Question by It’s a Secret: Adolescent Mental Hospital questions?
I have some questions about mental hospitals.
I was wondering what would happen if a person refused to eat, like what would they do? Can they force them to eat or something?
Another thing was what if a person was like doing something like banging their head against a wall or digging their nails into their skin till they bled? What would happen? What would staff do?

Best answer:

Answer by Shaylan
As for not eating, I’m not sure what they can do exactly. They may try to force them to eat as much as they can but I’ve never experienced anyone doing that while I was in treatment.

If a person was banging their head against the wall or causing harm to themselves in anyway, they’d be restrained. Afterwards they’d probably be under heavy surveillance. In my treatment a girl would constantly bang her head and she had to get sent to a different, more intense treatment facility.

(: That’s just what I know from personal experience.

Answer by flyingdebris
Yes, you would be forced to eat. If it got severe enough, you might be moved to an eating disorder unit.
If someone was self-injuring in the way you’ve described, the staff would first attempt to get the person to stop on their own accord. The person would be placed on one-to-one (eyesight) and they would be watched at all times. If the behavior continued or the person wouldn’t stop in the first place, they would be restrained and sent to the ‘safe’ room. This room has very little in it..pretty much just a bed and nothing else. The bed is rubber and there is no way to hurt yourself. You might still be kept in restraints if you kept trying to hurt yourself. You might receive an injection of a sedative.

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