They'll work hard to place you in the best possible place. When I went in last week there were no beds anywhere and the only ones that were opening up were at a facility where people with pretty severe issues are mixed with the depressed/anxious group and nobody was suggesting I go there; I was kept waiting until a bed on mood disorders opened up. Which I really appreciated.

I've been in 4 times and every time have been glad I went. It is scary, even after you've done it several times, but it is also really worth it. It helps so much to be somewhere that is safe and where there is nothing you can hurt yourself with and you are with other people dealing with the same things. One night last week 4 of us sat and talked until my meds kicked in and I think the rest of them talked even past that. Just our stories and how we cope and how we were feeling and that kind of thing. It also got so that I was able to laugh and have more fun than I have had in a long time. It was exactly what I needed and not just because of the med changes but because it let me feel ok again. I'm still very, very depressed and the responses to meds will be slow according to the dr but that is better than getting worse every day.

It's really much less scary than it sounds like in your head. My roommate had never been IP and she came in the middle of the night; she said she was terrified of what I would be like and of sharing her room with someone she didn't know at all and that all she knew of was that I was on a psych unit but we became good friends quickly. I'm going to text her soon in fact.