Stairwell to Ward A

um... is that your shadow in the right lower corner ?

Ward A was the violent ward for the female patients, not the male patients. Just thought I'd let you know.

wow i love it!!

I absolutely love this picture.

I was a nursing student and did my psych. rotation at DSH. After the culture shock and lots of tears( I was only 19 years old), it wasn't so bad. However, A ward was absolutely not for students. We just visited to observe. It was for the female violent patients as well as alot of elderly who probably had Alzheimers. The older women walked around mostly naked-following each other in endless circles ,chanting and incontinent as they walked. Then there was Mary--250 lbs of solid muscle-six feet and a violet streak that was terrifying. She had hacked her sister to death with an axe. It was quite a place !

Aren't those kind of people supposed to be in a place like, I don't know, what do they call it now, THE ELECTRIC CHAIR!!?? PEOPLE LIKE THAT SHOULDN'T GO TO INSANE ASYLUMS THEY DIE!!! THERE NOT CRAZY THEY'RE DANGEROUS!!!!!

Ummm... Chey haven't you heard of pleading not guilty on grounds of insanity? 'Diminished responsibility' (as it's called here in the UK) is a valid defence against a murder conviction. Someone who has committed a crime without being aware of their actions or their consequences isn't sentenced for murder - as a homicide conviction requires some evidence of intent.

There's a mental hospital here called Broadmoor - a high-security institution / jail - which is full of this kind of killers.

Yeah, yeah, I've heard of it. I'm just for capital punishment. If I were president,.................. ooo if I were president. I have a long, graphic disortation on what I'd do, but I'm not gonna get into that. I've been told its too controversial.

yes..but most of the patients there wernt even insane or crazy they were put in ther correct?

The terms "insane" and "crazy" don't mean much any more. Did most of the people who were sent to live here have "problems in living"? Yes. Were they all mentally ill? No. What per cent were? Hard to say, as the definition of mental illness fluctuates with the culture. It is culture (that's us - you and me) that determines which behaviors are "too far out" and who "may" walk the streets freely. In some eras the culture dictates some pretty tight rules; in other eras almost "anything goes."

LYNNE, FROM 1850 TO PRESENT, HAVE THERE BEEN MORE MALE OR FEMALE PATIENTS, COMMITTED OR OTHERWISE, TO STATE HOSPITALS? AND WHICH TENDS TO HAVE A LONGER STAY? I KNOW THAT AFTER THE WARS, IT WAS THE MALES, BUT HOW ABOUT THE REST OF THE TIME?

:-)

http://imt.net/~randol...ealthymen/index.html
"Men are 43 times more likely than women to be admitted to Psychiatric Hospitals"

http://www.legis.state...ltext/lc119945_1.htm
"men 43 times more likely to be admitted to psychiatric hospitals than women"

http://www.moam.org/news/vol7/moam42002.pdf
"Men are 43 times more likely than women to be admitted to psychiatric hospitals"

The average inpatient stay is 12 days. Men are more likely to be hospitalized for alcohol and/or substance abuse issues, and people with those issues generally have a longer stay than those without as they need to detox as well as get their other issues handled:
http://healthyminds.or...chospitalization.cfm

VERY INFORMATIVE LYNNE. THE BLOOD PRESSURE AND PROSTATE STAT OF BLACK MEN IS STAGGERING!

I think that there should be more reseach and under no circumstances demolish this beautiful building

Love the pic the stories are soooo interesting!

A is for the alertness that he showed!

remember seeing that from session 9

i would say that shadow in the corner could be your stalker's shadow, because ghosts dont have shadowssss

What's interesting is that the shadow of the railing attached to the caged-off part is distorted. The railing must bend further up but you can't see it in the picture. Very cool.

ward A, ya was for woman but most of the woman who went to that ward were fine they just needed a little help just because it is called the violent ward doesnt mean we should keep saying that let them who have died their rest in peace they are in a better place now getting the help they need

Ward "A" had 3 levels. A-3 was the "violent ward." In the late 60's when i worked ayt Danvers, the A wards were male admission wards. I worked on A-2 ans A-3. I was also told I was the first full time male employee of A-3.

I have always been interested in Danvers state Hospital. My father as a little girl use to threaten me he would drop me off if I wasn't good. The mental patients (some) could sit outside and watch the cars go bye. I always watched for them and wanted to visit that place even now. I would like to know of the cases and why they were there. I search for cases and never rest in my mind about that place. Jackie

The cases there were many and each had a story to them. The patients there ranged from drunks peeled off the streets to heirs to fortunes. Despite the stories every one was an individual there, not just a number. My dad took me up there many times. He worked there, as did I many years onward.

How come you didn't go to Ward A and see if that chair and hallway was there from Session 9? I would have HAD to go there if I had visited Danvers :)

Well I do my practice and soon work in much smaller complection mental hospital in Estonia and in so called "violent ward". I think it couldn't have been worse than nowerdays then, when the ward- A worked. There were only few truly agressive patients I think.. This all violent thing is overblown..

I would probably rather go into a real snake pit.

Damn I remember that "A" well from the movie "Session 9"

I used to work on B3 back in the late 70s. Seeing all these photos (which are remarkable) brought up a lot of memories. I ended up working on that ward because a staff member got jumped and her face smashed. I was one of many women that worked there. Its so true when you read some of the reports that in the 30s -50s if you were an "unruly" child you were sent there. Love the comments and hearing from other former employees.

I would imagine that "violent" wards used to see much more violence than today because there was so much overcrowding and there were no medications to help reduce aggressive behavior.

Most patients in a state hospital, especially in a "violent" ward, were not "fine" and just in need of "a little help." I care very deeply about each person I have worked with, and try to always focus on his/her strengths. But that doesn't mean I can ignore the symptoms of paranoia, delusions, extreme irritability, lack of coping skills, lack of ability to foresee consequences of their actions, etc. that require closer supervision and more intensive treatment. This sometimes requires involuntary commitment to a locked psychiatric facility.

most of them went crazy because of DSH.

Chey, your comment was tastless and disrespectful. These people dont deserve such base and barbaric condemnation. you know your view has a view things in common with nazi ideology.

its so strange but inviting who wants to go check it out lol

This shot brings back memories to a degree that I can not even put into words. I was a patient here, and these stairs are the stairs that I took every day for exercise, and for time in the cafateria for visits. I just visited the site of the hospital, which is now a very nice apartment and condo site, and walking down the covered stairs brought back memories that where alot nicer than those inside, but looking at this picture.......

thats where "uncle gordon" was sitting...lool