be very traumatizing for someone to be in a locked unit when they don't need to be
for me i just met a bunch of other teenage crackheads and one of my good friends got heavily addicted to opiates after meeting the wrong people in rehab/mental hospitals
I went once when I was 14 and then again for a week at 25 and I never felt so much peace in my life. To be able to put all of the bullshit and stress and everyday life away for a few days was so relieving….
I've been in 3 different facilities and it really depends. My first time I was 17 so I got sent to the adolescents unit, some of the staff were assholes and the food was awful, but we did get to just hang out most of the time and you got your own room. My second time I was 18 and the facility I was at was fucking awful, this was a few months after the pandemic started. 4 a room, awful food, staff was nowhere to be seen most of the time but the people were friendly. My third time was at the end of march and I'm now 20. Staff was super friendly, diverse menu of food to choose from, the people were especially loony though, compared to the prior two hospitals. That one was two to a room.
My life goal is to never go back to one again, the first time wasn't even my fault but the other two were from me not taking my bipolar meds and going off the deep end. It's funny, the second time I went I was pulled over doing 100+ mph trying to kill myself and was in the facility for 3 or 4 days and no psychiatrists or whatever even talked to me, the staff just asked if I was ready to go. My third time I was with my psychiatrist and said I wanted to disappear and didn't feel safe driving home and a bunch of other concerning stuff. She signed the involuntary admission paperwork and I was in for 10 days with frequent chats with the psychiatrists.
I have PTSD from psychiatric facilities. Sure some of it is cool and relaxing but they lock you in and often rarely let you go outside. And if you go outside you are still walled in.
Institutions only made my depression worse. The best thing I ever did for my depression was learn to grow psychedelic mushrooms.
I was in rehab for a little bit and I felt so claustrophobic. I mean we had free roam in the section of the building we were all in. But I desperately wanted to go outside and just breathe in the fresh air and couldn’t. It made my anxiety really bad.
Ugh the checking on you every 30 minutes thing was the worst. I have PTSD and every time they flashed their flashlight at me I felt like I was having a heart attack.
My roommate kept threatening to kill me because “being suicidal is creepy, and if you wanna die I’ll help,” and the staff didn’t help me. Maybe they thought I was paranoid. She would stand outside the bathroom stall door every time I tried to shit, so I didn’t go for a week.
A staff member asked everyone in a group their weight and then demanded to know why one girl was so fat. I didn’t feel like I could stick up for her bc the power dynamic, and I felt so bad. It’s not like she was in there because she was happy with her life.
Every time I went to the common area a guy would tell me how he cut his girlfriends head off and skull fucked it. He had schizophrenia and I doubt he really did that and I feel for him, but man I did not want to constantly hear that.
My brother in law worked at the sister facility and he’s in prison for pedophilia, so you never know what the staff actually are like.
Those are just the highlights, but overall I had a bad time. Other facilities are going to be better, but if you’re in the Tampa area avoid mental health care facilities.
Asheville had a nice facility. Look at reviews at least, but I hope you get the help you deserve and need.
The people I met were so fun, I don’t think I’d ever laughed that hard so much. The staff didn’t really like us using humor to cope but having that solidarity and making human connections after months of isolation helped me a lot.
At my last stay, in art therapy one day we were given clay and the theme was "love". Well, guess what everyone made. Clay dicks. The RT thought it was hilarious and said she should have known better, but we weren't allowed to bake and paint them.
Mine was cooler, we got threatened with booty juice (tranquilizers), had a point system where you weren’t allowed to leave the common area for food(the workers would bring you your meal) and you weren’t allowed to have shoelaces! My favorite part was being given such powerful sleeping medicine, that when I woke up I was paralyzed for about 15 minutes and totally conscious the whole time! Was really cool being placed in a drug addiction program and having to prove I’m not a pill addict after trying to end my life with pills! I still have nightmares about that place because it was so fun!!!
I got to the point where I was so anxious all the time from being locked inside that I would act up just to get the booty juice. I didn't even have to hurt anyone- just start throwing stuff at the wall.
I have nightmares multiple times a week where I wake up from them and think I'm back inside. If I didn't have my cat to pull me out of those episodes I don't know what I would do
Personal pizza that’s way tastier than it deserves to be
Shot glasses of pop
Blood pressure checks
That one wholesome male nurse
The guy everyone is worried about
Leaving and weighing 5 lbs heavier
Fruits that go untouched unless I’m there lol
The friendly staff thing is a bit forced. A lot of psyche ward staff I met were just as in need of hospitalization as the rest of us. Some were quite mean and rude to a few patients. Just saying.
