Psych Ward Patient Suggestions by Listener “Charli Seahorse”
Describe your experience either as a patient, staff member or visitor.
I certainly learned some things about being in a psych ward! If anyone ever ends up there, here are some pointers for dealing with
patients and staff. For patients- Do not be overly critical of others and never say anything that could be interpreted as demeaning,
accusing or inflammatory, even if you see someone breaking the rules or doing something that seems stupid to you. Do not comment
on anyone’s personal hygiene. I was in the ward for only 2 weeks and saw four physical altercations that were all started by words like
“You’re stupid, you’re dumb, you’re being an asshole.
” Try to use words like “I won’t even discuss that, I need to be alone right now, I’m
going to leave” if there is a person bothering you or aggravating you. If someone is clearly making a mistake or passively including you
in a problematic moment, either leave and have nothing to do with it or quietly let staff know. You’re not there to police or heal the other
patients. People will gossip about other patients- be polite when it happens but don’t repeat it or take things you hear as the absolute
truth. There will be people who act strangely, creepy, or make you uncomfortable, just be polite and avoid them and its unlikely that
you’ll have any issues. The exception is with your roommate, if you’re sharing a room. Be as kind as possible to them, but if they do
ANYTHING that makes you uncomfortable or scared then discreetly tell staff immediately with the goal to change rooms. Tell staff
what happened, why you’re worried, and firmly insist that a plan be in place to get you to a sense of safety. Both sexual assault and
false sexual assault allegations are common occurrences in psych wards, so never, ever let a lewd comment slip, and never accept or
ignore an advance or a creepy moment without reporting it immediately. I would recommend to never even discuss anything remotely
sexual with any other patient outside of monitored therapeutic settings. That said, the other patients are in the vast majority not scary,
not troublesome, not any danger at all. They are almost always interesting though! Talk to people, be sociable within limits, be kind
and show equanimity, generosity, and good faith because the other people are probably going to be your only refuge from the intense
boredom of the place.
Dealing with staff- Staff obviously like to see calm, regulated, and sociable patients that have good sense of boundaries. If the staff
have a high opinion of you, they will give you better care and better attention. This is not because they are bitter or resentful but just a
fact about the abilities of hospital staff. People, including staff, have biases, hangups, prejudices, and soft spots. Appreciate and
remember staff that go out of their way to be kind, understanding, helpful and friendly. Tread lightly around staff that are obviously
burnt out, short-tempered, or just give you the ick. If a staff member gets angry, rude, or short with you, just try to let it go and find
something else to focus on for the moment unless it is abusive or an emergency. Dealing with staff is often a matter of patience,
sometimes waiting for the next shift where someone more sympathetic to your needs might be working. Shift changes are important- if
you notice the shift change and something you spoke to a staff about in the previous shift seems forgotten, bring it up again. The staff
may change on weekends or holidays to people that are much less familiar with the ward and therefore sometimes less competent to
deal with things- treat weekends or holidays as times to not to rock the boat unless necessary. Make the absolute most of your one-
on-one time with the actual doctor. They may be relatively rare moments, and your assigned doctor is essentially the god of your
freedom, privileges, certainty of getting needed comforts, etc. Advocate strongly for your needs in doctor meeting, even if the needs
don’t seem purely “medical.
” Generally, if you’re calm and respectful you can ask for what you want or need any staff will do their best
to help you.
General Advice- Figure out where the snacks are kept and what you like. Pay attention to availability. Feel free to ask for snacks and
blankets liberally. Try to eat as much of the lukewarm cafeteria slop as possible. Journal and make art as much as possible. Don’t
expect much in the way of musical stimulation, though possibly the rare staff member might indulge you with a requested song from
their phone if you’re in group, on a walk or away from the main area of the ward. Experiment with reading the terrible, random books
they might have. A somewhat niche awfulsome moment from my stay was reading the book “The Metamorphosis” by Kafka, and just
being flabbergasted that of all the books to have in a psych ward they had THAT one on the shelf.
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