Voluntary psych ward admission

[TANETS]

Has anyone in here ever done this before? I feel like I'm going insane sometimes and it's starting to feel unbearable. I'm having an extremely hard time finding a psychiatrist, and therapy sessions are extremely expensive. I can't afford that. I had a chance at state funded therapy years ago when I was still a minor, but I accidentally cut my therapist off (ocd moment). I just need some kind of help, I've heard psych ward horror stories but I'm desperate. It would be nice to be cut off from the rest of the world even temporarily.

 

[whywere]

For me no, both my times in the psych ward were involuntary, BUT at least in my experience, it is truly a flip of the coin, whether one gets a good or not so good psych ward.

My 1st one was horrible, food was at best so so and I had to be in bed with my feet off the floor from 10:30pm till 6am.

the 2nd time was really nice. The food was fantastic, and all the nurses were so darn nice and thoughtful.

But either of the 2 times, I got to meet and become friends with other patients and the wood working classes that I took were so much fun.

Now I live in the U.S. and my private health insurance covered all the costs. The stays were NOT cheap. the 1st time it was for 14 days, and it was over $57,000 (USD), but if you live in a country that has national health insurance, I will say give it a go.

Lots of love and caring thoughts to/for you, my good friend.

Walter

 

[banger12]

Tbh from what I can gather from my own experiences there isn't much difference whether you're voluntary or involuntary. I think the difference is you retain more rights and a bit more control over your care voluntary and have an easier time getting out if you want to leave early.

From my experience, you won't get shit in the way of therapy there but if you need access to a psych immediately for medication or medication adjustments it might help. Be prepared to wait a while in an ER for a room to open up for you on the psych unit. Possibly days. And just because you get treatment on unit doesn't mean you'll have access off unit. Sometimes they offer services to connect you with specialists post-inpatuebt though. But don't expect a lit of time with doctors or care.

Your stay would likely be a couple weeks and being on a unit is a whole experience to put it one way. My experience may not be representative of the general experience, but I have been to a few facilities throughout my life and I wrote a lengthy post on SaSu about it and can find that for you if that might be helpful. Just take what I say with a grain of salt given my bias

 

[zulu123]

I went to a psych ward voluntarily last year and I stayed for about 9 days. I live near a few and had options and I picked the best one that my therapist also recommended. I didn't have my phone or anything like that so it was a very nice time just focusing on getting meds dialed in, going to group therapy, doing crafts etc.. But not all places are good. I was lucky and had private insurance and the staff helped me apply for medicare so I could cover the rest. Make sure to read reviews and pick the right place because some are very very bad. I wish you the best of luck and hope it goes well for you.

 

[Leiot]

I've done it three times. I guess it helped, but I didn't really get anything out of it other than getting past the bad times. Nothing to help me long term.

 

[trashhologram]

I didn't go in voluntarily but I'm 100% sure that my stay at the ward saved my life; I was very depressed, doing drugs and drinking daily and had an eating disorder. I was in there for a month. I didn't have a smartphone back then so I read a lot of books, hung out with other patients and my friends and family visited me almost daily.

Later my parents convinced the doctor that I could get a laptop, that helped a lot with the boredom. I was also very lucky since the only room available was a single person room so I got some me-time which was great. It cost quite a lot of money but my mom and dad paid for it.

If you feel like going to the psych ward, go. If you go there voluntarily you might be able to sign out whenever you want to, but I'd suggest staying as long as your doctor wants you to stay.

 

[MidnightCat]

I went to psych ward twice.

When I was 16, and a few months in... Let's say I put some heavy (bloody) pressure in my parents to let me out. It's a mess you can still see in my arms 16 years later.

So, as an adult I really didn't want to go, although if I don't do something I'll end up 3 feet underground soon. So... I asked to be admitted in psych ward eventually.

Trauma from the first time made it specially harder (although they were nice to me and really did anything bad if I'm being honest). So I skipped a bunch of days. "Got called off" and told to try and come just 3 days a week. Didn't work out either, so they offered me to just go once a week for a visit with my psychiatrist and therapist.

I felt like, again, I lost. I did something bad. I wasn't able to do what it was expected. I lost the chance...

However, next week psychiatrist told me I can start coming more hours when I feel ready to. That they just limited the time so I wouldn't go as hard with myself and.. they'll help me the best way they can, that I just have to ask.


That helped. I stopped feeling like I failed.

So... That bring us to today, a few months in. I still just go once a week but I'll probably try to stay more time in the next month.

Overall... I'm not doing great progress if I'm honest. But its helping me manage myself just a little, which is good.


I've been told I'll need quite a lot of time. I have BPD (silent) and quite the depression.. it's been 30 years of me malfunctioning in one way or another, so it'll take a while for me to function differently.


I think that, if you're asking here, is because you think it may help. So... Give it a try.


Might not be the "panacea", but it may just let you live a little better.

 

[Abbadab]

If your insurance covers your stay I think voluntary hospitalizations are a really good way to go.

It will put you on the fast track to intensive treatment and medication. If you feel like a respite from the outside world will help you, then the psych ward will probably be a huge relief. They will make sure you're stable and have a plan for future treatment before discharging you.

It can feel a little dehumanizing in certain ways. You most likely won't have access to electronics and possibly even your own clothes. Anything remotely sharp will be inaccessible too. You will have very little privacy. But in exchange for that I've all 4 of my stays therapeutic. I've made good friends, made silly art, played a lot of foosball and cards games, and gotten really decent care.

 

[Hollowman]

I admitted myself once and the incompetent staff gave me the means to attempt. Wish it would've worked.