[purpledaisy]

What is inpatient like?

Does it vary according to the individual hospital?

Can you take your computer? Your cell phone?

Do they really ban things like sneakers because of the strings?

What do you do all day while you're there? Constant therapy? Group? Time to rest and deal?

Do they let you have visitors?

What if the one person who triggers you more than anyone else in the world wants to come and cry and tell you to just snap out of it, as she has done for years? Will they keep people like this away?

Do you interact much with other patients?

[BipolaRNurse]

I'm glad you asked that question. Not that I ever plan on going inpatient, of course, but I've sort of been threatened with that the next time I decide to flip my cork and it's good to know what other people have experienced.

[~Christina]

What is inpatient like? I have been inpatient 3 times last year.. each time I needed to be there for my safety..Its a good place to be if you need it. It also allows your medications to be changed quickly because your monitored 24/7

Does it vary according to the individual hospital? I was at the same hospital each time so im not sure about differances.

Can you take your computer? Your cell phone? Not where I was.

Do they really ban things like sneakers because of the strings? Yes where I was .. Its a "safety issue" also like no drawstrings on pants, no drawstrings in jackets etc. Seems a lil silly but when you really think about it.. they are just trying to keep you " safe" I wasnt even able to keep my chapstick on me I had to ask for it . lol

What do you do all day while you're there? Constant therapy? Group? Time to rest and deal? up at 7am breakfast , group therapy, lunch, group therapy,Dinner , group therapy. I was kept very very busy .kind of exhausting.

Do they let you have visitors? once a week at the hospital i was in.

What if the one person who triggers you more than anyone else in the world wants to come and cry and tell you to just snap out of it, as she has done for years? Will they keep people like this away? I had no problems ..but you can refuse to see anyone its within your rights to avoid seeing people who can be a trigger or get in the way of your getting help.

Do you interact much with other patients? yes .. also seeing your Pdoc and usally a Tdoc Daily.. unfortunatly MY pdoc and tdoc dont do inpatient.. So I wasnt really happy seeing someone else .. But Its all ok I was kept safe when i needed to be..

[BlueInanna]

Originally Posted by purpledaisy

What is inpatient like?

Does it vary according to the individual hospital?

Can you take your computer? Your cell phone?

Do they really ban things like sneakers because of the strings?

What do you do all day while you're there? Constant therapy? Group? Time to rest and deal?

Do they let you have visitors?

What if the one person who triggers you more than anyone else in the world wants to come and cry and tell you to just snap out of it, as she has done for years? Will they keep people like this away?

Do you interact much with other patients?

I haven't been myself, but my sister has, and my 2 older children (this is in U.S.). I think it may differ somewhat if you're a child or adult.

Yes, the hospitals are all different with rules, visiting hours, their therapies, what if anything visitors are allowed to bring.

No computers or cellphones to my knowledge.

Yes, they take strings off of everything - shoes - sweatpants - sweatshirts.

They have a lot of group therapies, coloring, reading, journaling, hang out tv time. The best hospital I saw was in San Francisco, they did yoga with the kids.

I recall some of the places let my son sleep during the day if he wanted. Some places lock all bedroom doors unless it's sleeping hours, so you can't go in. And at night they go around and check on everyone every 15 mins.

Yes they let you have visitors. Different hospitals have different times, usually 6-7pm. There was one I liked because they had 2 visiting hours in the day. So I was able to visit my daughter more, brought her lunch and dinner, she's picky about health food.

Sometimes they let me bring my kids food and we'd eat together, some places do not allow you to bring food.

If the potential visitor you would want kept away is your parent, I dont know what the rules would be. But I think you should have a say so in who visits you. You could call the hospital and ask them.

I hope this might help you, and hope you're ok.

What is inpatient like? My inpatient experiences have been very good. I have only used one hospital which has a reputation for being the best one in the area according to other patients who have experienced others in the area and now refuse to go anywhere else but the one I use. I have been hospitalized at this hospital 13 times over the past 7 years.

Does it vary according to the individual hospital? From what I have gathered from other patients, hospitals vary widely in quality of care, staff, and facilities.

