Feelings on a Psychiatric Ward

by Mina

I was recently admitted to a psychiatric ward for about ten days.

My first response was disbelief.   It had been a year since my last admittance.  I had been well and bipolar disorder had not got the better of me.  So disappointment and disbelief were my initial emotions.

I basically slept on and off for the first three days.  The medications enabled my behaviour and mind to calm down, I guess.

So on day four or five, I decided to enter the open ward and leave my room.   I had decided that I did not want to interact with anyone, and initially kept to myself.   By this time, I had accepted the situation, and was keen to get better, so that I could go back home.

Being on a ward can sometimes be frightening, as you encounter different types of mental health behaviours.

For instance, someone kept throwing things around in the common area every time they were out of their room.  They had to be removed or sometimes restrained by two or more staff.  Seeing their pain and frustration often touched me.

There were also cliques, amongst the patients.   So there was an issue of loneliness.  However, I decided to approach a lady, by smiling at the dinner time and making small conversation.

One thing I realised was everybody was hurting to a certain degree, emotionally and sometimes physically.   So stretching out a hand of friendship meant the world to some individuals.

I decided to make my time on the ward all about engaging with a few people: sometimes they would talk about their illness.  But often they would talk about their families and what they did when not in the hospital

One thing that kept me positive was my faith in God.  Reading the Bible, and singing to myself kept my hopeful.

An emotion that some individuals sadly did not have was hope.   Sometimes I would encourage an individual by telling that that God loved them, and this experience would only last a season. I often said better days were coming.

Finally I would say being on the ward, one should take the medication right from the start.   It did help to calm me down and get a perspective on matters: whilst I was on the ward.

by W. Smith

Please share your comments about your experiences on a psychiatric ward.  It may bless or help someone.  Thank you.

About The Author

Defying Mental Illness

Chuck and Zoe are the founders of Defying Mental Illness (DMI), a Community Interest Company. Guest bloggers have played a very enriching role in making this website a highly recognized website for mental health advocacy. To contribute a blog, please contact us.

Defying Mental Illness – Put a Full Stop, is an organization with a mandate to reach out to those faced with mental health challenges to help them not only defy the disease, but also put a full stop to the stigma and discrimination. Chuck and Zoe are often invited to speak on various platforms including radio and television.

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