I'm thinking of checking myself into an institution

I started seeing a state funded therapist a few weeks ago, with the goal of just getting me to a point where I'm able to go out and improve my life/ continue my education/ whatever. I'm 22, currently live with my parents and work 2-3 days a week. In-between therapy sessions I do nothing but lay around and sleep, and feel bad, and wait for more appointments (I'm also seeing another psychiatrist). I'd really like something more intensive, and I have no problem putting my life on hold for it, as I have none. Going to a hospital is something Ive had in the back of my head for a long time, but I keep reading stuff like this-

another forum wrote: All around, it's not nearly as bad as people think it is. When I was young, I met a lot of really interesting people there, and it was just all-around good for me. The biggest thing I can say is that treatment has changed drastically over the 14 years that I've been in and out, and I've gotten to see it change. The first time I was admitted (1992), the average stay was around 4-5 months. You had individual therapy every day, family therapy 2-3 times a week, and various group therapies all day long. There was "general" group therapy, anger management groups, relaxation techniques group, art therapy, etc, as well as more specialized groups that only certain patients attended, e.g. sexual abuse survivors group and drug and alcohol groups.

As time went by over the years, the focus went from "treatment" to "crisis intervention," which means "get them in and get them out as fast as possible." This means that they started dropping various therapies, and the stays got shorter and shorter. The last time I was there (2006), there was not a single therapy group, no more individual or family therapy, and the average stay was 5 days. Nowadays it's basically you come in, they give you some medication, they make sure that you don't have some sort of major problem with your medication, and then they send you home.

I don't know. Have any of you ever been in an institution? positives? negatives? alternatives? I would really appreciate any opinions...

My hospitalization experiences have nearly all been traumatic, quite unhelpful. Now.. I'm getting desperate.. I have no idea where to turn. I'll probably end up in a hospital again.. I doubt I'll have much choice.

I went in when I needed it and I got some good help. It depends on the facility and the staff I think, but if you do check yourself in, do the work and make every effort to improve.

Maggiedoll wrote:My hospitalization experiences have nearly all been traumatic, quite unhelpful. Now.. I'm getting desperate.. I have no idea where to turn. I'll probably end up in a hospital again.. I doubt I'll have much choice.

Thats really sad. I always thought if I was completely unable to function I could spend some time in a hospital and actually get help...

I'm reading some more testimonies and it sounds like US psychiatric hospitals are a joke, and unless I'm an extreme case there is no real therapy involved. wow.

I have stayed in the psych ward of a hospital twice. In my opinion they did not really help me, it was just a place to go when I really just could not handle my life anymore, so it was useful for that, but not really for long-term therapy. My stays were both approximately a week long, which is really the shortest they would keep you at that hospital. I think most other patients stayed two or three weeks, sometimes four.

There was not any real "therapy" in a strict sense. They would have several sessions a day where a nurse or someone would talk with people as a group about dealing with mental illness and once a day you spoke with a doctor, so they could determine your "privileges," arrange when you would leave, and prescribe medication. There were some descriptions and videos about CBT, "mindfulness" (I think, dunno meditation and crap), and DBT, but they were all just pretty basic stuff.

Obviously, all of the policies and standards are different with each hospital and there is variation in quality with the staff as well.

I do think you will have trouble finding something where you can stay a while and do some intensive therapy, which is a shame, especially since you really want to get better. Basically everyone with AvPD does, but it is so frightening for us.

Your best bet will be to check with your therapist and psychiatrist, to see what services or clinics they know of that are available and aren't just standard hospital stays, as this will vary greatly depending on where you live. Local universities may offer some group therapy that meets once a week or clinics that might be useful. They might even have studies on new treatments that may apply to you, in which you will great treatment, if you do not mind that route. Try calling around at any place that offers some sort of psychological service or any association for professional psychologists as these kinds of places may know of somewhere that offers what you need.

I went into partial hospitalization just two months ago at the end of October. It was basically a one week therapy session in which I had to come every day and listen to some weirdo therapist talk about things that weren't really helpful at all. I did however get a psychiatrist to help me somewhat every day I came in. All he did was ask me a few questions and why I was there and prescribed me some medication. I took a weeks worth of the meds, but they didn't really do anything, so my Mom set up an appointment about a week ago and he decided to increase the dosage. I did feel a slight change in my mood, but that was about it. I just stopped taking the meds yesterday due to side effects that didn't prove satisfying, so I have yet to find out what I should do next. So yeah, it seems like my situation is basically the same.

Yukinari wrote:I went into partial hospitalization just two months ago at the end of October. It was basically a one week therapy session in which I had to come every day and listen to some weirdo therapist talk about things that weren't really helpful at all. I did however get a psychiatrist to help me somewhat every day I came in. All he did was ask me a few questions and why I was there and prescribed me some medication. I took a weeks worth of the meds, but they didn't really do anything, so my Mom set up an appointment about a week ago and he decided to increase the dosage. I did feel a slight change in my mood, but that was about it. I just stopped taking the meds yesterday due to side effects that didn't prove satisfying, so I have yet to find out what I should do next. So yeah, it seems like my situation is basically the same.

Partial hospitalization sounds a better... except I don't want to go home at the end of it. or ever again. What state are you in?

And thanks Tujjen, that's what I keep hearing. I guess now all I can do is ask my therapist about it tomorrow.

I was and it was absolutely HORRIBLE. It is very hard to get out. They want you to be perfect and prove that you're never going to harm yourself or anyone else. They kept me locked up for two years. They used my gf to testify against me in court. I couldn't get a dental appointment - not even a cleaning - for two years. They did not let me even visit my aging father. They tried to force drug me. I often had roomates that would scream in the night. I remember waking up one night and this guy was screaming at the top of his lungs 'I God damn that judge to HELL!!! I god damn ya. I god damn ya!!!"

sublyp wrote:

Yukinari wrote:I went into partial hospitalization just two months ago at the end of October. It was basically a one week therapy session in which I had to come every day and listen to some weirdo therapist talk about things that weren't really helpful at all. I did however get a psychiatrist to help me somewhat every day I came in. All he did was ask me a few questions and why I was there and prescribed me some medication. I took a weeks worth of the meds, but they didn't really do anything, so my Mom set up an appointment about a week ago and he decided to increase the dosage. I did feel a slight change in my mood, but that was about it. I just stopped taking the meds yesterday due to side effects that didn't prove satisfying, so I have yet to find out what I should do next. So yeah, it seems like my situation is basically the same.

Partial hospitalization sounds a better... except I don't want to go home at the end of it. or ever again. What state are you in?

Don't want to go home? Hospitals are terrifying to me. I don't want to be anywhere but home, then again, I need help. I'm in Texas if that's what you meant, it's under my avatar.

Unless you are at risk of serious harm to yourself FEAR THE HOSPITAL. I have managed to avoid them but some people I knew in college were not so lucky. Having the staff intentionally provoke you to see if you are medicated enough (if you get angry then you might be violent) forcing you to partake in group therapy sessions and "Share" when social interaction is your biggest stress, and then "misplacing" your paperwork until after 5pm on Friday so that you can't be released until 9am on Monday (longer stay = bigger check from insurance company). And if all that crap isn't bad enough, you can only hope the horse pills they give you are well chosen because you've just given up your freedom to refuse unwanted treatment. And God help you if they think you need to be committed. I was a two days away from needed to hire a lawyer to get a writ of habeas corpus for a friend. The only nice thing about hospitalization is that they are very good and keeping suicidal people alive. That is nice when you need it but that’s about it.