How did you keep yourself occupied while in hospital
 

I'm on section 17 leave at the moment after spending two weeks under section two, I found it extremely boring being locked on the ward I had no body to talk to other then hospital staff, the patents all had severer LDs then me and were incapable of talking. How did you keep yourself occupied other then watch television all day.

Laptop and dongle (though some wards don't allow them.)
Drawing, colouring, puzzle books, music.

If you've got S17 leave after only 2 weeks then it sounds like you're doing well though :)

I found that I was too consumed by my illness during my last admission that I didn't really get that board.

However if you have the concentration then reading a book, paining/bring arty and puzzles can keep you occupied for a while. Also joining in with OT groups is a good idea.


Good for you For getting leave so quick x

Once I was beginning to feel a little better I tried to consume myself in books, magazines, puzzles, writing my diary, writing stories, chatting with patients that were well enough (which sounds hard on your ward) and just generally busying myself where I could.

We weren't allowed laptops or mobile phones on my ward which was frustrating so I think music was my lifeline!

Have you spoken to the staff about how difficult you are finding the lack of activity? It might be that they could look at doing some OT activities with you as part of your care package. x

Music was a good thing for me
I used to sit for hours with music. The staff in most wards have been great and also would play games as a distraction for me and chat about "normal" stuff
When concentration improved puzzle books were godsend. Took my mind of everything else, kept my brain working and passed the time. X

OT activities, sudoku puzzles, paced/listened to music, watched TV, played with the wii, I also slept a lot. if allowed I went on leave as much as I could.

puzzles. i stretched a lot to stay in shape for dance, even though excercises weren't really allowed. stretching was really relaxing for me though

reading a book, writing, drawing/painting, played on the xbox once (this other guy was always on it haha), going on the internet on my phone.

We weren't allowed laptops otherwise that would have been good.

I know what you mean about tv - I used to get so frustrated and say 'how is TV meant to make anything better, if TV made stuff better then I could do that at home'. Sometimes it's kind of nice just zoning out to stuff sometimes though.

Also rarely the staff would chat to me or play games like naughts and crosses. Usually in the evenings when they weren't so busy.

Do you have activity workers on your ward? Maybe writing positive things in a journal or something (or just ask for some paper and a pen) would be good preperation for when you leave?

I hope you find something to fill your time.

if you don't have a journal or note book as a friend/family member to buy you one. i hope you are not in hospital for xmas

When I was very ill, I didn't do anything except kick off or lie on my bed yelling at the voices.

But when things were getting better, I locked myself in my room, listened to music and read textbooks all day. I also had my laptop and connected it to my mobile so I could go on the internet on my laptop through my mobile's internet connection (although it was pretty slow).

I avoided the other patients.

I found puzzle books and magazines a life saver.

Played games on my phone mostly

Card games can be good if there are any about too - either to play with other people (the staff played card games with me when I was in hospital) or on your own.

Agreed with above also, a notebook or journal or paper can be a great help.

What kind of things do they have available on the ward? Is there any craft equipment, jigsaws, anywhere to walk about etc?

I hope things are going ok for you x

I usually liked to journal and read books.
Sometimes I had the staff turn on my radio and I would keep occupied that way.
But I was on the adolescent ward, so there was always something going on with OT and Art and Music. I also liked to do a lot of coloring sheets. Those were really fun, and mindless.

I read magazines and talked to other patients/nurses on the ward. Then, when I became stronger, I went and explored the hospital with another patient. We found the shop and bought things like sugar-free chocolate because it seemed like a nice idea at the time! She had a DVD player so we'd watch DVDs on there. Once I was allowed outside, I would take a book and read on the bench so that I had a break and some fresh air. There was a TV in the Day Room so we watched meaningless television sometimes. Jeremy Kyle was a massive hit. We always ensured we were busy when the lady from the Chaplain Centre came around because she was scary and patronising! Another patient that was there a few days was like a walking Jeremy Kyle applicant so we had great entertainment from her.

When I was on my own I listened to my ipod a lot, called/text friends, wrote on the hospital laptop (though it didn't have internet) and completed colouring books and puzzles. I can't think of anything else!

Probably the same as already said, but mainly reading a lot, I'd bring in books and buy all the magazines in the shop, plus there were usually books and magazines lying around for patients. I didn't watch much tv cos I wasn't really comfortable sitting out in the TV room with strangers. I had a disc man and CDs (years ago), now I would have iPod, I didn't even have a laptop then but I'd be afraid to bring it in in case it got stolen. Maybe if you had a locked draw of your own you could. Then there was colouring and collecting stuff from around the hospital, leaflets and things (yes, I was weird), and as said joining in with the ot groups, I went to as many as I felt upto. It was a good way to meet other patients too.