I'm an inpatient in a psychiatric hospital AMA

[Olimar]

Been here just over a week but have been an inpatient many times AMA

How you feeling rn?

Hi. Thanks for offering to share. My 17 yo DD is currently an IP because of severe anorexia. Do you think your hospital stays have been helpful to you? (I do hope they have and wish you all the very best)

Oh mate. Been there. It's shit. Is it really fucking noisy and deeply unrelaxing like everywhere I've ever been? Have you made any beautifully crazy friends (that's me mid Psychosis) friends with the world. Seriously hope you're OK.

How are you feeling? My DM was in a psychiatric hospital for four months.

Is the food nice?

Hope you're feeling ok. Are there any activities? My DSis was an inpatient many times. She got very bored.

Why have you been admitted?
Is being in hospital helping you?

I hope you feel better soon.

I hope you are coping well and that you feel better for being there. Are the staff kind to you?

I'm feeling very bored rn, that's why I started the thread. Being in hospital doesn't help me in fact it makes me worse in some ways as I get agitated by being enclosed/ restricted. The food is ok, a bit like school dinners with cake and custard for pudding every day.

Do you feel safe there? What is it like being around the other inpatients and what is the environment like generally, is it peaceful or quite hectic and stressful?

I'm sorry OP, I too have been an IP( quite a few times)
Is it a big noisy unit?
I always find my music is my therapy Maybe you could listen to white noise or calming sounds?

Some of the staff are nice, some not so nice (especially night shift) but mostly they don't have time for the patients.

When I was last in a few years ago we were only supplied with decaffienated tea and coffee - is it the same with you? I do know another hospital in the same MH Trust supplied proper, caffienated tea!

I’ve been in a few times. For medication changes. Once, to get away from a relentlessly angry husband whose temper was affecting my mental health. He should have been the patient that time. That’s irony I think.

it is boring OP, I agree.

And I’ve had the same experience with staff.

Do you have a particular doctor assigned to you and do you like them / are they helping?

Hope you are doing okay OP , and that you get something positive from the stay.

@Olimar hope you are doing okay.

are you getting any psychological treatment? Group therapy or 1 to 1? Or is it just medication and a bed plus an occasional sight of a medic?

What's the whole process from the moment of admission ?

I don't know about the tea as I don't drink it but the coffee supplied is definitely decaffeinated . Most of the hospitals I've been to allow you to bring in your own coffee though but here it's kept and dispensed by staff only between 6am and 8pm.

It's not a huge unit, only 2 wards- 14 female beds and 9 male. I've been to bigger hospitals though with several wards including ones with mixed wards, which I hated. Also hospitals with a PICU (psychiatric intensive care unit) for the most I'll and/or dangerous patients. Luckily I've never been in PICU.
It can be very noisy and chaotic on the ward at times. I'm autistic so this is a big trigger for me (also the lack of routine and structure) so I deal with it by playing my own music very loudly through noise cancelling headphones.

Yes I have a named psychiatrist who I see once a week during ward review. There's no 1on 1 with them though. Also nothing in the way of psychology, either group or individual here or in most hospitals I've stayed at. There is occasional art therapy sessions but they are too random and unstructured for me here.

Hang in there OP… ♥️♥️

The process of admission for me has mostly been emergency. This involves a lengthy wait (this time 2 weeks) in a&e for a bed. If you are sectioned you have a dedicated RMN at all times during your wait.
Then when a bed is found you are transferred to the hospital by secure transport - a hybrid taxi/ambulance.
On arrival your belongings are searched and logged and any contraband removed. Mostly they never search you in person except maybe asking you to empty your pockets.
Next step is a medical once over by a nurse/doctor. This involves blood pressure/pulse/temperature being taken, bloods taken and sometimes an ECG. The doctor will take a brief history to assess your level of risk and will write up any medication your on plus basic stuff like paracetamol.
Then if you're lucky you will get a guided tour of the unit otherwise you're just shown to your room and left to get on with it.

Hope you feel better soon OP.

Hi, my aunty was a frequent flyer in psych wards. I hope you are ok and that you feel better soon. My question is, if you were imagining a better alternative to current provision on a psych ward what would it be like?

It doesn't sound like an environment that will help much.
Is there any outdoor space you can access for some peace and quiet?

What will the environment help with? Why do you think you need to be there? For example is it just to regulate new meds or is it more complex?
Does knowing what you need to be like to be discharged help you get through the grimness?

Wow, 2 weeks in a&e, that's shocking. How did you cope?

I've been IP a few times too but never via nhs. Which I'm very grateful for.

Have you got some activities to keep you busy? I liked sticker books and cross stitch.