tales from the psych ward

So I know I've been asked questions and I know there are people curious...so here is bekah's tales from the psych ward

Now this is only my experience with one hospital. I was in one where its purely psych patients and not part of a bigger hospital like MUSC. The hospital I was at had 3 adult programs....adult dual diagnosis (patients not only struggling with mental illness but also drug abuse), Adult acute care (schizo, bipolar, suicide attempts pretty much anything goes there) and higher ground (so severely depressed they can't function but realize their need for help). I was higher ground....the only higher ground patient at that time and housed on the "short hall" aka adult acute care ward.

When you first get there you are "line of sight"...you can't be out of sight of a staff member even when sleeping. When you take a shower the bathroom door has to be part the way open. Pretty much no privacy. If you behave then after 24 hours you are removed from LOS and can go anywhere on the adult units by yourself but have to check on every 15 minutes. The adult units are all housed in one building seperated into "long hall" (dual diagnosis) and "short hall" (acute care). Higher grounds get put wherever there is a bed. I spent my first night on the dual diagnosis side. (actually everyone kept trying to send me to RTF...the kid/teen program cause I look so young). The buldings are locked units and you cannot get in or out without a staff member and their badge

I admit I only stayed off of line of sight for 48hrs my whole 8 day stay. I kept having freak outs and with a history of self injury they really watched me closely. In some ways thats not a bad thing...I got way more attention but I also had no privacy. Especially with the fact I had 3 roommates.

With the exception of one other girl everyone was 40+ on the short hall.

I admit there were times you would forget you were in a psych hospital...like at night when everyone was gathered in the group room watching TV and laughing and talking. One night we were WILD! Watching the voice and having paper airplane contests while standing and jumping on the furniture

You would be surprised how normal most of the people were. Just regular folks like me and you.

Like everywhere I had favorite staff members and the staff members have favorites.

You had your choice of wearing your own clothing (no shoe strings, belts, or drawstrings) or wearing a hideous outfit of green scrubs that they provide. I chose my own clothing! I might have been a pysch patient but darnit I was going to be a well dressed one! I even wore my beloved converse sans laces

Your days are made up of group therapy (numerous sessions through the day), recreational therapy (can be anything from playing uno to going outside to pet therapy), psych visits (everyone sees their psych everyday) and if needed individual therapy.

Unlike a regular hospital you are expected to get dressed, go through your morning routine, eat meals with the group in the cafeteria, socialize etc. You have a regular bed...not a hospital bed. You are allowed no electronics but can have books, coloring books etc. I think I colored more pictures there than I have in ages!

to be continued...