i started counseling again and this time i'm going to discuss my suicidal thoughts a little more descriptively than the first time around. however, i know that if i say whats really on my mind i'll probably be hosptialized or something. so....basically what would happen if i got involuntarily hospitalized? most importantly, would my parents or anyone else find out (i'm in college)? thanks
being hospitalized
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A therapist would be forced by law (in the USA) to have you commited to some sort of recovery center. Those centers can be of great help in giving understanding and by giving you time out. Therapists there will give you some helpful coping skills. If you admit yourself, you have control over how long you will stay - you can check out at any time. If you're admitted by a therapist, you stay until you're permitted to leave, when staff thinks you're ready for life on the outside. I admitted myself and stayed longer than I might have if I had been required to be admitted.
Only the people you tell will know where you are for the days you're in a hospital. I chose to be open when I checked out because I wanted people around me to understand that people appear all together on the outside are hurting on the inside. There were specified hours for visitations, and no one will be admitted unless you approve their visit.
You sound like you're at a good place in your life to reach out for help. What a mistake most of us make thinking for years that we can handle it on our own. Get help sooner than later. I think you won't regret it.
Only the people you tell will know where you are for the days you're in a hospital. I chose to be open when I checked out because I wanted people around me to understand that people appear all together on the outside are hurting on the inside. There were specified hours for visitations, and no one will be admitted unless you approve their visit.
You sound like you're at a good place in your life to reach out for help. What a mistake most of us make thinking for years that we can handle it on our own. Get help sooner than later. I think you won't regret it.
It might be good for you but be very careful what you say, i've been hospitalized before just for saying i had plans and i personally hated it, life inside such a place is very restricted and your watched constantly and the only time you can leave is when THEY decide, that could be 10 years from now or next week. My advice would be to continue counseling and maybe ask for support from your family and let them know how you are feeling(if you want), you may want to try medication aswell.
thanks for replying. basically, the one thing i absolutely cannot have happen is for anyone in my everyday life to know that i'm really depressed and suicidial. i can't tell my family or friends (my mom and dad know that i took lexapro my first semester at college, but i explained it as being due to the transition from being away and such, but i stopped taking it because it didnt work and told them that i didn't need it anymore). since i don't want anyone else to know, the scariest thing that can happen is for me to hospitalized, even though i know i need it right now. a couple questions:
1. i'm pretty ignorant about the whole healthcare system, but i'm assuming this would involve money, and that my parents would likely know about this because it would show up on their insurance or something. is this true?
2. will being hospitalized go on any records or make me ineligible for certain things, such as buying guns? (my dad is a hunter and we've always talked about going hunting together someday)
i basically am afraid that if i get hospitalized it'll just complicate my life even further and i'll know that everyone else knows i'm depressed, its no longer a problem i keep to myself, and its out there for anyone to know.
1. i'm pretty ignorant about the whole healthcare system, but i'm assuming this would involve money, and that my parents would likely know about this because it would show up on their insurance or something. is this true?
2. will being hospitalized go on any records or make me ineligible for certain things, such as buying guns? (my dad is a hunter and we've always talked about going hunting together someday)
i basically am afraid that if i get hospitalized it'll just complicate my life even further and i'll know that everyone else knows i'm depressed, its no longer a problem i keep to myself, and its out there for anyone to know.
i'm in ireland and they really go for outpatient care. i had already attempted suicide once and was ready to try again (it was 3 weeks after the attempt) when i saw my family doctor. he referred me to the psych ward for an assessment. the psychiatrist on duty interviewed me (at length) and even though i was still very suicidal i was sent home. the very next day a community mental health nurse came to see me at home. since then i've met with her weekly, sometimes chatting in between our visits, also i see the pscych once a month, and attend programs at the day hospital. basically, you go for a class or workshop (in my case, relaxation techniques) and then head home.
if you do not want to be hosptalized you can stress that, and just find out what other supports there are. when you are acutely suicidal seeing someone once a week is just not enough... esp. if you go on anti depressants, sometimes, as you probably know you can feel worse before you feel better.
