I can't say anything definitively about any health claims, but as someone who lives (and occasionally struggles) with very hard water, activated carbon filters absolutely do make a difference in regards to calcification at and around every tap/faucet.
I should probably set a timer or alarm of some sort, but it's easy to visually see when it's time to replace my filters.
I'm glad your cat was fine and just being a goober, and not anything more serious. I'm also glad to hear that you're doing any amount of better. Progress is very rarely a straight line, and almost always includes ups and downs.
How was your experience during inpatient care? Did it align or differ from the experiences discussed in this thread so far?
I hope you're doing better now. What were the circumstances that led to police involvement and what happened afterwards (if you don't mind me asking)?
Yeah pretty much. I would also write out nerdy things like the ASCII table, or do the math to figure out how many seconds I had been at the facility, and stuff like that. Of course using paper they provided and those damn bendy pens.
Ah yes, the phone that is out in the open so everyone gets to hear your side of the conversation.
I'm glad to hear that you've been doing better since then, and I hope your sister is doing well. I can't imagine how difficult it must be to work in a place like that.
I can't say for sure if anyone saw it as a positive experience overall, but while we were in there, the common feeling expressed was how much we all wanted to get out of there.
I fully agree that it's not a good place to recover from many mental health problems, but that's unfortunately the system that we have. The staff were trying their best, but both facilities were clearly underfunded and working with what they had.
It was even worse when the court was involved, because I had to speak with a lawyer regularly and attend court hearings over the phone. That only added to the stress of the situation.
Yeah group activities were one of the better ways of dealing with boredom and passing the time. I feel like the coping skills provided were overly generic, but that's to be expected when dealing with such a wide variety of people and issues.
The staff were absolutely always trying to do their best, there just weren't enough of them. At both facilities I went to, the ratio was around 1:10 or worse (as in 10+ patients for every staff member).
Yeah this basically aligns with my experience as well.
In my experience, there was no difference between getting talked down and surviving an attempt. I'm curious what differences you saw or experienced between the two, if you don't mind me asking.
I'm not sure what you're implying, but this has not been my experience in the US. Which country are you referring to?
After I was released, there were no follow ups or anything like that. It wasn't exactly easy to get back on my feet, but I've been living a normal and independent life for years.
I unfortunately have firsthand experience with this in the US.
First I was sent to the ER where I was placed under constant monitoring. I was interviewed by the medical staff as well as a case worker from the state, and given the option to voluntarily commit myself to a mental care facility, or take my chances with the court.
The first time this happened, I chose to take my chances. The court determined that I needed to be committed, and I was sent to a mental health facility anyway. The second (and last) time it happened, I volunteered.
In both cases, the facilities were basically a mix between a hospital and a jail. Multiple layers of locking doors, no doors on the rooms, visibility into the bathrooms, heavily weighted or bolted down furniture, but also medical equipment, nurses, and the overall asthetic of a hospital.
They were also both basically a one-size-fits-all for any kind of issue that didn't qualify for prison. There were homeless people that were stuck in the system waiting for housing to become available, drug addicts going through remission, people with multiple personalities, two different Jesus Christ's, one at each facility, and people that would be mostly normal most of the time, but would suddenly snap, become violent, and need to be detained while everyone was sent to their rooms. There were also people that were struggling with depression or bipolar disorder, and in one case a kid (18 or 19) who had jaywalked across a normally busy street and a cop decided to harass him and have him committed (because that was supposedly not a mentally sound action).
I could go on, but I've already written a short novel so I think I'll leave it there. Please feel free to ask any follow up questions and I'll try to answer to the best of my ability.
They absolutely did exist in the 20th century, but they were much heavier and bulky, used resistive touch screens, had awful battery life, and were understandably very primitive compared to modern tablets.