there needs to be a SERIOUS overhaul in the psych ward system

[mchll]

i have suffered from a mental illness for over 14 years and just wanted to put my input.

we all hear some stories from some ex-patients from psych wards saying "some of those nurses are bitches". maybe some of those patients were really unwell at the time. there are a lot of maybe's when it comes to the perception of the psych staff . no i don't believe all of them are being cruel or being callous or saying that they are.

i have nothing personal against the nurses or staff that work in the psych ward.

i've had some ex-patients including myself saying and thinking "they (the nurses) just don't understand"

while in one of my admissions i had one of the psychologists who just didn't understand my paranoia and suggesting "distraction techniques" and be constantly rebelling against medication. who here who has had a psychotic paranoid episode can see "distraction techniques" working? REALLY???? medication is a must for us. no it's not the only answer but it is MASSIVE push to recovery.

i personally feel offended and disgusted with some of the staff in a couple of my admissions about the way they were treating me and even some of the other patients.

i heard a story from one girl who suffers from anorexia saying that one of the nurses were saying inappropriate things about her eating habits and it really upset her and she now has second thoughts about if she will admit herself... again

i feel they seem to be pushing too hard for us to function and recover too fast while we are in there. it's like they want us out as quickly as possible. a possible reason for this is coz they are trying to change from the old days with mental institutes and everyone being locked up in padded rooms in a strait jacket for the remainder of their life. so now they think "lets just get them well and get them out in the community as quickly as possible!!" whats the point of discharging someone too soon when they are not ready and they end up being re-admitted a short time later. wouldn't it be better if they stay in hospital until the patient firstly thinks and believes that he or she is well enough to be discharged out of the hospital and out in the community and is no longer at risk of becoming "unwell"... again

I heard from others including myself like its "our fault" that we cant function and seem to be put down for it while in hospital for example if we can't " leave our room " coz we are so freakin scared and hallucinating our freakin head off. if we were able to function properly would we be hospital in the first place ?

people who don't suffer from a mental illness just dont get it and dont understand how hard it is to live with.

whats the answer to these issues ? how can we make the psych hospital a happier place for those who are mentally unwell and need help to recover? should we just have no verbal interaction between patients and staff so some of us don't feel put down or pushed too hard or feel offended or feel the nurses are saying cruel or nasty things if even sometimes they aren't?

Now coz of my past experiences and talking to others, its like some of the staff have no idea or freakin clue what they are goin on about and it's mostly "PUSH PUSH TO GET THE PATIENT WELL FAST AND OUT OF HOSPITAL REGARDLESS OF WHAT THE PATIENT THINKS OR BELIEVES"

I just wanted to point out this topic ISN'T a US AGAINST THEM or ISN'T some sort of vendetta against the mental health staff. just issues that need to be fixed.

any input or suggestions or experiences from others on this board will be honestly great.

[mchll]

Sorry I just wanted to also add: basically I feel they don't understand mental illness and I just expect that from THEM coz they work in mental health they should have a BETTER understanding than the rest of the public. we just expect them to know everything. again sometimes making insensitive remarks that upset a patient that hurt aren't expected from them and coz of that it breaks the " trust " that we have for them and then psych hospitals gets a bad reputation and a bad name and so do the staff coz some ex-patients spread the word " this " and " that " happened to " me " while i was in " there ". . .

[Anna]

Psych wards are not perfect, no. Definitely not. I've had my experiences good and bad.

I'd say the important thing is to do your homework, and the ideal (for me) is a pdoc who MANAGES a psych ward. That's what I had with my great pdoc, and an inpt stay on his unit was great.

As to the push to move people out..... I can tell you that pretty much, it's a shortage of beds. It really is. Perhaps community mental health has gone too far at times, but the bottom line is there are not enough beds for people who need it, so stays are kept as short as possible for that reason, in my opinion.

I don't love hospitals, so this doesn't bother me. I'd rather be rushed out of there the minute I was safe, and do more of my recovery at home, where I'm comfortable.

That said, I've come a long way managing my illness..... my house is a little "psych ward" ish, I have a "quiet room" (walk in closet) I can use when I need it, I have a husband who will lock up and dole out meds when I tell him I'm not safe, I even have a straight jacket on hand that my husband will happily put me in and watch over me if needed (I find them soothing, not everyone does) though I haven't had to resort to that one yet. So, I'm lucky in that regard.

That said, I advocate for what I need, and I have family who are willing to be educated about my MI. I'm lucky in that regard.

Anna