She’s Talking About The Time That She Was Mistakenly Sent To The Psychiatric Ward
20-year-old Tori Ostrom (@toriostrom27) is on TikTok sharing the story of how she was mistakenly sent to a psychiatric ward.
She wanted to consult a healthcare provider about a medication change, but that small request led to her spending five days in an inpatient facility without any answers about why she was there. Here’s how it happened.
So Tori takes a medication called Seroquel, which helps her sleep at night. But recently, she wanted to begin weaning herself off the drug, so she had the dosage lowered from 50 milligrams to 25.
For three nights after that, she had trouble sleeping, so her therapist contacted her psychiatrist to increase the dosage again.
While at the gym, Tori’s psychiatrist called her and agreed to increase the dosage; however, the psychiatrist was unable to make an appointment with Tori until the end of the month.
So the psychiatrist recommended Tori go to the emergency room to see a psychiatrist right away and have her prescription changed.
And that’s exactly what Tori did. That Friday, she headed to the ER and told them what she was there for: a simple change to her medication.
But she ended up waiting in a room where a security guard and a nurse then showed up at her door, telling Tori they were going to move her. They moved her to “yellow,” which was the psychiatric unit at that hospital.
When she reached the psych unit, she was greeted by a man attempting to escape and threatening to harm her.
VisualProduction – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only, not the actual person
Tori told a nurse she wanted to be discharged immediately because she did not need to be there. Even Tori’s mom advocated for her, but the nurse decided to “section” Tori instead.
“In case you’re unfamiliar with what a Section 12 is, it means they hold you against your will in a hospital or an inpatient setting,” Tori explained.
So Tori had to stay overnight at the hospital. In the morning, the situation grew even worse. She met with a psychiatrist who asked about her mood and behavior for the past few days. Tori stated she was fine. She just hadn’t been sleeping as well. But the psychiatrist informed her that they were sending her to an inpatient bed at a hospital two hours away.
Tori and her mom were shocked and confused. They asked for an explanation, but the psychiatrist left the room without another word. The next thing Tori knew, a stretcher was being wheeled down the hall to take her away. Ultimately, Tori could not refuse to go since she was still sectioned. Over the weekend, she contacted an attorney, her psychiatrist, and anyone who could help her leave the facility.
On Monday, Tori was finally able to meet with her provider and social worker. She described the entire situation to them. They were equally confused about how she ended up in a psych ward and discharged her immediately.
“Potentially going to an inpatient facility one day has always been in the back of my mind because I’ve struggled with mental health. But this experience has made me never want to ask for help ever again,” said Tori.
Tori is a huge mental health advocate, and she concluded her story by encouraging people not to let her experience deter them from seeking mental health services if they need them.
https://www.tiktok.com/@toriostrom27/video/7192422213839113515
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