How to Survive in a Mental Hospital

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Being committed to a mental hospital can be very upsetting, even traumatizing. Here are some helpful tips to get through the experience with the least bumps and shortest duration.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Challenging

Things You’ll Need:

cigarettes
quiet activities

Step1

Make one or more friends

Step2

If you don't smoke, start, and get a pack for the staff to hold. If you do, make sure you have a pack that the staff will hold.

Step3

Stay outside of your room - in the hall or day room

Step4

Attend groups and participate

Step5

Do something that looks active but quiet (puzzle, drawing, journaling, etc.)

Step6

Ignore people screaming and flailing about

Step7

Do not fight with the workers. Nod and smile

Comments

demeter said

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on 3/7/2008 This made me laugh the most of any article I've read today. "If you don't smoke, start." :) All funniness aside, I don't think smoking is necessary to survive the psychiatric ward stay. I've done it twice without smoking a thing. I actually really enjoyed my stays in the hospital and didn't want to leave. I mean, you get 3 full meals a day that you don't have to work for. You get individual therapy every day (at least, I did). You get to attend interesting groups. There was a piano that I played when I bored. Art therapy is fun. Poetry therapy was cool. The other people on the ward were interesting, even when going off the deep end. It all felt very safe and cozy to me. Life on the "outside" can be very harsh and demanding. Just my two cents.

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