I Was Forced To Go To A Mental Hospital | #MentalMonday

A video talking about the time I went into a mental hospital. What a time. #MentalMonday is the new series in which every Monday I talk about a different thing relating to mental health. WHAT. A. TIME.
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Intro and Endslate by;

[sallyngo]

I thought that I could get help at mental hospitals, but I was wrong. Personally, I think that place is designed to be dreadful, so people will want to get better and never end up there again.

[merriwynneevans]

I was picked on, bullied and abused by staff at a psychiatric hospital in Cerritos, CA. They neglected my medical needs. They refused to change my diet to food I could eat. They physically assaulted me. They stole my property.

I was put on an illegal hold. I was coerced into signing papers without reading them because I was about to wet my pants because I hadn't been to the bathroom in hours. They said I couldn't go to the bathroom until I finish my paperwork.

The agencies that are supposed to protect psychiatric patients rights refused to take my complaint.

[zion]

I was also forced to go. Due to a false complaint saying I was suicidal. I am now watching your video 4 years after it happened and crying it out. The injustice, the lies, the gaslighting... its all so much. But I am ready to feel it. To heal it. Till this day I meet people who think thay I was having a psychosis due to the narcissistic smear campagne launged at me. Its so painful. My whole life destroyed. My business, family, friends, my dog who got traumatized due to all of it....
Its just so much to

Thank you for sharing this. It helped me cry and connect back to that time.

[kristybrooks]

"I feel like I'm jail."
The nurse laughed. "No. Jail is a whole lot worse."
Dumfounded the patient began to undress. "There should be no comparison."

[lancemannly]

takes a lotta guts to tell this story in public. respect for that

You also illustrate really well how mental health facilities in this country operate with much more irrationality than any patient

[AtlasPrimordium]

I was thrown into a mental hospital 5 times, but the biggest one was for me continuously running away from an extremely abusive home. I ways begged the police not to take me back. My father gave me a paper bag of some clothes and had two staff members come grab me at the age of 16. I was there for a week, I wasn't allowed to go outside nor look out windows, no visits, no calls, constant drugs and isolation when you had "episodes". In truth it made me worse, I was really traumatized considering my first few hours was sitting in a dark hallway holding my knees and wiping blood off my arm from the tuberculosis test. Forcing someone to get treatment is sometimes okay, if it's deemed absolutely necessary or voluntary. But being forced into situations like that really messes with your head, I remember us patients looked out for each other behind the nurses backs. One girl had large scabs over the inside of her wrists, and during group she was trying not to freak out and ripped the wounds open. Ultimately we had her hide her wrist and we helped her press on it and hide it in her sweater sleeve. I don't think the psychiatric centers nowadays do anything positive in terms of reinforcement and medical help. Much like prisons, they only contain troubled people instead of truly helping them individually.

[mariapuzino]

After a suicide attempt a year ago, I was sent to a mental hospital 60 miles away from home.  The closest one which was only a 15 minute drive away was "booked" as I was told.  I spent a total of 6 days in this hell hole.  Other than a group session daily and recreation (which consisted of coloring in books that were about 5 years old and/or going outside to the "smoking yard") twice daily, there was literally nothing to do other than to sit in front of the television, which I could have done at home.   Although the food was decent, the line was so long that if you were at the end of it, you had maybe 5 minutes to scarf the food down your throat.  My first roommate was a very sweet, soft spoken woman who I got along with great.  Unfortunately, she left the second day I got there and then I got the roommate from HELL.  Not only was she a big girl that got water all over the floor when she showered and didn't clean it up, she snored so *#(*&* loud all night long.  This was not regular snoring, either. It was like a truck revving its engine up.  When I told the head nurse I wasn't sleeping due to her snoring and that I would like to change rooms, I was abruptly told the facility was all filled up and therefore I would simply have to "deal with it".  Obviously, if you've just attempted suicide, sleep deprivation is not going to improve your mood.  I was so tired one day, I didn't make it to group therapy just so I could close my eyes for a few minutes.  Then I found out from my husband they said I wasn't "engaging" and would have to stay longer!  Overall, one of the worst experiences in my life.  It certainly dissuaded me from EVER attempting suicide again; or if so, to get it right!  Sad, but true.  These places are supposed to help you, not make you feel worse than you did when you got there!  This experience left me mentally and physically drained.   Maybe it's just a Florida thing, I don't know.

[rachelhood]

Thank you for sharing your story. I was recently hospitalized and narrowly avoided being put on a psychiatric hold. I took a leave of absence from work but couldn't afford to take more time and I'm doing my best to take care. Your story and channel is a great resource, thanks for doing what you do girl.