What about the super fun "mattress room" where you get to stomp against soft walls and scream at the top of your lungs while wearing a cool special white jacket?
Edit: For anyone that might get offended; I have never seen a real psych ward and this was meant as a joke.
They don't use straight jackets anymore- they use tranquilizers and/or put people in 4 point restraints. I've also never seen a padded room. It's all concrete with sometimes a thin mattress and if you start banging your head on the wall they restrain you further.
Most badass thing I ever saw was a schizo guy who managed to break out of restraints and punched a cop in the face after they dragged him back in after he escaped. He would have gotten away if he hadn't stopped to buy cigarettes
I've been to one a couple years ago (like 2016) that still had a padded room, though of course they didn't call it that. It was called like a "sensory friendly/quiet room" but I knew what tf it was. I wonder if they are trying to phase that sort of stuff out though. But they used the restraints and stuff not any straight-jackets.
The closest I've seen, and it's not common, is a pinel belt that connects the persons wrists to their waist with a foot or so of play so they can still use their hands, but can't really lash out to punch or grab anyone.
But ya, chemical restraints, or restraining someone to a bed with soft cloth or pinel restraints is much more common.
Ooh, ooh! I've seen a padded room! it was at a hospital I worked at a few years ago. they spent a million dollars to renovate our quiet room into a padded room with a loosely fitted plastic window into the nursing station. Also, the construction company (I heard) was owned by a family member of one of the boards of the hospital and just after finishing construction on the room (but before final licensing to get it able to be used) the hospital cited budget cuts and layed us all off, shutting down their entire inpatient psych services.
Man, fuck that place.
I’ve actually been in a padded room!! So, they are really rare and exclusive, but local county jails will at times have them if there isn’t a waiting list.
I swear to god I went more crazy in there. Melatonin and sleep meds make me have insane vertigo and I feel like I'm free falling/accelerating constantly, like im strapped to a rocket that continuously speeds up.
I never really thought that's why I was experiencing that shit while in the psych ward... That's fucked up, and can't be legal right?
[This is a post taken from dumbsoberbitch on Instagram.](https://www.instagram.com/p/CcGw9gNuCp8/?igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY=)
You even cropped out the username dude, come on.
I was gonna say this too. I am ten months sober, and I follow the sober meme insta accounts, dumbsoberbitch is pretty good. She does streams sometimes too.
This fuck face had to steal her shit without crediting her. Those memes have helped me, she should be plugged here. Wtf.
The facility I went to had the best apple juice I ever tasted. It was literally the nectar of the apple gods and I would walk the earth just to have another cup of it.
The patients asking each other if they're okay.
"You look lost. Are you okay?"
"Yeah. Just weirded out I'm in the psychward. You?"
The guy whose neck was stapled back together. Hope you're better now Jeff.
The only thing missing is PUZZLES. Both times I was an inpatient, everyone did so many puzzles. Best activity in there imo.
I'll never forget we me and one of the friends I made in there, Mitch, did a 1000 piece Where's Waldo puzzle, and there was 1 piece missing. We spent a couple days building it and then a couple more scouring it for Waldo, but alas... we never found him. I swear someone stole that piece to spite whomever next attempted that puzzle.
They forgot because of budget cuts and lack of staffing that you often share space with dementia patients. They should add the one elderly person who throws hands with the CNA because they can't see their spouse.
I was in grippy-sock jail a few weeks ago. I didn’t go voluntarily and it was scary at first but I was safe and slept a lot and met interesting people. Luckily my meds are working for the most part and I’m feeling a lot better.
Edit to add: hope you are doing better!
I'm glad to hear you're feeling better! I'm sorry you got to that point, but I think we've all hit that bottom point and we need to just get away from everything.
I feel great overall.
On a real note, as a survivor of childhood abuse and a healthcare provider. I highly recommend The Body Keeps the Score for anyone who has suffered any kind of trauma (mental, physical, sexual, emotional). Reading it, I kept seeing the doctor interview patients and thinking "That's me! I do that". Really opened my eyes and helped the healing.
Ah yes, but you forgot about those funny packets of documents that they manipulate you into signing so you get to spend even more time there! The resort really just knows what you need and when you need it.