Can you take your computer? Your cell phone? Not in the one I use, and not in any of the ones in the area from what other patients tell me. They want you to focus on your recovery and to interact in the groups and with other patients. Cell phones and computers tend to isolate you and give you direct access to people in your life you are probably better off not interacting with regularly when you are in the hospital since so much of the time, much of the problem is directly related to family or work issues.

Do they really ban things like sneakers because of the strings? Absolutely. No strings on clothing, no shoelaces, no glass containers including make up containers, mirrors, etc., no wire-bound notebooks or anything that could be dismantled to self-harm. Hair dryers and curling irons are kept behind the desk and checked out to you for your use but you must return them in a timely manner. No razors except electric, again checked out from desk as needed. They are very, very careful about safety measures as desparate people can find incredibly bizarre ways to harm themselves that you cannot even imagine. All that said, none of the above is really a big deal (except the hairy legs and pits).

What do you do all day while you're there? Constant therapy? Group? Time to rest and deal? Pdocs start arriving very early in the morning. Meals are served on a schedule. Continuous groups during the day: some educational, some process groups, some skills groups, some goals/closure groups. You stay very busy during the week; weekends are a bit less structured. You don't have to attend groups if you don't want to; no one makes you. But not interacting with others or attending groups is a sign that you may not be ready to go home because you are isolating, so it is in your best interest to attend as much as you can. I tend to spend the first few days doing a lot of sleeping, then work into the groups one or two at a time until by the time I leave I'm generally attending them all except the ones I just find useless to me personally.

Evening hours are pretty unstructured. There are common televisions in the common rooms if you wish.

Do they let you have visitors? Visiting hours are one hour in the evening; a bit longer on the weekends. Honestly, that's all you need. I tended to find visiting hours exhausting. In my hospital, children must be at least 12 to come in. Only two guests per patient are allowed in at a time (otherwise it just gets too crowded and overwhelming). NO ONE gets in without knowing your code which you personally have given them, so no one can just show up without your permission to come in.

What if the one person who triggers you more than anyone else in the world wants to come and cry and tell you to just snap out of it, as she has done for years? Will they keep people like this away? NO ONE gets in without knowing your code which you personally have given them, so no one can just show up without your permission to come in. If you want no visitors, you can request no visitors.

Do you interact much with other patients? I tend to ease my way into interacting with other patients; most people do this just because when you first go in you are generally so bad off and isolating that it takes awhile to ease into it. By the end, you know everyone's name. You've done a great deal of laughing together, some crying together, lots and lots of talking. You realize these other people in there with you are pretty interesting individuals. You may not like all of them, but then again, do you ever really like everyone you meet?

[hamster-bamster]

well it depends upon whether it is a locked unit or not, in my experience. On a locked unit, children visitors are allowed only with special permission. on a general (I forgot its name) unit, children visitors are allowed. I have been three times, in two different hospitals, one of them a teaching hospital (=residents). Groups - CBT, occupational therapy. On a locked unit, the computer and cell phone are charged in a special locked room and given to you during certain hours. And no shoelaces. On an unlocked unit, you charge your computer in your room, same with a cell phone.

[BipolaRNurse]

Do these places have individual rooms, or do you have to live with someone in there? And what's the deal with locked vs. unlocked units---gads, I hope I never have to go inpatient, I am SO claustrophobic and being locked up would make me worse, not better.

[hamster-bamster]

Locked is usually danger to self or others or very severe cases. Unlocked - milder cases, patients undergoing inpatient ECT, etc. Usually it is 2 people per room.

At the teaching hospital the unlocked unit also had a stationary bike you could use, and an enclosed garden which was nice. The locked unit patients could not go to the garden by themselves - some of them who had special privileges went under the supervision of staff.

If you are suicidal and are receiving an IV, as I was, you are not allowed, on a locked unit, to be in your room. You have to stay in the hallway.

[CastlesInTheAir]

I didn't understand the no jewelry thing where I was. I couldn't even have a watch and there was only one clock in the whole damn place. I ended up sneaking a watch so I would know what time it was.

[hamster-bamster]

Also when the visitors come in and bring something, eg food, they have to show the stuff to the nurse for inspection.

