vertigoJan 31, 2025
Mike 🇬🇧 🇪🇺

For no good reason I was thinking about our daughter's long stay in the psychiatric hospital.

There were a lot of patients on the ward (possibly about 2/3) who never got any visitors.
Where were their families, spouses, parents, children? Not to mention freinds?

The ward staff were delighted that our daughter had visits and support from her parents, brother, neices and work-collegues - she was certainly the exception among the patients.
I like to think that our support helped in her recovery, I definitely think it made her stay there more bearable.

If you know of someone receiving long term hospital care - psychiatric or otherwise - please don't abandon them. Make an effort. It won't always be easy, but doing good isn't always the easy road.

#MentalHealth #hospitals #Carers

Jan 31, 2025 at 10:14amWeb
Show threadRastaJan 31, 2025
@MikeFromLFE Thanks for mentioning that Mike. Decades ago, whenever I was visiting a friend or relative, I'd also visit unknown people. My mom was in the hospital for 70 days once. Everyone on the ward knew me. I'm ADHD, extroverted and have the gift of gab. In my experience, it takes so little effort to talk to them. They perk right up, and I enjoy their company too.
Except for being suspicious, I'd like to visit the elderly home, because I know many are just lonely and need to talk to someone
Show threadPreston Maness ☭Jan 31, 2025
@MikeFromLFE When I was stuck in a psych ward for a mere few days, the visits and calls from family were hugely helpful. Can't imagine trying to solo navigate that clusterfuck of a system for months at a time.
Show threadjforJan 31, 2025

@MikeFromLFE

A very good post.

I was in hospital for altogether 6 months last year and although I have no recollection of the first 6 weeks, incl. 4 wks in a coma, in hindsight I am grateful that a friend and my daughter came to visit me. Even when I was unconscious or garbled unintelligible 'words'.
I am sure that helped me to recover (from a brainbleed due to aneurysm) as well as I did - I am here!

Also when visiting, bring toothpaste, a blank diary or notebook and a pen.

Show threadAndreJan 31, 2025
@MikeFromLFE when I was last in hospital for surgery the weekend was the boring time. Nothing much happened inside, not enough news and no new people. Back when I was on neurosurgery station there was that one huge balcony where people met to smoke and talk. By now smoking is prohibited and I guess not a lot of people meet there.
Show threadMobile Suit GolemJan 31, 2025
@MikeFromLFE i visited my friend many times "at the spa" (as my mother calls it). We talked, watched TV, played some chess/checkers. Me and 1 other friend were the only ones to go visit (save for his family). Everyone else kind of abandoned him. We have drifted in the many years since. I should see how he is doing.
Show threadZipJan 31, 2025

@MikeFromLFE I've spent a great deal of time in psych wards. Speaking only for myself; I prefer it when my loved ones do NOT come and see me.

EDIT: I should add that I think this only goes for people who've been in the ward for about six months or less at a time. When I've been in there for the long haul and stabilized somewhat, I feel differently. It also might be substantially different for folks who have been voluntarily committed

Show threadJamesWNealJan 31, 2025
@MikeFromLFE taking it a step further, if you have neighbors you suspect spend most of their time alone at home, might want to say hello now and then. It's become far too easy to create our own busy realities that blind us to what's happening right next door.
Show threadCharlotte WalkerJan 31, 2025
@MikeFromLFE When I’ve been in hospital the staff and my ward buddies have always been amazed at how often Tom comes to visit (he comes even when I tell him not to because he needs to rest). As you say, so many people have no one. I used to find out what people needed and get Tom to bring those things in. Most random thing was a bag of rocket to share when we hadn’t seen a salad item in weeks
Show threadLukeJan 31, 2025
@MikeFromLFE Hope your daughter is getting better. My brother has a lot of mental health problems and hasn't worked for 30 years because of them. Literally has no friends, no spouse, no colleagues obviously. Rest of the family (cousins, aunt&uncles) are 100s of miles away. If he were hospitalised it would be me and my elderly mother as visitors. I work full time and have a family and she isn't very mobile. Just pointing out that not everyone has the support networks to visit them sadly.
Show threadGuy who's trying his best :(Jan 31, 2025

@MikeFromLFE My little sister ran away a few months ago. Everyone suspects mental health issues. We've been told she's going she's going to get psychiatric evaluation.

But she's made wild legal accusations against everyone which we're still fighting in court. So even if anyone wanted to visit her (which I very much do, but most of us are far too afraid to) we can't

Show threadEdgedancingJan 31, 2025
@MikeFromLFE my dad had multiple strokes in the last 24 hours and staying with him through the night was the most gut-wrenching experience of my life. I needed this affirmation. Thank you.
Show threadClaus Cramon HoumannJan 31, 2025
@MikeFromLFE When our daughter needed help, we found out that girls were being raped in the local psychiatric ward. So she went to “Yes We Can” clinic in Holland. Best decision ever.
Show threadtyzbitJan 31, 2025

@MikeFromLFE As someone involuntarily committed to a psych ward twice for a week or more due to pre-diagnosis Bipolar I, I second this advice. Spending time there was mentally exhausting. You'd look forward to meals just because it was something different. Ever been in timeout? Imagine permanent timeout. Even those scheduled activities like drawing/coloring or going to group therapy you'd look forward to. I felt like my situation was probably the closest I'd get to what it's like to be in prison.

Visits from my family, it didn't matter who, I also cherished. I only had my dad's cell phone number memorized (memorize important phone numbers!) but I called him as often as I thought I could without being an annoyance.

The people who work there are also heroes. Who gracefully handle a patient having an extremely hard time and being verbally or physically abusive.

Show threadthefleetJan 31, 2025
@MikeFromLFE having been there myself, it really does help to have people supporting you by visiting.
Show threadRichelle SparrowJan 31, 2025

@MikeFromLFE

Sadly, my experiences were rather different. The ward staff did not appreciate my weekly visits to my daughter. There was the sense that they were blaming her issues on 'family issues'. Both my daughter and I are too smart for our own goods in an Evil Genius way. That undermined their illusions of authority and control.

Show threadJustin DerrickJan 31, 2025

@MikeFromLFE And when you do visit them, try to be kind to the people there, ask them if they need anything, and try to bring little gifts (approved by the staff of course)…

At my grandmother’s care home there was a woman in her 40’s who suffered a stroke in her 30’s…. And she rarely had anyone visit. I asked what she would like, and she said “a Walkman” - so we cleaned up on old iPad and loaded it up with a hundred albums from the 80’s, and showed her how to make playlists. :)

Show threadDavid McFarlaneFeb 2, 2025
@MikeFromLFE My sister spent time in hospitals and group homes with schizophrenia, and over time I became her sole family contact. I would visit her once a week or so. Staff would sometimes remark on how nice it was that I came, and how many other families never visited -- that always surprised me, as I felt that my visits were completely ordinary. Anyway, I also always tried to pay attention to others during my visits. Then again I am a member of #NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness).
Show threadRaineyDayFeb 5, 2025
@MikeFromLFE I've been in and out of psych hospitals for a big part of my life. Sometimes visitors were the only thing that made it bearable. Even if I just got a phone call from someone, it was enough for me to find a bright spot.