[newtus]

this forum is populated enough to get i think some good answers.

how many of you think hospital should be last resort? how many goto hospital when things just feel bad? what about taken to the hospital by police or parents or someway thats completely involuntary?

i wonder how much people actually go. im starting to think it should be last resort. well past year i have thought this because i was taken to the hospital by police twice in 2012 and then in two other times too last year. it was awful. though something i couldnt help. i was psychotic. ive been total maybe 10-11 times mostly involuntary and after looking into the past its involves a lot of...idk...the hospitals stays themselves are TRAUMATIC throughout nearly the whole stay - almost every time.

i read on diff forums and forum sites and it confuses me why some people take hospital stays like its nothing. im not accusing or demeaning anyone. id really like to understand the opinion of those. i know in some situations if you keep going a lot they will commit you - like court order.

[manicminer]

The hospital I went to, my one and only hospital, was set up as a last resort and meant only to get you in, stablized and into outpatient care within a few days.

They admitted me because I had never been evaluated and was WAAAYY off the deep end.

I hope to never go back

[emptyspace]

Last resort. I have seen some of the forums where people think it is like a vacation and no big deal. Personally, I would rather "use it" when nothing else works, such as....

1) Manic and totally out of control and dangerous. Usually "forced in."
2) Depressed and very close to suicide. -- "forced in" or "tricked in"

Otherwise no. The hospital can only stabilize you and fix your meds "quicker" than outpatient. Statistics show that many people actually commit suicide after being released from the hospital.

• I always gain weight from all the snacks. The hospitals I have been to have snack time like 10 times a day and we are not talking fruit. Love those rice krispee treats and those peanut butter and jelly sandwich things and ice cream. Dam.....all you can eat!

• I hate group therapy and get nothing from it! The same people (borderlines, narcissists, etc) talk over and over. Usually everyone else is thinking "get me out of here, I'm too depressed for this."

• Room checks suck. Every 10 minutes if you are suicidal, which always wakes me up. 20 minutes otherwise and I still get woken up.

• Art therapy is the best part.

• You never know who your roommate will be. When you see pictures all over and 20 million items from home like someone moved in, you have a borderline and it is a nightmare. Most everyone else I know barely remembers to pack their underwear because they are too "ill." Bad roommates yell at the staff, throw stuff, want extra attention, have drama, etc. Everyone else in the hospital just wants to sleep and die.

• Depending on what ward you are placed in, it can be scary or gross. People masturbating, picking their nose, and leaving other bodily fluids on furniture, etc ... makes me not want to touch anything and vomit. Gross!

Then you get out and have to get back to "the real world" or goto partial, which is just more crappy group therapy.

Unless someone is dragging me, I am trying to keep myself out of the hospital.

[newtus]

exactly.
didnt think id get to talk to someone who described it so perfectly and understands what im thinking. but i do.

thats another thing about hospitals. crisis units anyway - is that its really just saving you from hurting yourself or others. ive never been to one that had individual therapy and theres not enough activities.

one hospital i went to the food was out 24/7 and they even let people go in in the middle of the night to eat. i mean 3 times a day theyd bring in FULL cakes - 2 sandwich plates etc. and then main items were like spaghetti or burgers and fries and the whole works. i also remember one that barely fed you. i was so hungry all the time. and they gave you very little food. no snack times unless you asked and theyd give you only 2 crackers. not kidding. with the amount they gave you i thought it had to be illegal to not give you enough.

lol i remember being in last year and i talked to this chick and she was like "im so bored in this place i dont know what to do now. i dont know if i should go eat again or sleep". we joked that all there was to do was eat and sleep. because it pretty much was.

and i wanna touch on the group therapy thing! i was just talking to myself about this today. about WHY are the people who hog group time very narcissistic-like. most of them say they are in some way too. theres is always 2-3 people that tell their whole life story during 2 hr group time. they dont really allow other people to talk sometimes. but the information is completely not for me. im not saying its not for everyone. but most of my problems deal with psychosis cause i have Schiz so when they give out sheets about talking about feelings or how to recognize anxiety or depression - i cant relate. i rarely talk in group because im introverted.

i also remember seeing people leave with 1-2 stuffed luggages out of the hospital. i had always went with the clothes on my back. not even change of underwear. not too keen on roommates either cause im not a talker - like to keep to myself.

[sugahorse1]

I have been in the hospital a few times - twice to adjust meds, once after an OD and the last time I took yield because I was feeling very suicidal.
My hospital stays have been positive. I see my pdoc and T daily (except Sundays). Group therapy is not compulsory - I went once and hated it.
They also had a LOT of food... Otherwise I generally slept. For me it helped that they could medicate me to pretty much knock me out for 3 days until I got over the worst of my suicidal feelings. It was the safer option.

[Anika.]

I went in once, manic with psychosis for 5 months and I did not want to go. I was supposed to go to a step program that allows more freedom but once they learned I was also having psychosis I was sent to hospital. Ok I was barely able to function at all, I have three kids so I do need to be functioning and not trying to figure out how to get monkies into every room in my house to protect me from tiny people in my cloests etc. I was not as psychotic when I left but I was a mere shell of a human being let alone myself due to way way overmedicating me in the two weeks they kept me. I was not offered therapy that seemed to be reserved for depression only. I did get to try figure out how to dodge some aggressive patients who were withdrawaling of heavy drugs, who would stalk you through the unit trying to intimidate you for your stuff (whatever they thought you may have). It felt more like prison than anything, and I suppose since I never broke the law, never harmed anyone including myself nor suggested I might...that I would expect to be treated like a person, not a prisoner.

It was a positive experience in the way that it was such a horrible experience that it propelled me to do everything in my power to gain control back over my life and mind that I should never hopefully experience it again. All good changes in my life have come in wolf's clothing, this is one of them.

Activities?!? You mean some offer more than pacing the halls in an endless circle and a puzzle in one corner of a hall..

I tried for a long time to convince myself it was ok experience, in order to be able to deal with it.

[Victoria'smom]

I have never been hospitalized, even when I've been psychotic. The hospital to me is just for med changes. Tomorrow I find out when T thinks I should.

[newtus]

Originally Posted by Anika.

Activities?!? You mean some offer more than pacing the halls in an endless circle and a puzzle in one corner of a hall..

none ive been to. only one had a puzzle and a bookshelf. all the others had zilch. they all had tvs but thats crap.

[newtus]

i notice a majority of the staff especially mental health techs are very bored themselves and have attitudes. idk why but i think its cause theyre bored seriously. i asked a few if their job was boring and they wouldnt comment. i can see it in their eyes and when they sigh when dealing with patients. most just joke and laugh and talk about random crap in their lives. i seriously have just sat near the main station many times just to listen i was so bored. i got more action eavesdropping than anything else.

[sugahorse1]

I took my iPad with and some magazines. Other than group therapy and private therapy, there was nothing else. But you were free to walk the corridors, and I made some good friendships.

[Anika.]

We were not allowed ipads, phones, zilch for personal belongings, not even food. My bf brought me some gluten free food to cheer me up and they were taken and given to me if I asked. Heaven forbid I share a snack from a health food store...*shudder*.

One thing is tho being gluten free I did get better meals than the other patients. If your hospital has bad food I'd suggest telling them you need gluten free to avoid getting the crappiest food they offer.