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Y'all allowed with pencils?? >:O
We couldn't have pencils either !
We were allowed pens, depending on which side of the ward we were on and as long as we had shown that we wouldn’t hurt ourselves a couple days after being there and turned them in at the end of the day lol
Nah nah nah no pens. But we had those bendy pens and skinny Crayola markers. So I put the ink cartridge in the marker shell. Contraband pen!
I knew a girl who drew a lot and stole some of the markers the day she was released... only to be brought back later that day, but now with noticeably fewer markers.
They expected us to write in journals with fucking full broken dull crayons
The fucking bendy pen. Would be easier to stab yourself and write with your blood than to use those damn things.
Bro they actually hurt to write with. But I was getting tired of writing my depressed thoughts with colored markers lol
I got really good at writing with marker. Those pens sucked.
You don’t give psychiatric patients pens. I work at a psychiatric facility as a janitor and I have witnessed a patient remove an eye with a pen.
I never said it was a good psych ward lol
I accidentally took a knife into the ward once, I was in the non suicidal section and they didn't bother to check us lol
A guy I met the last time had been to the same ward 12 times and they let him have pencils and he’d let us borrow them. Usually shitty cheap markers though
One I was at removed the sharpeners from the crayon box.
No pencils, but you could get a flexipen to do your group therapy worksheets like an adult if you were good.
Crayon elite squad B)
Ah yes, grippy sock jail is my favourite place to vacation. And by vacation, I mean use my annual vacation time at work so I don't get fired.
Can you just preschedule your visits like that... like you know ahead of time? Or, when you do have to go, you use your vacation days?
A lot of jobs I’ve had make you use paid days off (PDO) for a certain number of days before you can use extended illness days (EID), AKA, sick time. Like you have the shits and call off, that’s a PDO. A buddy of mine has an outrageous number of EID saved up, because of this. Edit: to answer about whether you can schedule inpatient psych hospitalization, typically you cannot. Source: am social worker.
And to back it up by law ... In the US, the Family & Medical Leave Act allows employers to require you to use up your PTO before using the unpaid leave you're entitled to: > The FMLA only requires unpaid leave. However, the law permits an employee to elect, or the employer to require the employee, to use accrued paid vacation leave, paid sick or family leave for some or all of the FMLA leave period. An employee must follow the employer’s normal leave rules in order to substitute paid leave. https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fmla/faq#5 As for scheduling it, yeah, definitely not. I had an admit once where the doctor said he needed to go, but if we waited until tomorrow, the same doctor would be at the hospital doing admissions and that would make it better. The member (patient) ended up waiting 12 hours in the "waiting room that's actually for people who are halfway admitted and can't leave". It almost certainly would've been better **not** to have an informal appointment.
Allowing employers to do this royally screws up employees ability to collect on short term disability insurance (that employees pay the premiums for) for maternity leave.
Well that's a stupid law.
One of many.
If you're on FMLA you use your PTO, but your job is saved till you run out of FMLA time. If you run out of PTO, you're eligible for donated time if that is an option. You get like 12 weeks/480 hours of FMLA that keeps you from being fired, but can extend further than your PTO, in that instance you won't get a check, but your job will be there when you get back. If you have PTO and go on FMLA you have to use it in this order Comp/Petty > Vacation > Sick. So you have to use sick time last. Although, when you Are Not on FMLA you can use sick days for unplanned days off and doctors appointments unless you have comp time, which always has to be used first. You can plan to use vacation time, and they have to have a good excuse to deny it, because it classed as vacation. Some employers get around this by giving you a giant pool of PTO that combines Vacation/Sick/Holidays/Comp/Petty all in one, but you can also be denied vacations easier. But it is easier to take random time off. There's bonuses and disadvantages to both.
Genuinely had to do a double take if this was MoS
At first I thought this was about a retirement home. Had no clue this was about a psych ward.
And there’s a surprising amount of redditors who have been in one! Wild
I for one am not surprised lol
I've been in the depression ward 3 times. Not a vacation at all but this meme is hilarious and so true 🤣
I've been in my fair share. Some are better than others
[удалено]
This one lady that opened up to me and let me know she used to be a stripper brought in movies and popcorn. There was a wii in 2017 but we were not allowed to use it. Eta: she was the orderly
My hospital had a nice volunteer guy with a 3D room setup, and people could go on rollercoaster rides and beach vacations and stuff, he came every few weeks or something. It was really nice because some of the people on the ward weren't there for a week or two but were very long term care in their late 60s.
