Have you ever been committed to a mental ward?

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I was in one for teenagers after I attempted suicide. They give you pencils without erasers, notebooks without metal spines. They let you only keep one stuffed animal, and only after a few days or so. They don't let you keep hair brushes unless you beg for them (only one person got away with this though). They make you go to a group session and talk about things, which I always talked about wanting to go home. They make you watch info-based movies and tv shows and people who come in to do some kind of thing about how to live healthy and happy. They think you're crazy, all of you, or full of crap. I never made any friends there except another girl who had my name. And even then, that was the end of all that for a friendship. They make you eat at specific times and specific things, but not all the time, so I never got to eat what I wanted to eat. If you're good you might be able to go to the cafeteria to eat better food. You also have to talk to psychiatrists and psychologists one on one. They make you do school work. They wanted to keep me there for a month, but I couldn't stand it! I wanted OUT! I couldn't play runescape, I couldn't listen to my music. I couldn't do anything with my family. I couldn't sleep with my bed, my cloths, my blanky. I couldn't eat the foods that my mom made. It was worse keeping me in there than to not, so they released me after a week, especially because all my journals ever consisted of was how much I wanted out of this stupid place.

If you have to pee any time than what they say you can pee, then you have to sing your ABCs while you pee, so the person behind the door knows you're not making yourself puke.

They put me on a bunch of meds, like lexapro. It was okay for a day, great first high, like they say antidepressants give, then BOOM! nothing really to notice, and all this seeing people and things really made me worse.

Yea, like I said earlier, hospitalization is contraindicated in cases of AS. It occasionally makes people worse than before.

Surprisingly, no.

I did find myself very close to being sectioned a few months back because I was very depressed and my therapist was concerned because I had made a plan, formulated a method, etc. She somehow mustered enough faith in me to figure I could just survive the weekend, and I repaid her faith.

heh, I was diagnosed with epilepsy and ADHD before being in that place. They tacked on OCD, ODD, deep depression, and then later bipolar after being in that place. Screwed my life up entirely, I guess. I had a lot of problems trying to remember everything around this time in my self-observation process. It was a major mindblock because of all the stress I suffered from being in there and not getting the right diagnosis, I guess you could say. Just aspergers and epilepsy. And I'm working on the diagnosis.

And something else I forgot to mention: in order to get state funding for my 7-month stay, they wrote on record that I was "a danger to myself and those around me"! That was the only way the state would pay. Now 30 years later and never even causing any trouble for anyone, I can't get a job in CA if I wanted to... An employer cannot get workmans comp insurance if there is anyone on the payroll with my "dangerous" record. And thanks to real sociopaths out there, this type of record is for LIFE, even if 100 doctors would testify it was a mistake, or even a lie to get state funding.

Charles

Never - but I can point to several periods when I easily might have been. My sister was, and I wondered how they missed me. She did not have a happy time.

Everyone reading should remember this - if you do feel suicidal or self-harmful, then visit an emergency room. It may save your life.

No. Don't visit emergency rooms for simple self-injury unless you've accidentally injured yourself to the point where you need medical attention. There's still much too much of the assumption that it's a "suicidal gesture" or, if they understand that it isn't, they will think it's a great deal more serious than it actually is. In the grand scheme of things, self-injury is less dangerous than sleeping around, less dangerous than getting falling-down drunk or abusing drugs, less dangerous than picking fights. And, like those things, it's a maladaptive coping mechanism. (Usually. It can also be a stim.)

Self-injury is not an emergency. Being suicidal, yes. Being preoccupied with suicide. Minor suicide attempts, yes. But not self-injury. Most of the time, the worst danger is that you'll get bruises or cuts or bites or burns or whatever you do; and unless you are prone to some kind of SI which can be harmful in and of itself (some people will take minor overdoses, break bones, or bang their heads to the point of concussion), then there is no good reason to go to an emergency room.

Don't do it. They'll only assume you're semi-psychotic, "obviously" mentally ill, and pathologize you. While, yes, you may have a mental illness (some self-injurers do not), that doesn't mean you need to be hospitalized. SI is not an indication that mental illness is severe, and it is not a severe problem by itself. To tell if the problem is severe, you have to look at the problem itself, not just check whether the person is trying to cope by hurting themselves.

If you happen to get an injury that is obviously self-inflicted and needs medical treatment, you can often avoid being hospitalized. Stress that you are not suicidal, that the severity of the injury was accidental, and that you feel you are better off in out-patient therapy (which, you should explain, you are regularly attending).

