Mental Hospital Essay

The Experiences of Being a Patient in a Mental Hospital

Most people may think that the only reason why a person may or may not become a mental hospital patient is because of his/her mental state, but this is not necessarily true.

There are some other factors that influence the admission of a person into a mental hospital. People may volunteer themselves or the state may confine the individual to a mental hospital. In addition to these two factors, social class as well as other factors matter. According to Cockerham, Peggy Thoits and Ranae Evenson conclude that "educated and affluent persons with psychiatric problems are more likely than less educated and low-income persons to seek mental hospitalization" (232). Not every admitted person has the same experiences as other patients, and this could be due to the efficiency of public and private hospitals.

The medical treatment in a private hospital may be more accommodating for patients than public hospitals. In comparison to public hospitals, private hospitals are more likely to have more trained staff in different fields, which can provide the specific support and treatment that the patient needs. Some patients may feel that their hospitalization

This could be problematic for those patients who end up in a mental hospital without being mentally ill. This is similar to the jail and prison situation. The more time inmates spend incarcerated, the more likely they will adapt and learn the prison subculture, which can cause them to recidivate upon release. In both environments, everything is given to them, there is a strict schedule, there is no privacy, and the purpose of being hospitalized or incarcerated is to "treat" the mental patient or the inmate, but most of the time this does not