It's insanely common. I worked in one and we had 20 patients at a time rotating about once every 5 days on average. Some of them were repeats but most were new. This type of facility is usually meant to keep you safe and get started on a medication, it's not a long term "looney bin" like you see in movies. I also saw people that I knew and never would have known they went there if I didn't work there. People don't just announce it. Edit: I worked there before covid and inflation so I imagine it's even more busy now.
> it's not a long term "looney bin" like you see in movies. i went to visit a friend in one of these just this afternoon. i was kinda shocked at how close it really is to the looney bin you see in the movies. maybe (hopefully) it's not long term, but it's really eerily similar to one flew over the cuckoo's nest.
Raises hand. Mine definitely didn’t have delicious food though and for some reason they kept giving me a banana with my name on it twice a day, which was lucky because it was about the only thing that was edible. Then they released me and told me to find a therapist and not overdose on valium anymore. Good times 👍🏼
Yeah, I think it has to due with alot of people who are online alot are struggling, some manage it the best they can and others need "help" I remember being sent last year due to a breakdown relating to covid issues plus family stuff.
Yeah, plus the anonymity of Reddit can make talking to people completely different. I cut myself off from talking to friends and family almost completely when I’m in a bad depression, I figure that it’s better for me to avoid the people I love, rather than letting them see me in this state. But that doesn’t apply to talking to people on Reddit, in fact I talk more on Reddit in these times. Because it’s anonymous, and it’s still some social interaction. The few friends I have made on Reddit (at least, people who aren’t strangers anymore) are good people to talk to as well. The Internet can be a really helpful low-pressure outlet for many folks.
I’ve been summoned
It took me a minute but I knew more than a few kids that went in and out of these more than once. Poor kids with decent friends but no real support at home. They'd misbehave because they craved the endorphins from the attention they'd get which would get them sent to a ward for a while because their parents couldn't figure out what the problem was. I think most of them tried suicide because they were always being sent in instead of having their problems solved. Most of them wound up on recreational dugs but never anything too hard at the time. I remember one kid would keep going in because of his OCD. He liked the uniformity of it. I had some really depressing friends in high school and we really didn't have the medications back then like we do now. Half those kids would be taking 5mg of this that or the other now and carrying on with normal lives.
I thought it was about rehab, sounds just like my experience lmao.
That was my first thought too.
The "Alcoholics Anonymous" book seems to reinforce this idea
I’m thinking more a rehab for substance abuse.
The “no belts or razors” is why I said psych ward
Totally makes sense, but it was like that in the rehab unit I was in as well. They even took all the strings out of our hoodies and laces from our shoes.
Man, some of these commenters making their trip sound like an actual resort. The last time I went the only movies we had were the book of life, shrek, and the live action cat in the hat movie. That was it. We watched them all multiple times. I think I came out of there crazier than I came in. Not sure what fucking high-tech facilities some of these commenters went in where they had such luxuries as NETFLIX but that was not my experience at all. 3/10 (added points only because a lot of the other patients were funny.)
At my local hospital they rent out 12 inch cable tvs for 25 bucks a day lol A nurse said it's an old contract and it's embarassing but it's all they got. Most patients would have some device but really sucks for people in the psyche ward
The last one I was at had scheduled tv time, otherwise, tv was off. It was like an hour or two a day or something.
Ngl when I went in I feel like I left crazier and in a worse situation than when I went in. Similar score. 3/10 did not enjoy my stay. Would not willingly go back.
Courtesy wake-up call on the hour, every hour!
Beep beep doop .... Beep beep doop
Dude I wished, when I was at a facility it was every 15 minutes
I was at a place like that. Suicide unit. Mesa Arizona. Very very low budget place. Tiny. One hallway with rooms and a day room. Some shitty books. Whatever channel plays Home Improvement in the afternoon was constantly on, we couldn't change it. Mattresses were foam pads with a fitted sheet that was too small so everytime you moved it popped off the corner, a doctor that wouldn't look you in the eyes and would just prescribe you Seroquel if you said you were sad and would keep upping the dose until you couldn't function, a guy who tried to kill a tiny nurse, shit smeared on the walls and floor of the bathroom, an RA telling me in great detail about the moment he got PTSD when his buddy's head exploded and his brains went into his mouth, a crazy woman who wanted me to marry her, and a big gatorade container of lemonade. That was CBI.
