How was your experiance at a mental hospital?

for those of you who have been committed to one, or whent to visit some one. how was your expereance?

I haven't been admitted into one, however I have worked in quite a few. I think the term 'mental hospital' is a little outdated now, as are the patients who use them.

psychiatry has developed a lot over the last 100 years. it USED to be people with learning disabilitys, down syndrome, cerebral psyalsy, spastic paraplegia etc that used to account for a HUGE percentage of mental health patients, but in the last 50 years it has become more widely accepted that people with these condition ARE NOT in need of mental health assitance, but independent living help.

now when you go into mental health settings, they're far more relaxed. you find a lot of people with alcohol, drug, self-harm and OCD issues in mental health units, only becuase people with more conventional problems tend to be treated 'at home' with mental health nurses in the community.

so when you go into mental health units (aka the old mental hospitals) its more about helping people with acute problems and about re-intergrating them back into society and independent living.

mental health services are focussed around helping the patient deal with what is going on, and helping them learn about their own conditions and taking more control over them. if you are referring to the more 'serious' conditions, such as schizophrenia, then they are normally initially helped in a unit, and then in the community.
there is a HUGE misconception about mental health problems still, depite the fact that depression is a mental health problem and one in 6 people will suffer with it in their life, there's still a huge tabboo attached to it.
what is it you wanted to know about specifically?

Well, you're kind of asking a weird question.

Are you expecting someone to say...'pleasant'? Because if you're under 18, being put into a mental facility is usually not your choice due to a few laws.

I went both freely and against my will, both for the same reason - a few months ago I wanted to kill myself and tried to get help for myself - I spent about a week in this local place the first time. It was pretty stupid...kids are usually clumped together in relatively large age groups...10-18. Then about two weeks after I got out, I was sent back to the same hospital (again, for a week) after ATTEMPTING to kill myself - that first trip really did a lot didn't it?

However if you're an adult...I don't think there are any laws that say you HAVE to go to a hospital against your will.

If you're thinking of admitting yourself into the hospital and you're 18: you won't enjoy it, trust me, but at the same time it's respectable you're trying to get help for yourself.
If you're going to visit someone in a hospital: it's kind of depressing, depending on the reason you're visiting.

They scared me.

I'v been in and out
I just wanted to hear other's expereances