[hamster-bamster]

When I got into a hospital with Lithium intoxication earlier this year, it was my first inpatient on a medical, non-psych unit, not counting the time I was unconscious on a ventilator following the sui attempt. I was so surprised! No one pulled out my shoelaces, no one checked the contents of my purse, no one demanded that I surrender my cell phone!! It was like WOW, I am being respected here!!

It isn't about respect or lack of respect. Suicidal patients will hang themselves using shoelaces. Cell phones cause and continue outside problems into the inpatient unit. Other items can be used to self harm. You may not have the intention to do those things, but other patients on the psych unit might be very well motivated enough to get to another patient's items and cause themselves or others harm. It is a safety issue that has to be taken seriously on psych units.

[mojave_rose8]

What is inpatient like? I have been in 6 or 7 times (I honestly cannot remember.)

Does it vary according to the individual hospital? Yes, absolutely. I was at a total of 3 different hospitals. In some ways they were all the same but in others they were different.

Can you take your computer? Your cell phone? No computer and no cell phone. Don’t even bring your computer. Sometimes the nurses gave me my cell phone, not to use but so I could look up numbers.

Do they really ban things like sneakers because of the strings? Not with all patients, only if you’re suicidal, typically. They also have most people on fifteen minute checks, so every fifteen minutes, you have to be accounted for. It kinda gets annoying, honestly.

What do you do all day while you're there? Constant therapy? Group? Time to rest and deal? Again, depends on the hospital. I was in one that was super structured (art therapy, group meetings, mental illness education, group therapy, smoke breaks, meals, walks outside – at a certain privilege level.) We only had free time in the evenings or for a few minutes after meals. There was no option to skip the planned activities. The worst hospital I was in, there was almost no structure. People would lay in bed for hours, or watch TV for hours. It was awful. I hated it. When I am depressed, I need structure.

Do they let you have visitors? Yes, but only during visiting hours. And if the visitors brings presents, they have to be screened at the nurse’s station.

What if the one person who triggers you more than anyone else in the world wants to come and cry and tell you to just snap out of it, as she has done for years? Will they keep people like this away? Yes. They threw my mom out once when she was getting difficult with me. But later, I felt bad, because they were kinda rude about it.

Do you interact much with other patients? It all depends. For me, I was usually quiet the first day, first to adjust, and second, to watch the other patients. Then, I would interact. In fact, I still keep in touch with a few people I met in the psych ward. Depending on the level of structure, they might make you speak up in group therapy – well not *force* you, but strongly encourage you.

Let me say this: There are good psych wards and bad psych wards, good nurses and bad nurses, good staff and bad staff. It varies a lot. I think it depends too on how much you want to get better and how much you put into things like group therapy. Be open. You can learn a lot from other patients. It was probably the least judgmental group of people I have ever been around, and also, some of the bravest.

And finally, two big disadvantages: 1) In a psych ward, you’re usually going to have high functioning people and low functioning people. Due to a variety of reasons, both groups and usually treated the same, and the difficult patients get the most attention. 2) Insurance does not want to pay for psych visits that last more than 3 days or so. Therefore, many times you will feel pressured to leave before you’re ready.

Sorry that was so long, but I have a lot of experience with psych wards. Hope I helped!!

[mojave_rose8]

One thing I forgot. Every shift, you will be assigned a nurse -- usually, the same nurses your entire stay. That was one of the best parts for me, because whenever I felt sad or lonely, I could find my nurse and chat. Typically, too, at the beginning of their shift, the nurse will sit down and check in on how you're feeling, if you feel safe, etc.

I think some people become too dependent on this, though, in the sense the psych ward becomes a revolving door because they like the attention, and it's a place they feel safe and cared for.

And finally, getting discharged was always the best part of the stay for me. It's like ... a new beginning, a second chance, etc.

[mojave_rose8]

Originally Posted by farmergirl

It isn't about respect or lack of respect. Suicidal patients will hang themselves using shoelaces. Cell phones cause and continue outside problems into the inpatient unit. Other items can be used to self harm. You may not have the intention to do those things, but other patients on the psych unit might be very well motivated enough to get to another patient's items and cause themselves or others harm. It is a safety issue that has to be taken seriously on psych units.

Absolutely. People have committed suicide in psych wards -- such as British playwright Sarah Kane. In her case, the hospital was understaffed.