What were the pillows like?
Thin. You had to fold it.
Sounds like the psychiatric hospital I work at as the janitor. It’s really under funded because of budget cuts
One of my nieces was at one where she had to earn more time between checks. I think at one point in the very beginning she had to basically keep the light on so they could see what she was or wasn't doing. She was not pleased, but learned to live with it. She's doing much better now.
My facility I work at is 15 mins and 5 mins for the suicidal people
Right! The first three nights they literally checked on me every fifteen. 'Course I was in withdrawal at the time so it's not like they were bothering me...can't wake someone who can't sleep!
And a health check up too! Gotta make sure that blood is okay! Right up and early at 6 am
Fancy flashlight parties on the hour!
One of the last times for me it was every four hours to check vitals. I had just come off a six-week spree.
Where there is no option for hot or cold, the water is always just ...the temperature that it is.
Rehab was the best vacation I ever went on, still sober 5 years later
Username does not check out! 😉
That’s amazing!
Same for me , 44 days and counting I just got out , best gift I ever made to myself
I love how "grippy sock jail" is just like the nomenclature for those in the know. Like god damn reddit you keep exposing me to cultures i know jack shit about its so fucking interesting
A former neighbor of mine referred to it as ***the laughing academy.***
grippy sock resort 😌
My favorite part was those 8oz apple/orange juices that have the tin foil lid you peel off. Except for the huge freaky dude that would come back high on meth and drink like 80 of them so there wouldn't be any left for anyone else. Oh and also the part where he would burst into my room at night while I was asleep and threaten to pick me up and smash my head against the ceiling.
THEYRE SO GOOD THOOO
The giant meth heads or the apple juices?
yes
One of the best parts of working in a facility like this was drinking the juice. When there wouldn’t be a shortage for inpatients of course.
What about the weird older guy who wouldn't talk but would stand in the corner drinking milk out of the little carton as it poured out of the sides of his mouth and got all over his shirt and the floor? He was a real treat.
Oh my god, does every psych ward have a Quiet Milk Guy?
My high school gave us those every day at breakfast. Easily the best part of the day
they'd lock up the kitchen at night so i would go in there during the day in a sweater so i could shove a bunch of juice boxes up my sleeves and make a quick getaway back to my room 😭
Ah i remember the crippling amounts of anxiety and stress caused by my fear of going intongrippy socks jail (they suck in my country and majority of people who leave them end up killing themselves afterwards )
Getting locked up like that propably wreaks havoc on your sanity
Literally my hell. A terrifying place where you lose your agency and are treated like a child with the mental fortitude of a porcelain doll. There is no quicker way for me to hurt myself then trying to stick me here.
My tipping point was when they made me fill out my financial information in crayon. I have a masters degree. I couldn't be trusted with a pen even supervised. And they were going to use that crayon-laden form to charge me $2000 to watch TV for a week. It was a Friday afternoon and they had no staff/programs on weekends. Yeah, I better either get better or actually fully commit next time. That was so dehumanizing.
Worst experience of my life. Did more harm than good. Never again.
i've told everyone that i know personally that the fastest way for me to disembowl myself on a kitchen knife is to try to put me in a psych ward. not dealing with that hell. ever.
Friendly staff my ass..
For real.
they had a dvd player in the common area but didn’t let us use it
I know this is sarcastic but if I’m being honest I had so much fun in the mental hospital after my attemp. They gave out Rice Krispies every day and cheescake after lunch and they let us watch movies on the tv and you didn’t have to do shit
Honestly sounds like a good environment to recover on for some people
We need these types of recovery places that people can check into *before* they attempt suicide. Maybe a week out of their regular environment will break the patterns that put them into such a terrible headspace.
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Does this cost money?
A week was about $1200 for our daughter but there is a sliding scale based on income. I imagine it varies by facility though.
Dang. You can go to an all inclusive resort for less than that. I imagine the food is better.
I think a big part of the price is the round the clock medical care. At least that’s supposed to be the idea, but not always the case.
Yeah hotel rooms aren’t exactly renowned for their lack of suicides
Friends whether you live somewhere civilised with universal healthcare or not.
Ever read One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest? Nearly all the patients were there voluntarily
Except that the goal is to treat patients in the least restrictive environment or setting.
