Posted by jerrympls on December 23, 2004, at 17:26:03
In reply to Locked Up, posted by ed_uk on December 23, 2004, at 8:03:07
I agree- good thread Ed.
I've been in the hospital 3 times but all voluntary. To echo what many have said - there's nothing really to do except watch TV, read or walk around. The most recent time I was hospitalized was the best out of all three - it was a "behavioral unit" but still locked down. There was a big common room with a TV, the nurses station and then the rooms which were basically standard hospital rooms - oh and not to forget the "quiet room." I liked the place because they didn't force me to go to any therapy groups I didn't want to attend. They encouraged it - but were laid back. I did look forward to our 'craft" hour - where we made stupid little art projects - kept my mind busy.
One place I was in years ago almost drove me COMPLETELY nuts because you HAD to attend these horrible group therapy sessions led by inexperienced so-called therapists. You also had to watch hours and hours of motivational speaker videos and fill out worksheets about them. They even made us watch DR PHIL!!!!! UGHHHHHHHHH!!! I hated it so much.
What is going into a hospital good for? Well, it's a very controlled environment and is a great place and time to accelerate med changes or med washouts, etc. For ex: this last time I was in they washed me out of an SSRI before switching me to an MAOI - all in about 10 days instead of 3-4 weeks outpatient. Of course the hospital is the best place if your are suicidal - no question.
I also liked the last place I was in because I saw my doctor everyday - except on weekends. It was a teaching hospital so my doc woul dhave 5-6 med students with him each time. Now I'm seeing one of his med students as my pdoc!
So - yeah - going in to a hospital or "behavioral unit" isn't the greatest because it's a lot like jail and very boring
Jerry
poster:jerrympls
thread:433249
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20041223/msgs/433473.html