I'm from New York City and I've had the pleasure of being in 3 different psychiatric wards from adolescent to adult.
If you have never been in a psych ward and never met crazy people, you will now be surrounded by crazy people and you will also be considered a crazy person.
While crazy might be offensive, the people in these wards need serious help and most of them are people you do not want to be around. And you definitely do not want to be locked for days with them either. If you have never experienced this, it will be traumatizing especially if you come from a sheltered environment. If you're suicidal, you were a threat only to yourself. Some of these people in the ward are there because they can be threats to others. That means you will probably see someone be knocked down by nurses and tranquilized. You will hear people yelling, singing, talking to themselves, doing destabilizing things. You will literally be in a horror movie.
You will lose most of your clothes and your belongings. Your first day you will probably be in a hospital gown. You won't be allowed to have shoelaces or even pens or pencils until they determine you're not a risk.
You have to listen to everything an authority tells you to do and comply. You need to eat even if the food is bad when it's meal time. You need to make sure you do everything right so you can leave as soon as possible. Don't want to do some bullshit music, meditation, or arts therapy? Not cooperating. Not socializing. Negative marks. You need to take the medication they give you, even if you don't want to.
If you had the great misfortune to be admitted to the hospital on a weekend, you might be screwed until business hours so they can get the medical records they need or when the regular doctors are back.
Want to make a phone call or use the computer? Last one I was at you were limited to less than 15 minutes, there were only 2 phones, and they were always being used.
Can't sleep at night because you're sharing a room with someone else or just anxiety ridden because you're in an uncomfortable psych ward? Negative marks or ask the nurse for benadryl.
I was grateful to be in a safe place and get the help I needed but every psych ward I've been to has not been a pleasant place because I was stuck there for almost a week without much freedom surrounded by crazy people. That's why most people never ever want to go back to a psych ward even if they're suicidal. It can be that bad.
I knew how to follow the rules and get out as fast as possible but some people don't or can't. They're not good at following the rules. Some of the people I met in these wards had been there for 2 weeks, 4, or even longer. It was really sad and even more depressing. Children whose families abandoned them. Adults who didn't have anywhere to go.