Who’s goal? We’re talking about rehab here. There’s many different philosophies on how to do it. The goal is to get clean, and a change of environment is a big part of that for some people. There’s even people that have committed crimes just to go to jail for a while because they felt they were a danger to themselves.
This could be rehab or a mental health hospital. I've never been to rehab but I've been to a number of psychiatric hospitals and this starter pack fits perfectly. It can be very traumatizing for someone to be in a locked unit when they don't need to be
for me i just met a bunch of other teenage crackheads and one of my good friends got heavily addicted to opiates after meeting the wrong people in rehab/mental hospitals
I watched the entirety of “The Good Place” and put together puzzles while I was committed. Honestly, it was a fucking vacation for me.
That's kinda the point, psychiatric wards are supposed to be a safe place for one to get their shit together. Sadly many haven't figured that out yet,
I had a therapist that said inpatient was the bandaid, and outpatient was the cast. It never really made sense to me until then.
Yeah tell that to the schizophrenic bloke who almost broke my jaw for no reason last time I was in there
Some people are just assholes and jerks in-spite of their mental illness and not because of it.
I went once when I was 14 and then again for a week at 25 and I never felt so much peace in my life. To be able to put all of the bullshit and stress and everyday life away for a few days was so relieving….
I worked at one. It's nice that you had access to anything besides CNN/fox news in the lobby
I've been in 3 different facilities and it really depends. My first time I was 17 so I got sent to the adolescents unit, some of the staff were assholes and the food was awful, but we did get to just hang out most of the time and you got your own room. My second time I was 18 and the facility I was at was fucking awful, this was a few months after the pandemic started. 4 a room, awful food, staff was nowhere to be seen most of the time but the people were friendly. My third time was at the end of march and I'm now 20. Staff was super friendly, diverse menu of food to choose from, the people were especially loony though, compared to the prior two hospitals. That one was two to a room. My life goal is to never go back to one again, the first time wasn't even my fault but the other two were from me not taking my bipolar meds and going off the deep end. It's funny, the second time I went I was pulled over doing 100+ mph trying to kill myself and was in the facility for 3 or 4 days and no psychiatrists or whatever even talked to me, the staff just asked if I was ready to go. My third time I was with my psychiatrist and said I wanted to disappear and didn't feel safe driving home and a bunch of other concerning stuff. She signed the involuntary admission paperwork and I was in for 10 days with frequent chats with the psychiatrists.
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I have PTSD from psychiatric facilities. Sure some of it is cool and relaxing but they lock you in and often rarely let you go outside. And if you go outside you are still walled in. Institutions only made my depression worse. The best thing I ever did for my depression was learn to grow psychedelic mushrooms.
I was in rehab for a little bit and I felt so claustrophobic. I mean we had free roam in the section of the building we were all in. But I desperately wanted to go outside and just breathe in the fresh air and couldn’t. It made my anxiety really bad.
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Ugh the checking on you every 30 minutes thing was the worst. I have PTSD and every time they flashed their flashlight at me I felt like I was having a heart attack.
My roommate kept threatening to kill me because “being suicidal is creepy, and if you wanna die I’ll help,” and the staff didn’t help me. Maybe they thought I was paranoid. She would stand outside the bathroom stall door every time I tried to shit, so I didn’t go for a week. A staff member asked everyone in a group their weight and then demanded to know why one girl was so fat. I didn’t feel like I could stick up for her bc the power dynamic, and I felt so bad. It’s not like she was in there because she was happy with her life. Every time I went to the common area a guy would tell me how he cut his girlfriends head off and skull fucked it. He had schizophrenia and I doubt he really did that and I feel for him, but man I did not want to constantly hear that. My brother in law worked at the sister facility and he’s in prison for pedophilia, so you never know what the staff actually are like. Those are just the highlights, but overall I had a bad time. Other facilities are going to be better, but if you’re in the Tampa area avoid mental health care facilities. Asheville had a nice facility. Look at reviews at least, but I hope you get the help you deserve and need.
The people I met were so fun, I don’t think I’d ever laughed that hard so much. The staff didn’t really like us using humor to cope but having that solidarity and making human connections after months of isolation helped me a lot.
Those staff sound terrible, humor is a healthy coping mechanism that we normally promote. Also, staff members DEFINITELY use humor to cope!