Sadly, some suicidal people are in *so* much pain, and *so* desperate to end their pain, they will find a way, despite all the safety measures in place.

[hamster-bamster]

It may not be an issue of respect, but it certainly FEELS like one.

[mojave_rose8]

Originally Posted by hamster-bamster

It may not be an issue of respect, but it certainly FEELS like one.

I felt that the first couple of times I was admitted -- the lack of freedom in general -- but later, I realized it was for my safety and not because the staff was being malicious or vindictive.

Thank you all -- this was incredibly informative! I've felt on the verge of winding up inpatient multiple times this year. Unfortunately the only hospital that offers that here has a really negative reputation.

Question: Do they give you medications against your will if you have never been medicated before? That is a major concern of mine. I am interested in being med-free & I don't want to be pumped full of drugs just because I'm having a difficult time coping.

They cannot force you to take medications unless it is somehow court ordered I believe, but you have to remember, if you go into a hospital setting (a medical facility) but plan to refuse medical treatment, it will probably not be recieved well. If that is your wish, it would be beneficial to have your pdoc on board ahead of time and to go into a facility where he/she is on staff and is assigned as your doctor inpatient. (Good luck getting all those stars to align.) Otherwise, it could definitely be a battle because, as I said, it is a facility based on a medical model of treatment. If you do not want medical treatment, then you might investigate other types of treatment facilities that are more "holistic" (for lack of a better word) and willing to work with you through other methods.

Most people don't go into an inpatient program "just because they are having a difficult time coping". Most are a danger to themselves. They may be psychotic. They may be withdrawing from a chemical dependence. They may be practically catatonic from depression. I've seen some who have not slept in any significant way for weeks on end. Most need pretty intensive, medical intervention in order to survive, keep from hurting themselves or others, withdraw from a chemical dependence without going into severe side effects like seizures, etc. If all you need is a place to regroup, learn some coping skills, meditate, etc., it would probably be better to find a different type of facility other than a hospital setting.

[gdreamer]

It's interesting as I read these how different all the experiences are, so I will just tell ya what it was like for me:

What is inpatient like?
Well, first of all, it saved my life. I have been twice, but I don't know if my bipolar is different in that I had horrific depression for 6 years and maybe some sorta mixed states, then I blew up into this insanely high mania, went psychotic seeing things, almost ruined my completely perfect marriage because I suddenly thought my husband was abusive (delusions), so suicidal that the psychotic visions I was having were about my grisly death, along with lights and shadows moving etc etc. One day I just snapped. Inpatient here I come.
I went to 'UNI' at Univeristy of Utah. A lot of people flew in from around the country to go there, but I have no idea if there was a specific reason.
They had two wards, the high security or high risk ward, if you will, where all the schizophrenics, highly suicidals, delusional/psychotics, most borderlines and so on stayed. Also, whenever someone first arrived (if they were a psych patient -not an addiction patient-) they would hold them there for a few days to assess. Many of the psych patient teenagers would stay there the whole time.
The other ward was for high functioning psych patients, addicts, and ECT patients who were being monitored. Unlike the high risk ward, you could actually leave it, and did so for meals (where they thankfully had caffiene!). You could even leave the grounds as long as you were within time limits and accompanied by someone trustworthy. This was the more therapeutic part because there were people that you could relate to and were more on your level of need.

Does it vary according to the individual hospital?
I wish I knew, but it seems to according to this thread.

Can you take your computer? Your cell phone? Not at all. However, they had several phones and several lines that I could call out on at almost any time-except for when group was happening. Also, they had one computer that had internet. Being the computer junkie that I am, I was able to access my email, and that was nice. But iPods were aloud. It can get a little boring because they want you in as much of a vacuum as possible so that they can really see when your moods change and how they fluctuate with medicine.

Do they really ban things like sneakers because of the strings?
Oh yeah, not just for your safety but for other's. Because a lot of those people are dealing with some weird stuff. When I went through intake, they strip searched me down to my bra and underwear and made me "shake" my underwear to make sure nothing was hidden in there. Sounds excessive, but then you realize that they have that rule for a reason- because someone's done it before.

