It depends on the laws of the state/country you live in. However, in most cases, if a person is a danger to themselves or others (as judged by a professional) they can be forced to stay in a psych ward. The length of the stay can be shortened by requests from family/friends/etc. And you can refuse most of the treatments while you’re there.
Ah ok, yes, it works like that there too, except I think that only family and professionals can shorten your stay. That’s clearly not true, considering that a friend helped you when you reached out to them. And, I don’t think you need to worry about involuntary commitment just yet, except if a mental health professional had a session with you in the hospital and the possibility of it was floated around.
There’s no shame in not succeeding with an attempt. There’s also no shame in not feeling a sudden will for life after it. Every person experiences it differently, some see it as a second chance, others see it as a tragedy. However, it does provide an opportunity to take stock of your life, where you are, what you have, what you don’t have, etc.
No, in the UK and USA, the “mental health” card is as good as calling you a criminal and stripping you of all your rights. The only thing that may help shorten your stay is if you get a bunch of people raising a big stink and telling them to let you go. (Obv you can’t do this yourself because they’ll just deem you hysterical and lock you up longer)
Oh also if you’re dirt poor with no family or insurance, they’ll let you go sooner. I’ll give you 1 guess why that is.
I’m not going to fill you with bs. If it’s a mental health issue, even if it’s not but they say it is, you’re screwed. Enjoy the free juice and cookies. The beds suck.
lol sorry for laughing but that really is funny in an ironic way.
They wonder why we act psychotic, and I’m convinced it’s from sleep deprivation from those sucky beds. They aren’t even beds so much as armchairs that recline 45 degrees where they had me locked up. Anyway I hope you get to at least lie flat (and I don’t mean on the pavement after jumping off the roof).
They can legally force you to if they deem you a harm to yourself. If you try to break out or anything then you are in massive trouble. Be careful what you tell them. Play it safe. I’ve never been, but I heard stories.
Idk about you but in my state, Georgia, they can legally hold you for 1 whole year. But chances are you won’t be there nearly that long. Don’t jailbreak. It’s a lot harder in real life than in capture the flag. Of course if they put me in one, I’m gonna try to get out.
Well besides being clinically depressed, I know for a fact that today’s irrational thoughts came from the inability to sleep because a bloody bomb was going on in a sleeper’s nostril last night and i have not yet slept due to the overly friendly ward mates and the ‘dont let her close the curtains, ALWAYS WATCH THE DEPRESSED GIRL AT ALL TIMES’ rule.
That’s why I’m going out without letting anyone know ahead of time. I’ve already started inviting people to my funeral. They think I’m inviting them to a big party. I don’t want to end up in a ward. Too crazy and it cost too much money. What did you do?
I didn’t tell anyone either – that is until I was ready to pass out from the sickness – I never realised that my physical illness would take over in that moment but it did. I didn’t think i could physically hold on until I fainted and so called the ambulance myself. I’ve heard it before but honestly, paracetamol overdoses are fucking painful. I was next to a river too, should have thrown the phone. Ofcourse I could have handled the physical pain, the mental pain was the killer. And now I’m left with the guilt of saving myself. Also, sorry that was a very selfish rant. Depression does that huh? I’m not going to wish you a change of heart, but a peaceful ending, whether that is recovery or.. death. X
Not selfish, I asked. You’re all good. Idk if I’m depressed. Thanks. I’ve been debating in my mind whether help is an option. I should be able to handle everything myself with my logic and judgement, but if something is wrong with me mentally how can I trust my logic and judgement? Death seems to be the best option in my eyes, but everyone else thinks help is the answer.
I don’t think so if someone reports you for being on the verge and capable of making a suicide attempt then they can drag you away wherever they want you with no consent of your own. But I have found recently you need to actually have the means and intent to attempt for them to take you without your consent. If you have no way or plan to hurt yourself (commit) they can’t legally take you just for having suicidal feelings/ thoughts without your consent. I don’t know why because committing suicide is perfectly legal. I think they want to brain wash you or something because they are idk, religious?
Hospitalization mostly just means a diagnosis, a pill cocktail and you will just feel worse overall.
Best to keep suicidal feelings to yourself and if you are committing make sure no one is around and you haven’t told anyone you know beforehand.. but you can leave goodbye letters and such that will be found after, or else you have to deal with interference which you may not want.
Telling someone you are suicidal now can ruin the rest of your life so I would just try to feel better…..
As far as staying entirely out of the hospital; hard but doable. There are things you can say and do to demonstrate self control and ability to cope, even if internally such things are not there.
Where I live you can get out of observation in 24-48 hours, by law if you are stable enough and don’t want to be there, you’re gone. Sometimes if you aren’t mentally stable they release you, certain hospitals have high value beds and require commitments from patients to their treatments.
If you are as sick as I was though, 5 weeks is how long it takes to crawl out of the ward. You learn to do what is necessary to satisfy release requirements. They then quietly pack up your file and make it as though you were never there. The project of attaining release is more therapuedic than anything other than strong chemicals to getting out of the hospital. It gives you focus and purpose, and that is all anyone needs to prove they aren’t depressed, even if inside you’re dying so long as you function they consider you well.
Then eventually through outpatient therapy you can learn to make sure you don’t return to that horrid yet necessary building, mine had frosted windows and low cielings, and of course it was filled with crazy people. Some of them were even patients, but there’s an equal measure of insanity among administration and staff.