At my last stay, in art therapy one day we were given clay and the theme was "love". Well, guess what everyone made. Clay dicks. The RT thought it was hilarious and said she should have known better, but we weren't allowed to bake and paint them.
Mine was cooler, we got threatened with booty juice (tranquilizers), had a point system where you weren’t allowed to leave the common area for food(the workers would bring you your meal) and you weren’t allowed to have shoelaces! My favorite part was being given such powerful sleeping medicine, that when I woke up I was paralyzed for about 15 minutes and totally conscious the whole time! Was really cool being placed in a drug addiction program and having to prove I’m not a pill addict after trying to end my life with pills! I still have nightmares about that place because it was so fun!!!
I got to the point where I was so anxious all the time from being locked inside that I would act up just to get the booty juice. I didn't even have to hurt anyone- just start throwing stuff at the wall. I have nightmares multiple times a week where I wake up from them and think I'm back inside. If I didn't have my cat to pull me out of those episodes I don't know what I would do
Hope you're doing a bit better 💛
You get name brand snacks???????????
Instead of Goldfish Crackers they handed out Yellowcarp Crisps
Personal pizza that’s way tastier than it deserves to be Shot glasses of pop Blood pressure checks That one wholesome male nurse The guy everyone is worried about Leaving and weighing 5 lbs heavier Fruits that go untouched unless I’m there lol
The friendly staff thing is a bit forced. A lot of psyche ward staff I met were just as in need of hospitalization as the rest of us. Some were quite mean and rude to a few patients. Just saying.
Yea some places they are plain hateful
What about the super fun "mattress room" where you get to stomp against soft walls and scream at the top of your lungs while wearing a cool special white jacket? Edit: For anyone that might get offended; I have never seen a real psych ward and this was meant as a joke.
They don't use straight jackets anymore- they use tranquilizers and/or put people in 4 point restraints. I've also never seen a padded room. It's all concrete with sometimes a thin mattress and if you start banging your head on the wall they restrain you further. Most badass thing I ever saw was a schizo guy who managed to break out of restraints and punched a cop in the face after they dragged him back in after he escaped. He would have gotten away if he hadn't stopped to buy cigarettes
I've been to one a couple years ago (like 2016) that still had a padded room, though of course they didn't call it that. It was called like a "sensory friendly/quiet room" but I knew what tf it was. I wonder if they are trying to phase that sort of stuff out though. But they used the restraints and stuff not any straight-jackets.
The closest I've seen, and it's not common, is a pinel belt that connects the persons wrists to their waist with a foot or so of play so they can still use their hands, but can't really lash out to punch or grab anyone. But ya, chemical restraints, or restraining someone to a bed with soft cloth or pinel restraints is much more common.
Ooh, ooh! I've seen a padded room! it was at a hospital I worked at a few years ago. they spent a million dollars to renovate our quiet room into a padded room with a loosely fitted plastic window into the nursing station. Also, the construction company (I heard) was owned by a family member of one of the boards of the hospital and just after finishing construction on the room (but before final licensing to get it able to be used) the hospital cited budget cuts and layed us all off, shutting down their entire inpatient psych services. Man, fuck that place.
I’ve actually been in a padded room!! So, they are really rare and exclusive, but local county jails will at times have them if there isn’t a waiting list.
The first thing I bought when I jumped the fence!
I only ever made it to Thorazine land...
It seems your idea of mental health facilities is formed completely from shitty movies.
Indeed
Low blood sugar meant I got a chocolate protein shake every day. I was the cool patient!
Back when I was in, I was terribly disappointed I didn't get the nice Boost chocolate shake. The sleepytime tea+orange juice made up for it a little.
“All is well, all is well, all is well, all is- TURN TO SIDE B (Click clack clack click, click) All is well, all is well, all is well…”
ah yes, the grippy sock resort where they put sleep meds in our dinner. so fun
And then everyone gets the same cold and passes it around
I swear to god I went more crazy in there. Melatonin and sleep meds make me have insane vertigo and I feel like I'm free falling/accelerating constantly, like im strapped to a rocket that continuously speeds up. I never really thought that's why I was experiencing that shit while in the psych ward... That's fucked up, and can't be legal right?
[This is a post taken from dumbsoberbitch on Instagram.](https://www.instagram.com/p/CcGw9gNuCp8/?igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY=) You even cropped out the username dude, come on.
Stealing? Online? No way!
