Hospitalization Due To Ptsd?

[Deleted member 26314]

Hi, this is probably a personal topic for some so if you wish to answer, by all means, you don't have to say more than you feel comfortable.

I was just wondering if anyone's PTSD (or other mental health issues) have been severe enough to be either hospitalized/sectioned?

Over the last couple months my PTSD and anxiety have gotten out of hand quite a few times and my boyfriend wondered if there was any options in regards to being put in a hospital or some form of inpatient place. I know the place I go for therapy has one, but you have to be involuntarily admitted or your request to be admitted requires two psychiatrists to agree it's in your best interest. I don't think I want to go into anything like this, I know it'd most likely help and I'd be able to find my ground a little before getting back out, but they scare me. I was thinking of bringing it up with my therapist next week.

So I'm just looking for people's advice and/or experiences regarding hospitalization?

I also fear that if I talk to my therapist about it, she'll laugh at me (figuratively) for thinking I need it. I have a fear of not being believed/taken seriously, and I do feel I am spiralling and getting worse by the day. So, it's something I've thought about, but I am afraid she wont think I'm 'bad enough' to be put in an inpatient place/hospital.

 

[shimmerz]

@Katarina19 I would stay out of the hospital at all costs if I was you. Yes, I have been offered treatment - and taken it, not a good experience, also I have been taken to hospital and a nurse there, not understanding what was happening to me terrorized me so much that I was sectioned. I don't find the hospitals (here anyways) very good with the types of reactions I go into. If you have standard PTSD (whatever that is), maybe but to be perfectly honest any involvement I had did not work out well AT ALL.

 

[digger]

In the UK, I think it is unlikely you will be admitted, via the NHS at least, unless you are considered to be a danger to yourself or others. If you're not actively suicidal, it's not likely to happen on request.

There may be some specific inpatient programs for things like eating disorders etc, but from what I know, they are few and far between. There simply isn't the funding for mental health services here and so spaces tend to be 'reserved' for the worst cases.

 

[Deleted member 26314]

Thank you both for your replies. I have heard horror stories of people being put in hospital due to mental health, and their experiences weren't the best either shimmerz. However, I don't feel okay where I am right now, so I'm just grasping at straws I guess.

But thank you both.

 

[open eyes]

I have been hospitalized 3 times in an adolescent psychiatric hospital for PTSD/Bipolar related issues. Typically you're admitted if you're at risk to yourself or to other people- not usually just for having a disorder.

When you go inpatient, you do not come out on the other side as a shiny new person & return to your life like nothing happened. It changes everything, possibly for better or for worse. It separates you from friends, family, work, & pretty much anything else. The transition back into the "real world" is extremely difficult. I was also retraumatized by another patient the most recent time I was in the hospital. I don't mean to scare you out of going to the hospital but it's an extremely drastic measure & should only be taken if you truly believe you're a safety risk.

Each time I was in the hospital, I learned something new. I didn't only learn coping skills but I learned a lot about myself. The therapists, nurses & psychiatrists in the hospital I was in really tried to get to the root of my problems, which gave me a lot of insight.

 

[Kas_Can_Fly]

At the end of the day the only people who will know if you should be in hospital are possibly you, possibly your family members, possibly the crisis team or other mental health professionals. It might be horrible, it might not be but it is what it is and if you need it, you need it. I have been hospitalised twice in the last year under the NHS, the first was in part due to self-harm, intense suicidal feelings, panic attacks/flashbacks made worse for not sleeping for many days. The second was after I overdosed at apparently seven times the lethal dose of one of my medications. Both were necessary. Both had good and bad points, though I would say that the first time in was in was better than the second, in part due to the fact that I was taken nearly 100 miles away from my family with no clothes or posessions.

I would go in again if I needed it and have plans in place that should help both me and support staff (social worker/therapist/mental health team) if I find myself in such a bad position again, so that perhaps next time there will be less confusion over what I need and why. But I don't want to, some of the stories I have are terrible, so terrible they almost seem funny until you realise they were real and happening around me in a mental health crisis. However I also made massive breakthroughs that I only have the first hospitalisation and a specific member of staff to thank for. Also I'm currently doing a bit better and I want to stay that way if I can help it!

