Have you ever been in the hospital?

[nursingstudent]

I am trying to write a short paper on hospital experiences. I would love for everyone to share their stories with me. I am a nursing student and my younger brother tried to commit suicide twice due to depression caused by his social anxiety.
Was your time in the hospital a positive experience?
What made it positive/negative?
Did the health professionals you came in contact with influence your experience (nurses, doctors, etc.)?
Did you feel any judgement in any way, shape or form (age, gender, health problems, history)?
What would have made your experience better?
Is there a better way of treating patients in your circumstances?
What did you gain from being in the hospital?
Did your assumptions of the hospital and psychiatric wards influence your experience?[/b]

 

[no1]

I went to a mental hospital for going crazy and suicidal and calling the cops on myself, after I was breaking stuff in my house, and they thought I was armed and being 'destructive'. Stayed there for... about a week and a half in the "crisis unit" where all the "really crazy" people were. it sucked.. they put me on ativan and risperdal and some relaxant.

 

[nursingstudent]

That sounds awful! Did you benefit from being in the hospital at all?

 

[jordo2]

first of all, if you are going to right (write) a paper...you should spell it right lol jk. i'm not sure if my case is something you are looking for. its just weird.

well i've been to the ER twice for being suicidal...one of those times i went to the psych ward.

actually the time i went to the psych ward was a positive one :?.

this is going to sound weird...but i made some "friends" there. everyone was nice and friendly. i even kept in contact with one of them when i got out.

well some doctors sort of helped me but i felt more like a number. but a nurse sort of reminded me why i was there and i got depressed and went to bed and sulked.

look above ^^

it wouldve been better if i got to stay there longer lol...which was only a weekend. i just felt a belonging. i guess the other patients were in the same situation and talking and having fun was their way of supporting me. and they werent at all loonies to me.

i dont think there is a better way...i think that is the best way.

gained a friend and almost want to be suicidal again just be in there again but i'm not sure if the same people would be there otherwise i would do it in a heartbeat. weird huh?

my assumptions were the complete opposite of what i thought it would be like.

 

[nursingstudent]

Haha, thanks for editing my post! I totally missed that!
Thanks for sharing! That was my brother's feeling too. He said that he felt "accepted" in a way, like he "fit in" there.

 

[jschuley]

I was in the hospital overnight once because I tried to commit suicide by taking a bunch of pills. My brother drove me to the hospital and dropped me off at the door of the emergency room. He did not even stay with me.

A nurse that knew me when I was a kid, as I was kind of friends with her daughter, just hugged me and started to cry. She was very kind, and it was touching that she would care, as I hadn't seen her in years.

I had called my one friend and left a message to say goodbye, and he apparently cried and cried when he got the message and he came to the hospital and laid in the bed with me and made me laugh.

Wow, we've been through a fucking lot together, he is still my friend and we are living together now. He is an amazing person.

But I was given this nasty black shit to drink and it made me poop and throw up black stuff, and I was allowed to leave the next day. But they forgot I was even there and did not come in to discharge me until late that afternoon. They set me up with a counselor and I had a few sessions with her, but I did not like her. She was the first to point out I had problems with eye contact, and I was unaware of this before. I deeply resent her for that, as I have been hyperaware of it ever since.

 

[nursingstudent]

Thanks for sharing your story jschuley! I'm sorry for the negative experiences you had in the hospital, but I am glad you had a good friend to help you through it!