What do you do all day while you're there? Constant therapy? Group? Time to rest and deal?
I saw a million doctors and specialists. In Utah it's really hard to get into a psychiatrist without waiting 6 months, and then you worry if they are any good. I got instant care from about 6, I met with them daily and they very quickly adjusted medication to bring me off of psychosis and all of that. I had daily meetings with a psychologist to sort out my feelings, and later joint marital meeting with my husband and the psychologist. I had a social worker that was interested in all the practical things of my life, did I have housing, was I finacially stable, had I lost my job because of this? She wrote to my job at the time and smoothed over the time I was away. Companies take disabilities super seriously. If I had told them I was sick and experiencing an episode, they would have blown me off. She did it and it was gold.
In the interim we had optional but strongly encouraged groups, psychotherapy, art therapy, emotional management, music therapy. I was a skeptic on the more hippie sounding ones, but it quieted my mind so much - I was certainly proved wrong. They all worked in unison.

Do they let you have visitors? Yes, but only during visiting hours, and it was during this 4 hour block (or so) at night where you have free time to play games, watch movies, talk visit and so on.

What if the one person who triggers you more than anyone else in the world wants to come and cry and tell you to just snap out of it, as she has done for years? Will they keep people like this away?
This is the question I wanted to answer most! They are like mamma bears. They really listen to you in therapy and if you even mention that this person triggers you, they snarl at the gate. They have no qualms with it. They will say it's not good for your treatment plan at the time and totally cover for you if you don't want drama and all that. Also, they hold education nights about the disorder you have. I didn't need my disorder explained to my family, but the psychologist had it on her agenda as a matter of course- to sit down with whoever (with you there or not) and really explain with authority your illness.

Do you interact much with other patients? Tons, I am still friends with a few. Be careful though and have emotional boundaries.

Beyond that, They found an excellent (genius) psychiatrist for me and got me in waaaaay faster than I could have myself. I wouldn't have known who to pick. I totally didn't come out of there with the right medication combination, it takes a lot more trial and error I think, but it was so helpful.

Wow, I am so sorry that that was so incredibly long. I just know that I would have wanted to know as much as possible. I really feel like it sped up my treatment process so much. You do feel a bit like a guinea pig or lab rat because you are churning through different things. And you HAVE to be assertive about how you feel because they are arrogant doctors, but if you are, it really works out. I feel like I lost my whole life in the few days it took to completely lose my marbles, and the inpatient process was the best possible thing for me.

[mojave_rose8]

Originally Posted by farmergirl

They cannot force you to take medications unless it is somehow court ordered I believe, but you have to remember, if you go into a hospital setting (a medical facility) but plan to refuse medical treatment, it will probably not be recieved well. If that is your wish, it would be beneficial to have your pdoc on board ahead of time and to go into a facility where he/she is on staff and is assigned as your doctor inpatient. (Good luck getting all those stars to align.) Otherwise, it could definitely be a battle because, as I said, it is a facility based on a medical model of treatment. If you do not want medical treatment, then you might investigate other types of treatment facilities that are more "holistic" (for lack of a better word) and willing to work with you through other methods.

Most people don't go into an inpatient program "just because they are having a difficult time coping". Most are a danger to themselves. They may be psychotic. They may be withdrawing from a chemical dependence. They may be practically catatonic from depression. I've seen some who have not slept in any significant way for weeks on end. Most need pretty intensive, medical intervention in order to survive, keep from hurting themselves or others, withdraw from a chemical dependence without going into severe side effects like seizures, etc. If all you need is a place to regroup, learn some coping skills, meditate, etc., it would probably be better to find a different type of facility other than a hospital setting.

You make a good point. There are intensive outpatient programs (or day programs) that help people who need structure, but not the level of structure provided by a psych ward.

Going into the hospital isn't like "getting away for the weekend." It was (at least for me) a major, but necessary, disruption in my life, and despite having health insurance, the money that I had to pay out of pocket was significant.

[Merlin]

I echo what the poster above said. Intensive outpatient programs are a very good alternative to hospitalization. I found that being in the hospital was effective for keeping me from ending my own life, an admittedly important goal, but did little else to help me. Contrasting that, when I did an outpatient program, almost as a last chance before the hospital, it was very helpful and by the end of it I no longer wanted to end my life.

