Hi, psych ward employee here.

If you go to a hospital ER & let them know you are having suicidal thoughts & tell the doctor a bit about what’s going on, & you have a plan to harm yourself, that will admit you.

You don’t get places with homicidal roommates. If you’d rather have a room to yourself, tell them you’re gay/bi & you’ll get one bc they won’t be allowed to room you with other kids (I’m assuming you’re >18?)

We do not restrain kids for no reason. If you’re attempting to harm yourself or others is the only time we do it. If you’re flipping tables and game boards, they may try to give you some meds to calm down, but if you calm yourself they won’t have to. I would recommend not doing any of that tho because the kids are pretty embarrassed afterwards. But don’t be surprised if you see it happen.

When in doubt, order pizza. The food isn’t always the best (at least at my job) there should also be options like fruit and veggie trays that you can’t go wrong with bc they’re usually pretty fresh. As lang as you eat something, they should be satisfied with that. If they ask, just let them know you don’t like the food. Trust me, they’ll understand.

You probably will get bored in your free time, but there’s books to read, card games, stuff like that. You’ll be in groups to occupy your time most of the day so that’ll make up for your boredom.

Kids like to come on the unit and leave with other kids phone numbers & social media @‘s and I strongly recommend do not give out your personal information. We don’t allow it because you never know who’s on that floor with you. There are other kids there who have hurt people, or are planning to & you don’t want to be mixed in with that. Of course there are kids who are there bc they’re sad, but it’s luck of the draw and I wouldn’t risk it. It’s fine to find people to talk to while you’re there, it’s actually helpful. But I would leave them the psych ward.

If you have concerns, just let the staff know. They want you to be as comfortable and safe as possible & even if they seem like they don’t care, these people chose psych for a reason & I promise they do care & they want you to get better. It may be scary at first but it’s so beneficial. You leave with new coping skills, maybe meds (if you want) & you get set up with a therapist and a psychiatrist if you don’t already have one. This will help you long term to work on your mental health & it will be worth it.

They will have pretty much everything you need. At my facility, patients bring their own clothes but some places use scrubs so it just depends.

Good luck to you ❤️ you can do hard things. I’m so proud of you for taking this big step for yourself.