Life inside a state run mental hospital

As many of you know I have had my difficulties with mental illness. I was just released from Appalachian Behavioral Healthcare Hospital (Athens, Ohio) where I spent the last 11 weeks. This was my 21st admission to a mental hospital in the last 5 1/2 years. I have a severe case of Schizophrenia on top of having Major Depression Disorder, Borderline Personality Disorder, and Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD).
The world seems like it just slowly drifts by when you are locked up in a psych ward. Time is all you have on the ward as minutes bleed into hours and hours bleed into days. Nothing changes except the mentally ill that constantly has you surrounded. Ward 1 south was my home this time around and I was happy to see an old friend there named Phillip that has been a regular there at ABH with me over the years. It was at least nice to know I had a friend that had my back.

The process of being admitted to a state run mental hospital at least in Ohio anyway is Absolutely humiliating. First off you just can't walk into a mental hospital and admit yourself. You first have to go to an emergency room and be medically cleared. If you are under mental distress the process can seem almost inhumane. You are taken into a small room where you are stripped down to your underwear and told to put on a paper gown. You are then told by the doctor in charge of your care there at the ER that you are being "held" for a mental evaluation which can last from 4 hours to as long as three days in some cases. After blood is drawn and urine sample taken you have to wait, for the test results to come back, before you can see a mental evaluator who you can finally talk too. During this "Evaluation" you will be given the opprtunity to tell them what is going on. After the "evaluation" you will be given what is known in Ohio anyway as a "Pink Slip" this is the one way ticket into the hospital.

Once you are "Pink Slipped" and the hospital has agreed to take you as a patient, you will be transported via ambulance to the hospital. In most cases you will not be given your clothes back and are forced to wear the paper gown to the mental hospital. Once there at the hospital they will give you back your clothes after they have washed them. (they do this For Sanitary Reasons) If you only have the clothes on your back and no other change of clothing you will be issued state clothes to wear (sweat shirt, sweat pants).

Once you are met at the door at the state mental hospital you will be searched and forced to remove your bra (if female) and remove all your piercings and document all your tattoos (if you have any). Your picture will be taken by the state police at the hospital.
Every state of Ohio mental hospital has an office for the state police ( a division of the Ohio state Highway Patrol)
Once your picture is taken you will be weighed and height taken. After that a nurse will take you into an interview room where you will spend the next three hours going over your medical and mental history. If you come in Monday-Friday 8am -5pm you will see your psychiatrist the same day of your intake. If not you will have to wait until the next day or wait out the weekend if you come in late Friday.

That in a nutshell is how your processed in.


Once in you begin your "treatment" you will soon discover that the hospital is in control of your life. You are told when and what to eat and drink, When to take your medicine, when you can sleep, and when to wake up in the morning. This is not negotiable you will do what your told when you are told too this is the life inside a state run mental hospital you have no illusion of choice.

You soon learn that your psychiatrist has complete control of your life inside the mental hospital.

This is how life goes on the inside hospital long stretches of tedium punctated with psychotic outbursts from the mentally unstable patients who are both sad reminders of where you are and at times provide the only entertainment you see.

This is how my last 11 weeks have gone.

I am glad to be out and will answer all your questions about the hospital in this thread



~Erika~

maybe you can update your avatar pic

Creedmoore New York State 1979

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1yyS066sgk

Did you witness abuse by the employees?