If in doubt ask someone, your therapist/GP/Social Worker say how you feel (honestly, don't hide any of it) and how you're doing. If they think it's necessary, or if you have seen the crisis team before and you feel it's necessary, contact the crisis team. Or go to A&E. Or you or a friend/family member can phone the police if you're imminently in danger of harming yourself.

I found at points it was better to let the system just play out for me at some points, but unfortunately the system is over-worked and sometimes even in a crisis you need to still push for what you need. If you don't know what you need then maybe you need someone else to decide for you and just take things as they come. It depends how against it you do or don't feel. Good luck.

 

[Justmehere]

I have been hospitalized in a specialized trauma treatment inpatient unit in the US that was out of state. It was very different than a general adult acute inpatient psych unit.

I have visited clients of my own as a case manager on general adult acute inpatient psych unit. From my experience I would say that they are good when safety is an issue and someone is immensely suicidal. Otherwise, I really highly avoid those places for people with trauma as there is a high date of re-traumatization. Just the loss of choices on those units can really trigger a lot for some people with PTSD. Even my own doc says, "they are really good at keeping people alive, but that's about it."

If you are in the US, and feel like you need a higher level of care to get your feet under you, I would really look into one of the specialized programs. I was very surprised that many took my insurance and I eventually did one program. It was a lot of work and helped my therapy become a lot more effective when I got back. It provided some space to go deeper and not be so concerned about falling apart and really becoming too unstable to keep myself alive, and it really challenged me in other ways too. There are programs with a huge psychodynamic approach, some with a trauma focused CBT approach, some with a DBT approach, all mixed in with other models. For me, it kept me out of needing to go to an adult acute inpatient psych unit and was worth the plane ticket. Most have some admissions criteria and require you to have an outpatient therapist and doctor you can follow up with when you get back home, and require a 2 week minimum stay. They are not for people who want a place to have others do the work for them or who are struggling so much they are actively trying to commit suicide (struggling with suicidal thoughts is ok and good to work on there.)

I have had friends with PTSD who have had very positive experiences with local partial hospitalization day treatment programs that were not specialized for PTSD. That may also be another option to look into. Those programs seem to avoid more of what can be re-traumatizing in full inpatient programs while still providing daily support and safety and restablization. It's an option I wish I would have had myself.

 

[digger]

@Katarina19 do you currently have any other support than your therapist? Do you have a social worker or are you under Community Psychiatric services? There may be more support available outside of inpatient treatment than you are currently receiving if you think things have gotten so bad.

 

[Deleted member 26314]

Digger, I don't have any other support (professionally) outside of my therapist, who I have only started seeing again these last couple months. I have asked for weekly appointments which will make me feel less alone in regards to help/support. I have no idea who else is available to help other than my therapist..

 

[digger]

Might be worth speaking to your GP about it, or asking your therapist. Weekly appointments sounds like a good idea though anyway.

 

[Kas_Can_Fly]

Is your therapist NHS based and do they work for a mental health unit (If not they would be private or a charity/organisation)? If your therapist is from a Mental Health Unit, they may well be to refer you on to someone else.

If not, then if you go to your GP and say how much you're struggling, you are likely to be entered into the Mental Health System and referred a psychiatrist or support worker (such as a social worker or mental health nurse), they are there to make sure you're receiving all the help and support you are entitled to and to help you with any problems that you are experiencing.

 

[Deleted member 26314]

I see a therapist with CAMHS, which is a NHS run mental health service for young people. She has sent me to psychiatrists and there is a second person I am going to see late august to discuss my flashbacks (since my therapist has no experience with PTSD things). But that's it. I went to my GP not long ago and gave me the numbers for a couple charity/organisation type places, but it's not my kind of thing - I can't do it, voluntarily seek help elsewhere at places like charities. I feel like I can't have control over what happens there because I should just accept what I get due to the fact its a non-profit group that is devoted to helping people, and me nagging and trying to change things in regards to my own treatment makes me just feel bleh.