[starryprince]

Hey there. I just had a talk with my mom, and I only talk to her when things get overwhelming because I don't want to be a burden. She was super attentive and loving and she suggested that I go to a mental hospital because "Your brain needs some rest and your psychiatrist and therapist aren't helping. Your psychiatrist is just giving you drugs that don't work and your therapist can't relate to you and doesn't know what to say half of the time, and you've been seeing both for almost 3 years. You need extra help."

So I have 3 questions:

1) Will a hospital even admit me if I'm not suicidal? Because I'm not. Just severely depressed. I've always had a looming sense of loneliness since I was a kid.

2) For the people who have been in mental health hospitals, how were the conditions? I've heard horror stories...

3) I'm seeing a nurse practitioner who specializes in psychiatry this week. For anyone who's seen a nurse psychiatric practitioner, did you think they helped you more than your psychiatrist? Or was it the same thing?

Thanks a lot.

[JesusIsLove912]

Same question.

[Sunflower123]

Originally Posted by starryprince

Hey there. I just had a talk with my mom, and I only talk to her when things get overwhelming because I don't want to be a burden. She was super attentive and loving and she suggested that I go to a mental hospital because "Your brain needs some rest and your psychiatrist and therapist aren't helping. Your psychiatrist is just giving you drugs that don't work and your therapist can't relate to you and doesn't know what to say half of the time, and you've been seeing both for almost 3 years. You need extra help."

So I have 2 questions:

1) Will a hospital even admit me if I'm not suicidal? Because I'm not. Just severely depressed. I've always had a looming sense of loneliness since I was a kid.

2) For the people who have been in mental health hospitals, how were the conditions? I've heard horror stories...

3) I'm seeing a nurse practitioner who specializes in psychiatry this week. For anyone who's seen a nurse psychiatric practitioner, did you think they helped you more than your psychiatrist? Or was it the same thing?

Thanks a lot.

1. The hospital has an intake coordinator who will ask you questions to assess your condition.

2. The public mental hospital here is ok (I had a relative there) but the privately owned one is much, much nicer.

3. I've never seen a nurse psychiatric practitioner only talked to one on the phone. She was very helpful.

Good luck and best wishes.

[LittleEarthquakes]

The nurse practitioners I've seen were nicer than the psychiatrists. I wouldn't say either is particularly helpful.

Both hospitals I was at were fine. But of course you have your horror stories. I guess it depends on the place.

[Misterpain]

Honestly we have to give everyone a chance before we condemn them, for me I have never found nurse practioners or D.O's that I could respect ,I live in a town over run with them because there is a university here that trains them, I used to give my opinion on there competence and skills freely to my other care providers until one day I realized it was not fair to the incompetent ones ,or the good doctors and nurses i dealt with ,now I have found myself in an interesting position , in the hospital each time I have been in a nurse will at some point always ask me why do you see so many doctors out of town, and I will say "don't even get me started" and they then lean closer to the bed and say to me "i completely understand , i work with them all day everyday and i take myself and family out of town also" , so it could very well be where i live.

As for the BH floor , I was there once for two months , it wasn't "one flew over the cukoo's nest" , it wasnt a day at the beach ,it was very restful and respectfull,many of the other patients were complaining it was boring , I was not bored I had a lot on my mind and absolutely needed the support , that I got there,the only reason I am alive today was because they were there at my weakest hours .There are horror stories , not everyone can be happy consumer , much the same as some people hate Ford or love Chevy everyone has a unique experience ,only you can really be the voice of your experience after you have been through it on if it helped or not,and please don't be offended by this , but our mothers didn't raise us to be patients , so if your mom is recomending this she could very well be seeing something alarming , we dont always see the big picture when we are day to day surviving, so mom could very well be right, she has gotten you this far in life safely ,I don't think she is going to steer you wrong now .

Homicidal, suicidal is the "gold standard" for hospitalization, but another part of that is a person who can not or is not able to adequately care for themselves, and obviously a person will do better with some help along the way before they get to that state of crisis. A voluntary hospitalization for a "tune up" may help get you through to better times , its all how you use it , and what you put into it.

[starryprince]

Originally Posted by Jennifer 1967

1. The hospital has an intake coordinator who will ask you questions to assess your condition.

2. The public mental hospital here is ok (I had a relative there) but the privately owned one is much, much nicer.

3. I've never seen a nurse psychiatric practitioner only talked to one on the phone. She was very helpful.

Good luck and best wishes.

Ah, thank you so much for answering my questions. I'm assuming the private ones are ones you have to pay out of pocket/ones that insurance doesn't cover. I'll talk to the nurse practitioner and ask her about the details. Thank you. =)

Originally Posted by LittleEarthquakes

The nurse practitioners I've seen were nicer than the psychiatrists. I wouldn't say either is particularly helpful.

Both hospitals I was at were fine. But of course you have your horror stories. I guess it depends on the place.

Thank you for your perspective. I figured that hospitals are a personal experience and everyone will have different perspectives. I have one friend who said it was okay and another friend who said it was horrible. I get the feeling that the nurse practitioners will be nicer too.

Originally Posted by Misterpain

Honestly we have to give everyone a chance before we condemn them, for me I have never found nurse practioners or D.O's that I could respect ,I live in a town over run with them because there is a university here that trains them, I used to give my opinion on there competence and skills freely to my other care providers until one day I realized it was not fair to the incompetent ones ,or the good doctors and nurses i dealt with ,now I have found myself in an interesting position , in the hospital each time I have been in a nurse will at some point always ask me why do you see so many doctors out of town, and I will say "don't even get me started" and they then lean closer to the bed and say to me "i completely understand , i work with them all day everyday and i take myself and family out of town also" , so it could very well be where i live.

As for the BH floor , I was there once for two months , it wasn't "one flew over the cukoo's nest" , it wasnt a day at the beach ,it was very restful and respectfull,many of the other patients were complaining it was boring , I was not bored I had a lot on my mind and absolutely needed the support , that I got there,the only reason I am alive today was because they were there at my weakest hours .There are horror stories , not everyone can be happy consumer , much the same as some people hate Ford or love Chevy everyone has a unique experience ,only you can really be the voice of your experience after you have been through it on if it helped or not,and please don't be offended by this , but our mothers didn't raise us to be patients , so if your mom is recomending this she could very well be seeing something alarming , we dont always see the big picture when we are day to day surviving, so mom could very well be right, she has gotten you this far in life safely ,I don't think she is going to steer you wrong now .

Homicidal, suicidal is the "gold standard" for hospitalization, but another part of that is a person who can not or is not able to adequately care for themselves, and obviously a person will do better with some help along the way before they get to that state of crisis. A voluntary hospitalization for a "tune up" may help get you through to better times , its all how you use it , and what you put into it.

Yea, I gave my psychiatrist and my therapist about 3 years, hoping things would change. But they haven't. Instead my lows have gotten even lower and my therapist doesn't know what to say half the time. I brought a depression workbook that we can work through together and she never brought it up. I think she thinks that just because I come off as stable that I am. My psychiatrist has made sexist comments and doesn't respect my pronouns (since I'm on the trans spectrum). So it's tiring seeing them both...

I'm not offended at all! In fact, as I said in my post, she was coming from a loving place and I actually really agree with her suggestion. I'm just afraid that the hospital I might end up in will be scary. I know she's really worried and she is incredibly perceptive. And you're right. Right now it seems like I'm surviving day to day. I like what you said, that a stay in the hospital will be like a "tune up" and that some people need that help.

I'll definitely ask my nurse practitioner about any voluntary hospitals. I'm terrified, so scared, but I think this will be good for me.

Thank you for your response!