on the other hand, if you truly feel that counselling, etc. is not going to be enough then find somewhere safe to be. it might be the hospital. or just putting a bunch of supports in place and *using* them might get you through this rough patch.
congrats for being willing to seek help. i hope counselling goes well.
catherine
if you do not want to be hosptalized you can stress that, and just find out what other supports there are. when you are acutely suicidal seeing someone once a week is just not enough... esp. if you go on anti depressants, sometimes, as you probably know you can feel worse before you feel better.
on the other hand, if you truly feel that counselling, etc. is not going to be enough then find somewhere safe to be. it might be the hospital. or just putting a bunch of supports in place and *using* them might get you through this rough patch.
congrats for being willing to seek help. i hope counselling goes well.
catherine
I was voluntarily hospitalized about three years ago, during my junior year of college. I couldn't handle the engineering program anymore, and the approaching finals week was more than I could bear. I stopped eating and wouldn't leave my room, so I admitted myself to the ER (who then admitted me to the psych ward, on a purely voluntary basis, even though I mentioned I was feeling suicidal). I was just there for a week, but I've always been curious as to whether or not it would go on some sort of permanent record. I did some research on gun permits particularly (since you were concerned about it), and for the state of new jersey, no permit can be issued:
To any person who suffers from a physical defect or disease which would make it unsafe for him to handle firearms, to any person who has ever been confined for a mental disorder, or to any alcoholic unless any of the foregoing persons produces a certificate of a medical doctor or psychiatrist licensed in New Jersey, or other satisfactory proof, that he is no longer suffering from that particular disability in such a manner that would interfere with or handicap him in the handling of firearms
http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2006/Bills/A4000/3511_I1.HTM
So basically (at least in New Jersey) it's not a permanent strike against you. Basically you'd just have to be re-evaluated by a psychiatrist later who can give you the clearance that you're ok. I'm not even sure how they define "confined," and I doubt that includes voluntarily admitting yourself.
The hospital therapy is generally intensive therapy all day long, where they may prescribe you drugs and make sure you're taking them. I remember being around some really interesting (and sometimes frightening) people when I was in the psych ward at the hospital. They made me look relatively normal actually, and it frustrated me because I felt like I needed help just as much as they did, but I was somewhat ignored because the majority of them had genuine psychosis, and weren't depressed per se, like I was.
Feel free to PM me with any more questions about the hospital experience.
To any person who suffers from a physical defect or disease which would make it unsafe for him to handle firearms, to any person who has ever been confined for a mental disorder, or to any alcoholic unless any of the foregoing persons produces a certificate of a medical doctor or psychiatrist licensed in New Jersey, or other satisfactory proof, that he is no longer suffering from that particular disability in such a manner that would interfere with or handicap him in the handling of firearms
http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2006/Bills/A4000/3511_I1.HTM
So basically (at least in New Jersey) it's not a permanent strike against you. Basically you'd just have to be re-evaluated by a psychiatrist later who can give you the clearance that you're ok. I'm not even sure how they define "confined," and I doubt that includes voluntarily admitting yourself.
The hospital therapy is generally intensive therapy all day long, where they may prescribe you drugs and make sure you're taking them. I remember being around some really interesting (and sometimes frightening) people when I was in the psych ward at the hospital. They made me look relatively normal actually, and it frustrated me because I felt like I needed help just as much as they did, but I was somewhat ignored because the majority of them had genuine psychosis, and weren't depressed per se, like I was.
Feel free to PM me with any more questions about the hospital experience.
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The facility I went to here in Oregon was brand new, a very nice place, with a gathering room with fireplace and big TV. It only handled 20 people, with a women's wing and a men's wing. Thou shalt not enter the opposite sex wing! So, it wasn't in itself a hospital, but across the campus from the mother medical center.
I just got a pistol for my daughter to use - she's not old enough to buy one. She needed it for personal safety because we live out in the country. She was raped and sexually assaulted a month ago, hence the need for more security. I remember a question at the store about mental health, but I don't remember the wording. I didn't mention my stay at the facility two years ago, or that I see a psychotherapist weekly for suicidal ideation.