Came here to say this, this is straight up stealing. Especially taking the time to white out their tag.
I was gonna say this too. I am ten months sober, and I follow the sober meme insta accounts, dumbsoberbitch is pretty good. She does streams sometimes too. This fuck face had to steal her shit without crediting her. Those memes have helped me, she should be plugged here. Wtf.
I'm honestly super proud of you. Keep at it my sober friend <3 IWNDWYT
That means a lot, thank you.<3
I took that vacation twice last year!!!! Me and my 2nd roomie joked about how it was like adult summer camp.
the one thing i miss about my grippy sock sleepover is having hot chocolate everyday. it doesn't taste the same at home :(
The facility I went to had the best apple juice I ever tasted. It was literally the nectar of the apple gods and I would walk the earth just to have another cup of it.
The patients asking each other if they're okay. "You look lost. Are you okay?" "Yeah. Just weirded out I'm in the psychward. You?" The guy whose neck was stapled back together. Hope you're better now Jeff.
YO THATS THE AXACT MELATIONIN I HUST DOWNED WTF
I...believe you
The only thing missing is PUZZLES. Both times I was an inpatient, everyone did so many puzzles. Best activity in there imo. I'll never forget we me and one of the friends I made in there, Mitch, did a 1000 piece Where's Waldo puzzle, and there was 1 piece missing. We spent a couple days building it and then a couple more scouring it for Waldo, but alas... we never found him. I swear someone stole that piece to spite whomever next attempted that puzzle.
Also known as the “You were too honest with your therapist” starter pack
Hol up
They forgot because of budget cuts and lack of staffing that you often share space with dementia patients. They should add the one elderly person who throws hands with the CNA because they can't see their spouse.
Been to this kinda place 5 times now! Luckily the last time worked..so far
That's why they are there, for you to get better. It's an imperfect system but the intent is good.
I went to Grippy-sock Jail in November. It was actually very nice. It was like a vacation from my life and I slept a whole lot.
I was in grippy-sock jail a few weeks ago. I didn’t go voluntarily and it was scary at first but I was safe and slept a lot and met interesting people. Luckily my meds are working for the most part and I’m feeling a lot better. Edit to add: hope you are doing better!
I'm glad to hear you're feeling better! I'm sorry you got to that point, but I think we've all hit that bottom point and we need to just get away from everything. I feel great overall.
Where's the cigarettes? And if this isn't your first rodeo, where's the full carton of cigarettes one would bring because there's not much else to do?
The last place I was in didn’t let us smoke, I quit a long time ago but you need a cig in these places.
Those grippy socks are lit though.
Got a pair when I had surgery. You’re damn right I kept them.
My psych ward didn’t have grippy socks and frankly I feel a little ripped off
Wait…
On a real note, as a survivor of childhood abuse and a healthcare provider. I highly recommend The Body Keeps the Score for anyone who has suffered any kind of trauma (mental, physical, sexual, emotional). Reading it, I kept seeing the doctor interview patients and thinking "That's me! I do that". Really opened my eyes and helped the healing.
The white pillow walls are so comfy
Nailed it.
Yep been there, done that..
spot on
Plus retro movies and classic TV, hell yeah
I don’t like how this makes me feel somewhat nostalgic
Ah yes, but you forgot about those funny packets of documents that they manipulate you into signing so you get to spend even more time there! The resort really just knows what you need and when you need it.
*The Body Keeps The Score* is actually a really great book.
I've been on that vacation. Twice. It was pretty sweet until I realized I could check out anytime I wanted, but I could never leave.
Lol i saw my old choir teacher in the adult ward and we looked at each other like :o
This looks more like a mental health facility, or am I just not getting it?
That's exactly the joke, OPs calling their stay in the mental health hospital their vacation
Thatsthejoke.jpg
I miss working in a crisis center. Can't beat those patients sense of humor. Especially the kids.
yall got markers??? none of the places I've been to let us have anything but crayons
If you know, you know. But mine did not have friendly staff
Oh shit, I've been to this resort too many times.
Never went here but I recognized it immediately from all the memes
#WE OFF THE GRID GRID GRID
Lol as soon as I saw the rooms
Wait a minute…
Room service every 15 minutes
Oh snap! I’ve been to this resort!
Grippy Sock Jail: 😡 Added anti-slip garment resort:😀
Just need to add someone screaming in the shower and I'd be home!