[thesnowqueen]

Has anyone here had themselves hospitalised? I'm seeing T tomorrow and since she has only known me a month or two she asks me if I think I am in any danger of serious SH. I don't know if I can honestly say 'no' anymore, but I don't know what the implications are of NOT saying no. I think she is asking if I need to be hospitalised, but I don't know. I haven't had to be hospitalised for 9 years and prior to that my hospitalisation were not exactly intended and deliberate.

[kecanoe]

My t would ask if I could promise to stay safe for the next 24 hours. If I could say yes, then I would just see him the next day. I did check into an IP trauma program during a time when I felt really out of control. I actually learned some good stuff and was able to relax some because I didn't have any opportunity to act out. It was a voluntary unit, which I think was a good thing-there was no one there that was court ordered. If you wanted to, you could leave. They wouldn't exactly rush to get you discharged, but there were women who left during my stay.

I would think it would be a lot better to have signed yourself in than to be sent there under duress. Easier to get out! If you need it for safety, then IMO you might as well get there under your own power. It just seems like that would mean a shorter stay (if you are ok) and more in control of your own life.

[thesnowqueen]

Iv never been hospitalised against my will or anything, it's just difficult to judge my own state of mind because I'm ok and then suddenly so not ok. Am I likely to become so not-ok that I would need hospitalisation? I'm not really sure... Also, Now that I know how to contact T if urgent, I guess there is some buffer.

[chihirochild]

I'm always struck by how difficult that question is for me to answer. (I guess before I had depression I always figured that there would be some obvious sign when someone needed to go to the hospital for psych stuff, but for me that turned out not to be the case.)

My T and pdoc have been good about including me in the conversation about hospitalization. They have never forced me. I've now been hospitalized twice, and both times I decided it was the right thing to do because I didn't think I could keep myself alive. I've never been hospitalized to avoid NSSI because then I'd be in the hospital like all the time, but my NSSI is not truly dangerous to my physical health.

Details:

Possible trigger:

Both times, I felt pretty sure that I was going to jump off a building unless I was hospitalized, and the 'well/healthy' part of me doesn't want that to happen because it would hurt my family so much, and because I have a suicide contract with pdoc that I feel strongly about keeping

Sorry you're feeling so bad, snowqueen

[junkDNA]

ive been hospitalized a lot. most of the times i was given ultimatums by my therapist. "go voluntarily or involuntarily, youre going either way" type thing. one time he did have to call the police on me and i was brought to a psych ward in handcuffs and ankle cuffs. tip: go voluntarily

as far as my mental state at those times, i was severely psychotic and hallucinating voices 24/7, and feeling SUi because of that. and this always happened bc i would say HEY i dont need meds!!! and flush them down the toilet

thankfully i learned from all of that, take my meds now, and have been hospital free for 4 years

[captgut]

Thank you for the thread...
Things are getting worse, and i'm afraid he'll ask me if i think i need hospitalization.
I have no idea. Maybe it can save my life... But i dont think my life needs to be saved.

Originally Posted by junkDNA

ive been hospitalized a lot. most of the times i was given ultimatums by my therapist. "go voluntarily or involuntarily, youre going either way" type thing. one time he did have to call the police on me and i was brought to a psych ward in handcuffs and ankle cuffs. tip: go voluntarily

Voluntary is scary, but I've done the handcuff route as well and I'd have to say, it's 100 times more traumatic.

If I was feeling unsafe, if I was unable to honestly commit to my own safety, if I was feeling impulsive and unable to trust myself, it was time to voluntarily admit myself to the hospital. I needed to put myself in a place where I could be kept safe while my doctor could work to get me stabilized. I needed to let the professionals help me stay safe rather than put that responsibility on my husband or possibly subject him or my sons to an impulsive mistake by hurting myself. Admitting myself was the responsible and rational step to take because those extreme episodes were just that -- extreme and episodes. They weren't going to last forever. The only way they were going to last forever was if I acted irrationally during those episodes and permanently did myself damage or killed myself. The hospital gave me a place to ride out those storms safely (and usually much quicker than if I tried to do so on my own outpatient).

[ScarletPimpernel]

I know I need to go when all my other safety steps fail. My list is to first try coping skills, then talk to my fiance, then try Ativan, and then call my T. If all of that doesn't work, it's hospital time. Thankfully, I haven't gotten there yet. Well, at least with current T.

[Erebos]

In the UK unless your slapped with a section 4 you can't be kept in hospital. Unless in commission of a crime.
You have the right to leave after 72hrs, unless you are re graded a section 2.
Your Dr can discharge you at any time before the 72hrs is up.
But I have no idea about anywhere else.

[thesnowqueen]

Thanks for your replies everyone. I did see T today and we discussed the way I would alert her to an urgent episode. Also what lead to the incident that scared me. So the need for hospital did not come up - I do need to get the meds I'm on revised and contact p-doc. I know things do seem less dire during the day than late at night but hopefully with the right meds I'll be more stable generally.