Thank you mojave & farmergirl for explaining that to me. I've truthfully never lived anywhere with reliable psych help. No day programs, nothing but incredibly drab & unstructured hospitals. If you admit a suicidal thought, the cops get called & you get dragged away to disappear for 3 days & nothing more happens for your psychological welfare... So these responses are just really interesting, but foreign to me. Can't wait to live somewhere with more support. I've hit a hefty handful of spells where I was convinced I wasn't going to live anymore, convinced I couldn't, but have had to somehow snap myself out of it because there's nowhere I could go. Lame. Incredibly. :/

[LiteraryLark]

Originally Posted by purpledaisy

What is inpatient like?

Does it vary according to the individual hospital?

Can you take your computer? Your cell phone?

Do they really ban things like sneakers because of the strings?

What do you do all day while you're there? Constant therapy? Group? Time to rest and deal?

Do they let you have visitors?

What if the one person who triggers you more than anyone else in the world wants to come and cry and tell you to just snap out of it, as she has done for years? Will they keep people like this away?

Do you interact much with other patients?

I don't know your definition of inpatient, but when I was diagnosed I was an inpatient at a teen mental facility in a hospital with different wings. Next to my wing was an elderly mental facilitiy and during PE I would go out and wave to the elderly.

Patients had visiting hours after dinner and then were able to make phone calls usually before bed and we had about 5 minutes because all the patients wanted to call home.

Yes. Shoes with string or metal were not allowed, so the nurses gave us socks and my mom gave me slippers to wear that I still have. We were not allowed to walk around barefoot. We weren’t allowed to have strings on our hoodies or jackets so I had to pull of the string of my hoodies. We also did not have mirrors in the bathroom because they are breakable. We had something similar but it was hard to see the reflection, so for two weeks I had no idea what I looked like and I kept trying to pull the mirror apart to see what was behind it because it looked like a medicine cabinet.

We had a schedule of activities every day, some we did every day like art, school, and group therapy, and some were different to change things up like drama, movies after dinner, and meditation with a Chinese monk. We also had PE which consisted of a small patio with a garden and a basketball hoop, but we got to look at the outside world from atop of several stories high and I would watch the people walking by or I would look at "the order of the pheonix" which I named because all these expensive looking cars were parked in a crummy looking alleyway, or I would look at the elderly next door and wave. The point of the scheduled activities was to calm the patient and to also evaluate how the patient interacts with the other patients, staff and their ability to partake in the activities. Some I could not do like school others I really loved like art.

Yes, after dinner we had about an hour (I cant remember it was probably a half hour or 15 minutes for all I know) to spend with family. I think they only allowed close family to come. It was after dinner and it was in the area of the dining area and the “living room” and all the patients and families were visiting in the same place. The visitors were not allowed to enter the patients rooms and I’m not sure why.
I don’t know about the last part. That wasn’t an issue when I went. I wanted my best friend to come visit me but my parents said no, probably because when I was at the hospital before being transferred I told my parents I wanted to marry my best friend and have her live with me in the hospital.

inpatient is a strange place it's got this coccoon calming effect it's as close to being a ghost as the living me ever got and it's such a shock too at first it can and will make the emotionally sensitive cry in pain and relief and the wet face indicates surrender and it won't work without the white flag!

..."yeah I really done it now world I hit the wall I crashed into myself on the way over the edge and I surrender it's you strange whitey coat peoples and fancy clipboard nerds and the suited ones now that I hand the awesome priviledge of controlling my life to"...

..."did I really just do that??"

I can feel my eyeballs getting twitchy wipe them quickly recon an exit can I make it in time crap the guards are everywhere they don't believe I want to stay "oh know he's one of them yep!!" don't let him out of your sight!

smoke cigarettes and inhale each like it's new breath passing the time the tv is constantly on when is lunch you screwed up my meds white coaty thanks for re-dressing my wounds they still hurt who was in this room before me and were they more depressed than me I just made all the other patients beds cos I was restless..

I am not me in here I have case notes I"m sure I don't at home I wonder whats written there are they kind I want to go I want to die I want to do both and stay as well I guess I better and see what they say...