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.

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.

Okay, sure. But the alternative would be “someone gets stabbed”

I’d rather be stabbed since I have a death wish

It's not just you that they're worried could get stabbed, it could be anyone.

I took some psych courses in University and one of my profs was full of anecdotes about patients he'd cared for, there were people who were perfectly nice and calm and then in a split second something would go unpredictably wrong and they'd be savagely attacking whoever they could get their hands on.

And then a moment later they'd be beside themselves with dismay over having "lost it", apologizing sincerely and profusely. He said it was really hard keeping on your toes in there. He permanently lost his hearing in one ear when one of his patients slapped him out of the blue one time, to both of their surprise. If anything remotely like a weapon was easily accessible it could go very badly.

I'm sorry your experience was unpleasant, and of course I can't remotely speak to it myself - it was your experience, not mine. But it could be that the stuff that was done was for everyone's protection.

Thanks but they had no reason to think I’m going to hurt others

I think you may have missed a significant chunk of what I wrote. The prof told me that they couldn't know who was going to try to hurt others. Often the patients themselves didn't know whether they were going to hurt others.

I’m not a nutcase so there’s no threat of that.

You may not be a nutcase, but you’re definitely lacking understanding for others. How is anyone supposed to know you’re not a nutcase? Only you are able to know that. It’s simply impossible for anyone else except if they knew you for many years.

Uh…Im sure the default assumption isnt that youre crazy

You may be sure, but then you would be wrong.

You assume everyones a fruitcake?

Only when you’re in the process of being admitted to a mental hospital.

I guess no ones been wrongly committed

They have, but the exact same reason applies. How does anyone know someone is wrongly committed, except for the person themselves? It’s hard and not possible without a decent time investment. Before that time is invested though, safety procedures have to be followed.

Well they won’t be so safe if I ever go back