A question about hospitals

I am in fear that I will be hospitalized soon. I live in a small Florida town, and there is what I believe to be a hospital (Lifestream) right in the next town over. I feel so suicidal that I am not sure if I will be safe for much longer. However I am terrified of hospitals. I hear bad things about them on TV and other sites. I'm scared to go to one... What should I do?

I have been to many many hospitals. Good ones and bad ones. I have now found a great one, and I refuse to go anywhere else. I get hospitalized fairly regularly. It's actually good. It's a break from everything. You don't have to worry about anything but yourself. There's always someone to talk to. And they keep you safe too. Don't be scared, being hospitalized is really not that bad (depending on the hospital of course).
I'm sorry you're feeling so bad.

Hello, Sarah. Do your parents know what is going on? Can you call your psychiatrist or therapist to ask for help? You might was to go to the emergency room if you think you may harm yourself. Remember too, you can call 911 if you need help right now.

Sarah, please do what you can to get help. As you said, nighttime is the hardest time for you. Maybe going to the emergency room might start the process of getting better?

Please continue to post. You are in my thoughts.

This is the place by my house. http://www.lsbc.net/home.aspx
It's in a quite rural area, so I am not sure how good it is.

Thanks. I have the number for that hospital, my therapist told me to call if I get bad. That's the only real safety net I have at this point.

When I had a breakdown years ago I went to the nicest hospital.....It was a regular hospital with a psych. floor. I met not only wonderful staff but wonderful patients like me as well. The food was so good that I gained weight as well. It was a very positive experience for me!

Sorry you are dealing with this pretty much on your own, Sarah. Please be safe.

I was highly suicidal with three attempts during the summer of 2008 and landed in the psych hospital twice, ER three times.

It was a positive experience. It's a very relaxing atmosphere, and they help you gather your thoughts, figure out what is going on, and try to think differently.

That last time at the hospital - plus my medication combo - has really worked. No suicidal thoughts whatsoever since August 2008.

Well I have never felt worse. The only hospital in my area is Lifesteam and I have been searching online for 20 minutes and can only find negative reviews. I live in central Florida, an hour north of Orlando, and every hospital is either in the pan handle or coast. I feel like crying...

Possible trigger, I hope not...

People think I'm crazy (haha) but one of the best memories I have were the 5 days I willingly was hospitalized. I never thought I would have met so many people my age, normal but going through the same things as I was. Normal but not normal. I got along with everyone 10 times better than anyone else in my life. The t's and the other patients. We all cared about eachother because we all were on that different dimention. We could understand eachother better and in general everyone understood me better than the outside world.

It was my escape. After reading recently the letter I wrote to my mom many moons ago begging to be put in the hospital, I could tell it was everything I needed. I needed to get away from the drama. It seems to stalk me. I had to be protected from the outside world and from all negative influences around me and that is exactly what happened.

Don't get me wrong, a hospital can be a VERY scary thing, if you are not ready. You have to go in there knowing you need their help and will benefit from their help. If you go in thinking you know more than the pdocs then it may not work best, but in general if it's a good hospital and you have the will to get better, it will not hurt but only make things better. Look into the hospital maybe, google it and read as much as you can about it to see if it is maybe a place you want to go.

To me, it's a vacation really. A time to work on yourself and forget the world around you. I've only been once and that was 9 years ago (I can't believe it was that long ago!!!) but it worked miracles and I am still using techniques they taught me at that point. I was even a super heavy cu**er when going there. I did again for 2 weeks after being discharged and haven't since.

Hospitals are not what hollywood makes them out to be. If you feel like you should be hospitalized than you should, no one knows what is going on inside your head more than you do.

Go up to Georgia, right on the border is a hospital called "Focus By The Sea" it's a private hospital but does wonders! It's an hour and a half north of Jacksonville in St Simons Island

Oh Iam loving the anime pics Dont be scared If you have too be put In the hospital they have lots of good hospitals that are very safe but I hope you get better so you want have to be put In one.Is your meds making you suicidal because a lot of anti depressants make you suicidal huggs

Thanks, but that's hours away from where I live. Just like all the hospitals.

Thanks. But I am on such a low dosage of the meds, I doubt they hurt much.

Ok and again I hope you feel better

Hand in there - hospitals can be good or bad. I've been in many. The one thing they all provide is safety - and it sounds like that it what you need right now

How are you doing, Sarah?

Okay I guess.

Hi Sarah.
Please be safe. I've been hospitalised and it was extremely beneficial for me.
If you admit yourself, you can leave when you feel you are ready (Usually working with your T and pdoc is the best approach).
You can use this if you are in a hospital and feel uncomfortable. Rather try a hospital and be safe. You can always discharge yourself.

But don't allow things to get so bad that you become a risk. Rather reach out for help. Hospitals aren't bad at all.

PM or talk to us about what's going on - it's ok to share and ask for help.

If you can, please speak to a T, relative or close friend. They can keep an eye on you

Tv does have a way of blowing hospitalizations out of proportion. That said everyone gets different things from their hospital experiences. a person who did not get their needs met or felt the treatment programs didnt fit them are going to place negative reports on line and others who have great outcomes may or may not place positive/negative outcomes on line. theres also the scare factor. got to say it - there are mentally ill people out there that love to prey on other peoples emotions so whether they had a good outcome or not may place horror stories on line about hospitals whether or not they went to that hospital.

my suggestion.. go to the hospital in question.. tell them you are doing a report for school about mental health units yesterday vs. today, or checking the place out for a friend. ask them for a quick tour of the place, ask them what their typical day is like, ask them what types of groups and services they have, give them a hypothetical situation. and ask them how they would handle that situation.

This will give you an idea whether going into this hospital will be beneficial to you. It will also prepare you for the daily routine and what is expected of you should you need inpatient care there.

DTM, negative reviews don't mean your experience will be negative. People who write reviews are often negative...do what you need to do for yourself in spite of that.
Doesn't the Florida Hospital Orlando or ORMC have a psych unit? They are both excellent hospitals, and an hour isn't too far to go if you can get there somehow.

I agree with you thank you for explaning that too her

Theres good and bad hospitals, and your mental state effects what you think about it. I think at points I was so psychotic I didn't even realize I was in a crappy place. I knew I was in a hospital, sorta, but when your psychotic you don't think "hey. this sucks". At least I didn't.

Some hospitals are really good.

Wow amandalouise, great idea! I'm hoping I will get better now that my Pdoc put me on Abilify. I have been sick and sleeping for the past few days, And have been actually happy today. We'll see if I crash. My T told me a hospital she thought was good and gave me their number in case of emergency.
Thanks guys. ^^
And I guess you're right RunningEagleRuns. ^_^

Glad to hear you're more positive and do have some options open to you