[AnIslandNeverCries]

Just a question or two... is there any difference between checking yourself in to the hospital on your own as opposed to going in based on your Drs/Therapist advice? I'm just wondering. I tried really hard to avoid going in inspite of my Drs/T's strongly advising me to do so. The way things were going I probably would have ended up going in involutarily, so I finally agreed. Is there any difference in the way you are treated when inpatient based on how/why you are admitted? Feeling pretty nervous/anxious and overwhelmed about all of this. It's not something I've ever experienced before. Oh and I'm pretty scared too.

Not at all. You are still voluntary. Involuntary is done through court order. If you go in on your own decision, with or without a doctor's recommendation, you are voluntary. Hope all goes well. I've always come out in much better shape than when I arrived.

[clinpsycstudent]

Hi!

I think despite the way someone is admitted - rest assured that you will get the care and attention that you need, no matter what Absolutely normal to feel overwhelmed and nervous! Am proud of you though - because it takes courage and a honest bravery to take this step.
Thinking of you,

ClinicalPsycStudent

[AllyIsHopeful]

It depends on what state you live in. When you are involuntarily admitted by your doctor, police, E.R., and so on (meaning you have zero choice--you HAVE to go) it's not so much as you are treated differently while you are there...But they keep you as long as they see necessary. Usually a 5150 hold is a mandatory 72 hour stay. You can search 5150 hold online to see how your state specifically handles it.
It is worth looking into it either way because there are certain rights you have once you are there but they won't tell you that.

If you check yourself in voluntarily, you still really have no stake in deciding when you will be released, but doing so may avoid the hold. They will only place you on the hold if you have demonstrated that you are a harm to yourself or anyone else.

It's much better to stay without the hold. When I went it was voluntary and I was there for a little over 48 hours; but there were others who were involuntarily admitted and some had been there for over a week. Whenever I asked if I could be released or reevaluated because I "felt better" (I was super homesick) they began threatening me with a hold.

Okay now that I've shared that info and my experience....Take a deep breath and know that everything will be okay. Do what you feel is right. It is important for you to feel safe. It is a scary experience but not as scary as the thought of doing something irreversible.

[Bill3]

(((((AnIslandNeverCries)))))

[stopdog]

In my jurisdiction - people can admit themselves voluntarily but if they try to leave and the staff think it a bad idea, they get made involuntary. So just because you choose to go in does not mean you get to choose to leave. Once in, you are subject to their decisions about you. (Many of clients do not realize this so I thought I would mention it here too)

[nottrustin]

Here it doesn't matter if you go on your own, go on recommendation of provider, or involuntarily you are treated the same. As stopdog said even if you go voluntarily you don't necessarily get to say I am here voluntarily so I want to leave now. If the Dr. feels you are of danger to yourself of others (unable to care for yourself, so disorganized you can't provide for your basic needs, homicidal or suicidal) they can then convert you to involuntary if you insist on leaving. However, it is not like the 5150 Allyishopeful mentions because here that just means we have 72 hours to apply to the court to keep you longer. You could be discharged anytime in that 72 hours if the Dr. feels your mental status has changed.

[AnIslandNeverCries]

Originally Posted by stopdog

In my jurisdiction - people can admit themselves voluntarily but if they try to leave and the staff think it a bad idea, they get made involuntary. So just because you choose to go in does not mean you get to choose to leave. Once in, you are subject to their decisions about you. (Many of clients do not realize this so I thought I would mention it here too)

Thanks for all the info. That's the scary thing, not having the freedom there. I'm used to doing my own thing (which isn't really much) it's gonna be hard living with so many restrictions. The thought of being expected to do or participate where I don't want to is scary too. Uggh! It almost sounds worse than I remember school being, all those many years ago. Hopefully I would not ever get made involutary, that would not be good.

Participation in groups is generally strongly encouraged, but it isn't like a hard-fast requirement. I tended to attend none the first few says and gradually start going as I started feeling more human. It's one of the behaviors that indicates improvement by the way, along with eating regularly, not sleeping the day away, getting out of your room rather than isolating, interacting with others, taking care of personal hygiene, etc.

[AnIslandNeverCries]

Originally Posted by clinpsycstudent

Hi!

I think despite the way someone is admitted - rest assured that you will get the care and attention that you need, no matter what Absolutely normal to feel overwhelmed and nervous! Am proud of you though - because it takes courage and a honest bravery to take this step.
Thinking of you,

ClinicalPsycStudent

Thanks CPS, it was extremely hard for me to take that step and let go, but in a way I had no choice. My T helped really alot with that though in a very painful way for me. Hopefully going in will be the right thing to do. It's kind of a last resort for me. That's how I see it. Very scary though to give up so much control of your life, but depression has already did that I guess. Well, I will see how it goes.

[nottrustin]

Originally Posted by 1914sierra

Participation in groups is generally strongly encouraged, but it isn't like a hard-fast requirement. I tended to attend none the first few says and gradually start going as I started feeling more human. It's one of the behaviors that indicates improvement by the way, along with eating regularly, not sleeping the day away, getting out of your room rather than isolating, interacting with others, taking care of personal hygiene, etc.

that is how we view it where I work as well. There are people who rarely attend groups and such but we strongly encourage it.

[AllyIsHopeful]

1914sierra gave a very accurate depiction on how they rate your readiness to leave. Once certain staff members "clued me in" on what they were watching for and documenting on our charts, I made sure to demonstrate the behavior they were looking for. It wasn't in my best interest for them to tell me that, though, because I've been involved in theater my entire life so I promptly took a few deep breaths and I switched to my actress self and put on a smile, talked to other patients, attended every group session, woke up by 7:30 each morning (and never went back to bed) and I saved all of my crying and distress for bedtime when I was in my room with the door closed... I was released fairly quickly.
It was a huge disservice to myself because I could have gotten much more out of my stay if I allowed them to observe my actual behavior and depressive state. Just wanted to share this experience because I realized it is important to be 100% yourself and allow yourself to feel the way you feel in order to really benefit from inpatient treatment.

[nottrustin]

Originally Posted by AllyIsHopeful

1914sierra gave a very accurate depiction on how they rate your readiness to leave. Once certain staff members "clued me in" on what they were watching for and documenting on our charts, I made sure to demonstrate the behavior they were looking for. It wasn't in my best interest for them to tell me that, though, because I've been involved in theater my entire life so I promptly took a few deep breaths and I switched to my actress self and put on a smile, talked to other patients, attended every group session, woke up by 7:30 each morning (and never went back to bed) and I saved all of my crying and distress for bedtime when I was in my room with the door closed... I was released fairly quickly.
It was a huge disservice to myself because I could have gotten much more out of my stay if I allowed them to observe my actual behavior and depressive state. Just wanted to share this experience because I realized it is important to be 100% yourself and allow yourself to feel the way you feel in order to really benefit from inpatient treatment.

That is often the hardest thing for us working in the hospitals. We can often see through facade but can only go based on what people said. Often times though what ends up happening is once the patient is released from the hospital and the life stressers that caused them to come in to the hospital push them further down. So they quickly end up coming back.