If you're on your parents' insurance policy, they, of course, will see it in their statements. Do you know what the coverage is for inpatient? I paid 30%, but I had a second stay not long after the first, and was treated very poorly, given no meds which put me in serious withdrawal, so I wrote a letter of complaint, and my first stay cost was greatly reduced and the second stay was at no cost to me. It pays to write a good letter of complaint and send it to as many upper level staff as you can.
One other thing is that you may already have a strike because you took Lexapro, sending the insurance company a red flag for depression. That really messes things up if you try to change plans or companies because they'll see you as a high risk.
If Lexapro didn't work (assuming you took it for at least six weeks), you should try another antidepressant. There are lots of them out there, and you may have to try a dozen before you find the right one. For most of them, you can't know that it will work or not for you until you take them for six weeks. A real bummer because you're getting more and more depressed while you search for the right one.
I had to take a real attitude check when I became deeply depressed. My wife and doctors kept pointing out to me that if I had broken my leg and had to be hospitalized, there would be no stigma attached. Mental illness is no different from illnesses from the neck on down. I told my immediate superiors, and then down the road after I came home from the hospital I went public with it, and suffered a lot of negativity from people. So, you have to weigh the benefits against the difficulties.
May God give you strength and wisdom as you take this journey. You need all the help available.
I just got a pistol for my daughter to use - she's not old enough to buy one. She needed it for personal safety because we live out in the country. She was raped and sexually assaulted a month ago, hence the need for more security. I remember a question at the store about mental health, but I don't remember the wording. I didn't mention my stay at the facility two years ago, or that I see a psychotherapist weekly for suicidal ideation.
If you're on your parents' insurance policy, they, of course, will see it in their statements. Do you know what the coverage is for inpatient? I paid 30%, but I had a second stay not long after the first, and was treated very poorly, given no meds which put me in serious withdrawal, so I wrote a letter of complaint, and my first stay cost was greatly reduced and the second stay was at no cost to me. It pays to write a good letter of complaint and send it to as many upper level staff as you can.
One other thing is that you may already have a strike because you took Lexapro, sending the insurance company a red flag for depression. That really messes things up if you try to change plans or companies because they'll see you as a high risk.
If Lexapro didn't work (assuming you took it for at least six weeks), you should try another antidepressant. There are lots of them out there, and you may have to try a dozen before you find the right one. For most of them, you can't know that it will work or not for you until you take them for six weeks. A real bummer because you're getting more and more depressed while you search for the right one.
I had to take a real attitude check when I became deeply depressed. My wife and doctors kept pointing out to me that if I had broken my leg and had to be hospitalized, there would be no stigma attached. Mental illness is no different from illnesses from the neck on down. I told my immediate superiors, and then down the road after I came home from the hospital I went public with it, and suffered a lot of negativity from people. So, you have to weigh the benefits against the difficulties.
May God give you strength and wisdom as you take this journey. You need all the help available.
I
Depends on what state you live in.
See if this helps at all http://www.cga.ct.gov/2008/rpt/2008-R-0188.htm
For some reason being mentally ill means you lose all your rights.
See if this helps at all http://www.cga.ct.gov/2008/rpt/2008-R-0188.htm
For some reason being mentally ill means you lose all your rights.
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^They can't hospitalize you for depression unless you're already in the ER for an attempt or you walk up and ask for it...
I would strongly adise you to do outpatient treatment first, because Ire is right, being hospitalized will set you up for a long line of state-mandated stuff/jumping through the hoops that might otherwise serve to push you over the edge if you're not already there. I would have never gone to the ER if I knew I was going to be put on a hold. It's jail time.
I would strongly adise you to do outpatient treatment first, because Ire is right, being hospitalized will set you up for a long line of state-mandated stuff/jumping through the hoops that might otherwise serve to push you over the edge if you're not already there. I would have never gone to the ER if I knew I was going to be put on a hold. It's jail time.
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