[VG-rjpn]

Don't ever go to any medical person and tell them anything. And never allow them to take you anywhere.

[samanthalarson]

i was in a psych hospital for 6 days and didn't see a doctor ONCE. not once. and i met with the nurse practitioner assigned to me for a total of 30 mins over the course of 6 days. Being in a mental hospital made my depression so much worse, and I'm convinced literally gave me anxiety bc its been 6 months and I still wakeup in the middle of the night scared out of my mind that I'm gonna wind up there again. something about KNOWING you cannot leave a particular place at your own free will is fucking terrifying. checking yourself into a mental hospital takes away ALL of your credibility, and i understand that... i mean, come on, you're in a looney bin, the staff just assumes everyones irrational and lives in the clouds. and thats the scariest part. its like you're instantaneously transported back to childhood where you have no say.. and if you disagree or show ANY kind of anger, the nurses start with the "calm down, you're getting combative" and escalate the situation way more than it needs to be. worst experience of my life. made everything worse for me

[abbeyhill]

promoting mental illnesses and opening up about your own is so so SO important. I have been in two different facilities for suicidal attempts, social anxiety, and depression. thank you so much for talking about this people need to realize that they are not alone

[stonesdon]

love the idea of mental Monday, mental health needs to be talked about

[jjsc]

I experienced the same completely by surprise. I was socially isolated and depressed, but definitely not suicidal. Being involuntarily incarcerated in a mental ward, ie locked up, is severely psychologically damaging if you're feeling down....but nowhere near suicidal.
Same assembly line mental health care, surrounded by severely mentally ill people, and realising you're lumped in with them.
Complete, total, utter uncertainty, and psych interns blithely asking precisely the same appointments or "whens" about anything. No books, no visitors, no fresh clothes. No opportunity to call my JOB. For three days....but with the kicker that they could keep you for up to 28 days if THEY decide(?!)
I understand the need for involuntary mental health orders. I really do. They're important. But if you're NOT suicidal, just down and isolating, being thrown involuntarily into that environment is absolutely the most frightening, demeaning, embarrassing, stressful, counter-productive thing one can have happen. It made things...for me....MUCH worse. And extremely reluctant to seek any kind of mental health help.

[officialheathercombseardrp]

For many mid-life people that experiences a psychiatric hospital, it was not a beneficial experience. It may have been a horrific nightmare filled with abuse, torture and much worse than death itself.

[helenrogers]

Lucky for you. Only 72 hours. If you don't have insurance and happen to be placed in a state hospital, you may have a stay anywhere from 30-180 days. If the can persuade the court, who rules in their favor, you may be deemed disabled and never have a life again. Possibly, they may keep you for the rest of your life. Even have the court to assign a POA/guardian over you. Lead your family to believe how horrible you are and that you can't function in society. You have no rights to make decisions. Lose your job, your friends and family. Even if you simply had a traumatic event and became depressed. The doctors are rarely available and don't listen. No help for what you need. You are treated like a prisoner. Don't do exactly what they expect, you will be strapped down and given injections to knock you out. In addition, they will drug you up orally to shut you up and to comply with the jail like setting. Something has to be done to stop this abuse!! Many are left with bigger issues simply from the admission/stay. Not to mention PTSD. The only thing you learn is to never tell anyone that you are depressed, don't feel like living or any other issue you need to vent about. Others think they are helping. They don't realize they are not getting you help. They are purchasing a ticket for you to go to jail and for

[antzzpantzz]

Take this from a mental person. The public system vs the private mental health system are poles apart. My first day at a public mental institution was being told to strip naked, in front of staff, to put staff approved clothing on without any underwear and to be locked in a room for 18 hours straight whilst staff shone a torch into a small window whilst i pretty much paced around the room the entire time weighing about 40 kilos. I had no access to water and was not asked at any time whether i needed to use the toilet.

[smileypantscuppycake]

I've been there too, girlfriend. Love how the staff make everything super stressful by treating everyone like they are a serial killer.

[georgebalsamo]

You are absolutely right about psychiatrists not talking to people. They merely write prescriptions for drugs!

[ThePreciousMama]

My husband was admitted on a Friday and was told his team would not be decided until Monday morning so... no one talked to him... other than the people who took his admission stats (blood pressure, temp, etc.)... no one talked to him for THREE DAYS. I am baffled. "It's the weekend, what do you expect?" *EYE ROLL* You're a hospital. You're supposed to operate EVERY. DAY.

[squidwardsplug]

This is so accurate to my experiences! A lot of people make videos about their experiences and they arent
Accurate at all! Thanks so much for actually being brutally honest about the lack of appropriate mental health care!