I found her cold and uncaring, but I felt comforted anyway that someone with a prescription pad was speaking to me. It was the third day and with the knowledge that treatment was on its way, I could breathe a little easier. Finally, I got one nurse to check the computer and she realized the psychiatrist had never put in the order for my medication. It would be hours more before it went through, before I could finally get some rest. As I lazed around for days, there was no therapy, activities, or anything that would promote wellness.
I spent most of my time pacing or coloring in flowers in a coloring book. Once, I played cards with another patient. The unit seemed like little more than a holding area, one that bred isolation rather than wellness. N Noam Shpancer, a clinician at the Center for Cognitive and Behavioral Psychology in Columbus, Ohio, became interested in what happens behind the closed doors of hospital psychiatric wards after a close friend stayed in one and encountered many similar issues that I did.
He told me in an email that he believes many of the problems are largely systematic. In public hospitals, like the one where I stayed, in-patient care is costly.
Even though I was in a psychiatric unit, physical problems seemed to take priority. That became clear to me on the last night of my stay. I fainted while walking down the hall around midnight, a result of low blood pressure from the new medication in my system.
A moment later, I woke on the floor, drenched in sweat and surrounded by every nurse in the unit. I was offered ginger ale and helped back to bed. It was just about the only time I was attended to without seeking help myself. People living with mental health conditions commonly report feelings of poor treatment, even feeling dehumanized, by the same professionals who are trained to understand those very conditions. You have less personal control over developing schizophrenia than over heart disease.
Tricia Kostin, the clinical director at an outpatient center in Florham Park, New Jersey, says that the rise in suicide over the years has, perhaps ironically, helped destigmatize and improve treatment for some mental health issues, like depression and anxiety. On the plus side, over time I learned the best way to get care: I just needed to act like the perfect patient.
I had to act more pulled together than ever just to be treated like a human being with real needs, even in the direst time of my life. I had come to the hospital willing desperate, actually to receive help, which I assumed meant being honest about what I was feeling. But over time, my mindset shifted, first to understanding that the help was very limited, and next to playing the game of looking like I was better so that I could simply go home.
As I looked around, I felt privileged to understand this dynamic. It was hard to ignore that the ones who were the least well were the most ignored. During the last couple of days, I mostly kept to myself. I closed my door and cried quietly. I smiled and told her I was feeling fine and looking forward to getting back to my life. Still, I was grateful to get out of my environment for a few days and equally relieved to start a medication that would help me feel more capable at an immensely difficult point in my life.
Aside from that, the health care in the mental health unit was deeply lacking. What better options are there for emergency mental health care?
After I returned home, I called a well-known mental health hospital close to home and asked some questions about intake. And private hospitals can have their own set of problems, like profit-driven clinical care. As an example, in , Universal Healthcare Services, the largest chain of psychiatric facilities in the country, was investigated for keeping patients longer than necessary in multiple hospitals. I asked a friend who works in the mental health field what she would tell someone in my situation to do.
Most major cities have something similar — nonprofits that offer low-cost or even no-cost care for psychiatric patients or drug-addicted individuals in need of emergency treatment. When someone is struggling with depression, they begin to feel hopeless and overwhelmed. They frequently have suicidal thoughts, are unable to concentrate, and begin to lose interest in all activities. To learn more about severe depression, click on the following link.
When the anxiety becomes relentless, it is not unusual to feel desperate for some relief. To learn more about anxiety disorders, click on the following link. Anxiety Disorders: Symptoms and Treatment Options nddtreatment. To learn more about suicide risks, click on the following link. Warning Signs of Suicide nddtreatment. This combination of mental health issues often leads to a crisis that requires more intensive treatment. To learn more about these issues, click on the following link.
Am I Going Crazy? When someone is Bipolar, they often struggle with mood swings that vacillate between extreme highs mania to extreme lows depression. These mood swings can become so disruptive that it may become difficult to function. To learn more about Bipolar Disorder, click on the following link. Inpatient hospitalization may be required to help get these hallucinations under control. Homicidal Thoughts — If you are having severe homicidal thoughts, inpatient hospitalization can help keep you and those around you safe.
Frequent flashbacks and overwhelming feelings can create a mental health crisis that requires intensive treatment. To learn more about PTSD, click on the following link. According to the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention, the transition from inpatient to outpatient is especially important when it comes to reducing suicide risk , and there are many steps your providers can take.
Generally, it's important to have inpatient and outpatient providers work together and enlist the support of friends and family. Results from a Danish study suggest that a follow-up home visit after discharge could be an important step in identifying and supporting people who may be at increased risk of suicide after hospitalization. Treatment for depression doesn't end with hospitalization. Steps that you can take to ensure your continued recovery include:.
Not having the structure and routine that the hospital provided can be nerve-racking. Establishing a regular routine, such as going to bed, waking up, and exercising at certain times, could be beneficial. Because depression tends to be a chronic illness , it's wise to have a plan and compile important information into one place should you ever need to be hospitalized again.
This information should include the following:. You may also have an advance directive and medical power of attorney prepared for you if you wish to give a trusted person the authority to act on your behalf in making medical decisions. This step will ensure that your will is carried out should you become too ill to make your own decisions.
Checking yourself into the hospital for depression can be a difficult decision to make, but don't let apprehension around this process prevent you from getting the help you need. There are resources that can help you along the way and there are effective treatments for depression. When you need them, be sure to enlist the help of friends and family. Everything feels more challenging when you're dealing with depression.
Get our free guide when you sign up for our newsletter. A systematic review of comparative efficacy of treatments and controls for depression. Patient-controlled hospital admission in psychiatry: A systematic review. Nord J Psychiatry. Voluntary psychiatric hospitalization and patient-driven requests for discharge: A statutory review and analysis of implications for the capacity to consent to voluntary hospitalization.
Harv Rev Psychiatry. Protecting your privacy: Understanding confidentiality. American Psychological Association website. Updated October Leaving the hospital - your discharge plan. Updated October 8, Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance. Helping someone living with depression or bipolar. Mental Health America. For family and friends. Short-term suicide risk after psychiatric hospital discharge. JAMA Psychiatry. National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention.
Assessment of suicide risks during the first week immediately after discharge from psychiatric inpatient facility. Front Psychiatry. Treatment engagement of individuals experiencing mental illness: Review and update. World Psychiatry. Wellness after hospitalization. Advance treatment directives for people with severe mental illness.
Cochrane Database Syst Rev.
0コメント