Signed-
A former psych tech at one nut house and also former patient at a different mental institution
15 comments
Hello Daisy
It depends on the laws of the state/country you live in. However, in most cases, if a person is a danger to themselves or others (as judged by a professional) they can be forced to stay in a psych ward. The length of the stay can be shortened by requests from family/friends/etc. And you can refuse most of the treatments while you’re there.
im British, but honestly dont think anyone gives enough fucks to waste their time. Lucky me for a change
Ah ok, yes, it works like that there too, except I think that only family and professionals can shorten your stay. That’s clearly not true, considering that a friend helped you when you reached out to them. And, I don’t think you need to worry about involuntary commitment just yet, except if a mental health professional had a session with you in the hospital and the possibility of it was floated around.
There’s no shame in not succeeding with an attempt. There’s also no shame in not feeling a sudden will for life after it. Every person experiences it differently, some see it as a second chance, others see it as a tragedy. However, it does provide an opportunity to take stock of your life, where you are, what you have, what you don’t have, etc.
No, in the UK and USA, the “mental health” card is as good as calling you a criminal and stripping you of all your rights. The only thing that may help shorten your stay is if you get a bunch of people raising a big stink and telling them to let you go. (Obv you can’t do this yourself because they’ll just deem you hysterical and lock you up longer)
Oh also if you’re dirt poor with no family or insurance, they’ll let you go sooner. I’ll give you 1 guess why that is.
I’m not going to fill you with bs. If it’s a mental health issue, even if it’s not but they say it is, you’re screwed. Enjoy the free juice and cookies. The beds suck.
Honestly my mind is currently filled with fantasies of jumping off the hospital roof – would take that over the crummy beds anytime
lol sorry for laughing but that really is funny in an ironic way.
They wonder why we act psychotic, and I’m convinced it’s from sleep deprivation from those sucky beds. They aren’t even beds so much as armchairs that recline 45 degrees where they had me locked up. Anyway I hope you get to at least lie flat (and I don’t mean on the pavement after jumping off the roof).
They can legally force you to if they deem you a harm to yourself. If you try to break out or anything then you are in massive trouble. Be careful what you tell them. Play it safe. I’ve never been, but I heard stories.
In the US.
Idk about you but in my state, Georgia, they can legally hold you for 1 whole year. But chances are you won’t be there nearly that long. Don’t jailbreak. It’s a lot harder in real life than in capture the flag. Of course if they put me in one, I’m gonna try to get out.
Well besides being clinically depressed, I know for a fact that today’s irrational thoughts came from the inability to sleep because a bloody bomb was going on in a sleeper’s nostril last night and i have not yet slept due to the overly friendly ward mates and the ‘dont let her close the curtains, ALWAYS WATCH THE DEPRESSED GIRL AT ALL TIMES’ rule.
That’s why I’m going out without letting anyone know ahead of time. I’ve already started inviting people to my funeral. They think I’m inviting them to a big party. I don’t want to end up in a ward. Too crazy and it cost too much money. What did you do?
I didn’t tell anyone either – that is until I was ready to pass out from the sickness – I never realised that my physical illness would take over in that moment but it did. I didn’t think i could physically hold on until I fainted and so called the ambulance myself. I’ve heard it before but honestly, paracetamol overdoses are fucking painful. I was next to a river too, should have thrown the phone. Ofcourse I could have handled the physical pain, the mental pain was the killer. And now I’m left with the guilt of saving myself. Also, sorry that was a very selfish rant. Depression does that huh? I’m not going to wish you a change of heart, but a peaceful ending, whether that is recovery or.. death. X
Not selfish, I asked. You’re all good. Idk if I’m depressed. Thanks. I’ve been debating in my mind whether help is an option. I should be able to handle everything myself with my logic and judgement, but if something is wrong with me mentally how can I trust my logic and judgement? Death seems to be the best option in my eyes, but everyone else thinks help is the answer.
I don’t think so if someone reports you for being on the verge and capable of making a suicide attempt then they can drag you away wherever they want you with no consent of your own. But I have found recently you need to actually have the means and intent to attempt for them to take you without your consent. If you have no way or plan to hurt yourself (commit) they can’t legally take you just for having suicidal feelings/ thoughts without your consent. I don’t know why because committing suicide is perfectly legal. I think they want to brain wash you or something because they are idk, religious?
Hospitalization mostly just means a diagnosis, a pill cocktail and you will just feel worse overall.
Best to keep suicidal feelings to yourself and if you are committing make sure no one is around and you haven’t told anyone you know beforehand.. but you can leave goodbye letters and such that will be found after, or else you have to deal with interference which you may not want.
Telling someone you are suicidal now can ruin the rest of your life so I would just try to feel better…..
As far as staying entirely out of the hospital; hard but doable. There are things you can say and do to demonstrate self control and ability to cope, even if internally such things are not there.
Where I live you can get out of observation in 24-48 hours, by law if you are stable enough and don’t want to be there, you’re gone. Sometimes if you aren’t mentally stable they release you, certain hospitals have high value beds and require commitments from patients to their treatments.
If you are as sick as I was though, 5 weeks is how long it takes to crawl out of the ward. You learn to do what is necessary to satisfy release requirements. They then quietly pack up your file and make it as though you were never there. The project of attaining release is more therapuedic than anything other than strong chemicals to getting out of the hospital. It gives you focus and purpose, and that is all anyone needs to prove they aren’t depressed, even if inside you’re dying so long as you function they consider you well.
Then eventually through outpatient therapy you can learn to make sure you don’t return to that horrid yet necessary building, mine had frosted windows and low cielings, and of course it was filled with crazy people. Some of them were even patients, but there’s an equal measure of insanity among administration and staff.
Signed-
A former psych tech at one nut house and also former patient at a different mental institution