Hey you guys I really some help. I believe my family is going to try commit me. There REALLY is nothing wrong with me though it's group abuse. Singling one out and making everything their fault. So most of the time they treat me wrong first, I nicely stick up for myself because they treated me wrong first, and they make that my fault. One of them even said it's ok to treat me wrong, and the group thing the rest just go along with it. That's really twisted it's really messed up how they do that. Mean to me, blame me, when I'm not even doing anything wrong. Anyway I called some numbers to try to protect myself somehow, and of course no one helps because automatically think something is wrong with you. A few weeks ago 2 of them harassed me badly at the same time because I didn't know anyone needed to see me that day and so I wasn't ready for it, I knew no one was coming to see me, and they wouldn't wait to talk to me calmly when I was available. They should have waited but they didn't want to instead they yelled, called me bad names, etc. all because they didn't want to wait to see me when set a family date with them. They made that all my fault too. They have been acting very strangely lately. I know they really stick together to gang up on me when I'm not even doing anything wrong several of them. It's a lot like cinderella where she could never win with people like that they wanted to make her miserable. I just have a big feeling, I've never had it before that they are going to try to do the worst this time and try to have me committed. When I'm not even doing anything wrong. I've never had this feeling before and never have this happen. So I'm just trying to prepare in case they do. I have no emotional problems, I only know no one is supposed to be harassed for no reason and there is nothing wrong with that.

What do I do? How can protect myself so that if they try, they can't, I have protection. Can I fill out some sort of prereport of knowing I am personally violated, something that states unfair treatment by family. So that if they do I have some evidence? Any other tips would sure be helpful. I can't mail something like that to any friend because they'll just think, well you know. I also can't miss anywork because its a small own business as well as other, and it would cause extreme damage to my business major losses if they did that. I definitely do not trust it something like that could really be up. They always turn most things into my fault that aren't. Please let me know thank you very much for your help.

Also no family has ever told me they think anything is wrong with me. They are not supposed to keep that from a person that they think something is wrong with them if anyone does to someone, keeps that from them. Then just commit them when the person hasn't even been talked to about it.

People are supposed to be talked to about it discuss it if someone thinks someone is.
Not just commit them when they haven't even been talked to about it.

I'm not on any medication like that and am not in any counseling, I don't need it they do.

I did found out in counseling many years ago, my family is abusive, overly aggressive, and do the group abuse. Counselors told me my family was the one with the problem. This is what they do:

Victim blaming (or blaming the victim) is holding the victim (s) of a crime, an accident, or any type of abusive maltreatment to be entirely or partially responsible for the transgressions committed against them. Victim-blaming has traditionally emerged especially in racist. It is also about holding individuals responsible for their own personal distress or difficulties instead of attributing responsibility to the transgressors who caused it.

Please help.

NO! Don't I tried that once and was going to be locked up against my will with the criminaly insane. I've been obsessed with sucide and dying since childhood and have been commited three times and every time it just made me worse. They do no know Jack s**t about autism or AS in those places and will dope you up on substances and force you to socolize. When you announce that you like to be alone, they freak out. I'd personaly rather be dead than be in one of those places again.

Never been committed but should have numerous times. I'm always going to be one that slips through the cracks and gets no help until the ultimate worst happens.

I've been to a few psyche wards for suicidal behavior... I hate it in those places. When I was a teenager and I would be admitted I felt safe like it was a calm place to be where I could actually get better from a severely depressed episode. Now I'm in my 20's and those places are very scary. The last time I went they thought there was something really wrong with me because I was terrified by almost everybody. I'm not sure that's all that hard to believe when your roommate looks like a serial killer rapist Not to mention many of the people there were just as scary. When I've been admitted more recently in the past I find myself just saying I'm very upset and scared... not insane. To be put in a closed in place with scary people is a nightmare. I'd rather kill myself than go back to a scary place like that

The last time I went I was so afraid of my roommate that I asked if I could sleep somewhere else. They said I could sleep in the padded quiet room... I happily said yes.

So where does one go to get help so that they aren't committed when they shouldn't even be. Like many of you shouldn't have been committed also. Please let me know thanks, must be somewhere to go and get help and like many of you got help when you shouldn't have been committed.

Are you living with your family? If you are on your own, you are less likely to be committed.

I am neither a medical professional nor a lawyer, so do not take my comments as Word Of God, ok?

From my understanding, in most jurisdictions there is virtually nothing you can do pre-emptively to avoid involuntary commitment. It's called "involuntary" for a reason. Basically, it's an emergency intervention to prevent the person from doing something irreversible. If someone jumps through the proper legal hoops to swear that they believe you to be a danger to yourself or others, and convinces the "appropriate authorities" that they have reason to think that, you can expect to be committed for observation. In most US states that means up to 72 hours, in order for them to determine if the allegations are correct. If not, you are released. If so, a court order of commitment would have to be issued.

My best suggestion would be for you to do as much as you can to be prepared to provide proof that you are not a danger. Do you have any diagnosis at this time? Are you seeing a shrink or therapist? If so, make them aware of your concerns, and make sure you know how to contact them if it becomes necessary. Do you have any friends/coworkers/teachers/etc that could vouch for you? Make sure you know how to get in touch with them - keep their numbers in your wallet or purse, so you don't have to remember them when you're stressed.

I hope you end up not needing any of my suggestions, but if you do, I hope they help.