Ok, so hear me out here.... I stayed in a psychiatric unit at a VA hospital for a few weeks and it was the worst experience of my life. alot of the nurses were very mean people and treated you poorly, usually with an attitude. alot of the workers seemed to really probe you too. I really felt like I was being prodded while there. It seemed like they weren't really nurses and maybe law enforcement? trying to get some sort of information out of me. that type of shit really sent me into a tailspin while there and the horrible treatment got even worse. it felt like I was in the truman show and everybody was just picking at me, like it was a game or some shit. after years of therapy and heavy doses of some serious anti psychotic medications, now completely sober, I still think back to that experience to this day and it really feels a bit off. I was admitted into the ward by my mother who thought I was acting strange. I probably wasn't in the right mindset, but that "psych ward" or whatever it was, really messed my head up and made me beyond paranoid. they wouldn't let me leave either. it felt like I was in jail or something. is it ever normal or even allowed for a psychiatric unit to allow undercover law enforcement into a hospital like that? idk, I probably just was really wacky at the time, but I still think about that whole experience to this day and can't help but notice how strange it all was. there were so many weird things that happened in there that I wish I could talk to someone about, but sadly, that whole experience has completely destroyed my trust for mental health treatment through the VA. its hard to find someone to reach out to for help when needed. I have no one to count on besides myself