I was admitted into a pysch ward when I was 12, almost 13. Pretty young. Or at least I thought so, there was 7 yros admitted as well. Overall I had a good experience. I was the type of kid to be extremely skeptical and not trusting, but I truly felt like the people there genuinely cared. Had group therapy three times a day, and "school" on the weekdays. We didn't go outside but we had gym days where we'd play basketball. Felt like rehabilitative prison. Food was absolutely c**p, and some of the therapists I met with very obviously could care less. It was just a job to them. Listen to the pyschotic kid talking, give him drugs and tell him to not kill himself every time you see him. They did the absolute bare minimum when it came to sorting out family issues, which was the cause of my suicidal ideation. I remember I wasn't the greatest person either. There was therapists/pyschologists who talked with us and therapists who took care of us. Looking back at it, I was definitely a pain to deal with. But they put up with me, and were so very kind. I'll never forget these people. Especially the guy I played chess with. He was funny. The kids I can't comment much on but I met people going through what I was going through at that age. And they became sort of my new family while I was staying there. For everyone that got admitted as an adult, I'm truly sorry our experiences are so drastic. It's absolutely horrible. There shouldn't be a difference in how mentally ill individuals are taken care of, not by age at least.
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