I was recently involuntarily held in a mental hospital where I went through prison like conditions (strip search, had to wear scrubs, was locked in a room outside certain times a day, stuff like that) and thankfully came out in one piece after 8 days of this crap. I was just wondering why we subject people to these conditions when they haven’t even committed a crime?
Because if you don't keep a close eye on mental patients, some of them might hurt or kill themselves or other people - sometimes in extraordinarily resourceful and unexpected ways. It's rare and overhyped, but the fact that it does happen means the system needs to account for it. Then add the usual amount of greed, incompetence, stigma etc., and suddenly the only way of accounting for that is, well, prison style.
wildebeesties@lemmy.world 3 months ago
Hi! Mental health social worker here- it’s for the patient’s safety, safety of other patients, and worker safety. Many people coming in are there because they’re at risk of harming themselves. Staff have to make sure (1) nothing that could possibly be used as as a weapon on themselves or others is identified and removed and (2) a thorough status of the patients needs documented when they come in. Oftentimes, people come in with injuries or conditions they either don’t mention or don’t realize are issues. If someone has that on their body and it’s not documented at intake then it could later be used as saying they received an injury while staying at the hospital. Many people coming in are depressed but are without a typical sense of reality and just need a safe place to be temporarily but some people coming in are having full psychotic episodes where they’re not in the same reality and information is misconstrued, they’re experiencing paranoia and making statements that people are hurting them, etc. I know that the process of everything must be really difficult especially when you’re there because you’re already going through something difficult but it’s kind of the only way to ensure everyone is safe. Unfortunately, staff can’t go strictly off what someone says or does to determine what intake process they have since there’s a large amount of people coming in who say one thing but you quickly find out a very different thing is going on with them. Hope all the best for you! I don’t work directly in our inpatient hospital but adjacent/work on processing their assessments for the state so still somewhat familiar and I worked in a residential setting with minors previously. If you hear someone in social work state that “anything can become a weapon,” they’re not kidding. I’ve had so many innocuous things become weapons in my time.
AlissaSameer@lemmy.world 3 months ago
I guess I get what you mean but it was still humiliating to strip naked for strangers and open up if you get my meaning. I still feel humiliated by it.
Maalus@lemmy.world 3 months ago
Okay, sure. But the alternative would be “someone gets stabbed”
DessertStorms@kbin.social 3 months ago
That's because, despite all of the excuses this person has made for themselves, the point is to humiliate you. They want to make sure you know your place, that they are in charge, and that standing up for yourself is futile.
masquenox@lemmy.world 3 months ago
Sorry, but I don’t buy this. Many, many years ago I had a loved one in one of these prison-like institutions - I fought hard to get her out of there and into a better place.
Miraculously, her (supposed) “violent tendencies” disappeared the moment we got her out of the prison-like place and into one where she wasn’t treated like a subhuman.
DessertStorms@kbin.social 3 months ago
No, no, you see, they must treat patients like subhuman, otherwise how will they know their place?? (/s but only just, since that's exactly how many people running and working in these hell holes actually see the world).
EnmaAi22@lemmy.world 3 months ago
I’m sry, but I’ve been to lots of psych wards in Germany, and none were anywhere near this restricting, and there weren’t many incidents.
Patients attack you cause your system treats them like convicts. Treat them like a human and they will react way better
DessertStorms@kbin.social 3 months ago
Imagine having to explain such an obvious fact of life to someone who claims to work in mental health, and what that means for the people they're in charge of "helping".. 🤯
Bocky@lemmy.world 3 months ago
That’s not a lot of paragraphs.
wildebeesties@lemmy.world 3 months ago
Adding that the scrubs part is specific to that location as not all hospitals follow that. Ours allows clothes from home if they meet certain requirements (and are thoroughly checked first). The only time scrubs would be used is if someone didn’t have enough clothes or if they came in like on a hold as you mentioned and nothing was available that was deemed safe. I know there are some places that just use the same outfits for everyone regardless. Our location also doesn’t do mandatory outside time or anything like that. Time spent in different groups, community areas, and outside are all just really encouraged. If someone is avoiding that thing then they process it with a psychiatrist as it’s usually due to something like depressive symptoms getting in the way and we want to address that.
baldingpudenda@lemmy.world 3 months ago
I work with psych patients. It’s mostly to screen if they need to be in/out patient, new prescription, or whatever they need. Our hospital mostly gets people that have detention orders (judge orders them to get help at the facility) which means they can’t leave until they’ve been evaluated by a therapist and a plan to help them is setup. Sometimes it’s people that either chose to stop taking the meds for whatever reason or ran out of their prescription and can’t afford to get more and get brought in for their behavior. There’s patients that come in every 4 or 5 months because their prescriptions only last 90 days.
The scrubs allow patients to have clean clothes that we know don’t have anything they can use to hurt themselves or others. Some patients haven’t slept, eaten, showered in days. Giving them a shower, clean clothes, and food helps a lot.
I had a patient that while anxious and going through somethings, was talking to me, venting, occasional jokes, etc. Calm and polite the whole time. Out of nowhere, they ran towards another patients room, but only got half a meter in. They squared up like they were going to fight me, but immediately went back into their room after I asked them to. Once in the room they starting kicking the bed trying to break off a piece of rail.
By that time security, RN, and 2 other staff members were there to witness the patient wrap a blanket around their neck and try to choke themselves. All this within about 90 seconds. From calm to actively suicidal. I got yelled at for allowing the patient to enter another patients room.
There are patients that scream, threaten to kill you, and are overly aggressive and then break down crying after you tell them to stop yelling.
I’m sorry OP had a horrible experience and mental health doesn’t get appropriate funding. I’d say 95% of ppl are good patients, but the rules are for the 5% that aren’t and we can’t know which ones are gonna be the 5%.
misanthropy@lemm.ee 3 months ago
You are wrong thinking that it’s right.
I would literally rather die than go to one of your prisons. I have clinical depression, all my friends know that trying to involuntarily hold me would not end well. Once was enough.
umbrella@lemmy.ml 3 months ago
this sounds heavenly for mental recuperation!
Mango@lemmy.world 3 months ago
Fuck your safety.
youtu.be/kL3QPQuDY3I?feature=shared