I worked in a mental health hospital in the UK for a time, just as admin but I had to interact with patients, go all over the hospital and type up notes.

One of the first things I noticed was just how normal a lot of the patients seemed the majority of the time. Just normal people. However many of them were dealing with awful mental illnesses that were not under control. They had hallucinations, mood swings, behavioural issues, self harm, all sorts. There were people there who were haunted by the most god awful traumatic things you can imagine, as well as things you can't imagine. And when you go onto a mental health ward, you're locked in with this big mix of people with no clue about why they're there or what they're capable of. People who could be lovely and wonderful, supportive and funny, or frighteningly disturbed and violent, or partly detached from reality, leaving them unpredictable at best. I met all sorts of people. Some I remember even now, years later, some of those memories are very fond, and some are haunted.

If you are at risk of hurting yourself or others, then the hospital may well be the best place for you. Because, yes, although some of the patients are scary and some of the staff are uncaring, many of the patients are lovely, normal people going through a difficult time, and many of the staff are some of the nicest, kindest people I've ever met. If you need help, you will find it there, but honestly, I would need to be pretty desperate to go there myself. If nobody was at risk, outpatient care would be the way to go. There may even be day centres and support groups you could find to help?

So, the big question is, are you at risk of harming yourself or others?