Column: What's it like in there?
Editor’s Note: The following content discusses mental health, particularly inpatient hospitalization settings. Please continue with caution and remember that the Counseling Center is available for all students in need.
I am an undergraduate psychology major with an emphasis in clinical psychology, and I also self-identify as having borderline personality disorder, bipolar II and post traumatic stress disorder. I am writing this article in hopes that someone would find hope this September, Suicide Awareness Month.
One question I always get is, “How did you end up inpatient?”
The thing about it is, in my experience, it’s actually really hard to be put inpatient. If you and your therapist, a police officer, an EMT or a crisis worker, have come to the conclusion that you need to go to an inpatient or residential facility, then it is because you are at risk of seriously harming yourself or others.
I want you to know that it is okay to ask for help. All action will be taken to keep you out of an inpatient setting before they decide to admit you.
If there is a less restrictive environment, such as outpatient therapy, especially telehealth right now during COVID-19, you will be given that opportunity. The most important thing is keeping you safe.
However, for those of you who have always wondered what it would be like if you needed to ask for help and you had to go that route, I’m here to explain what it’s like. Keep in mind these are just my personal experiences, and I do not speak for any particular hospital, brand or company.
Inpatient therapy is not a jail setting. It’s not prison. You are not going to be treated like a “crazy” person or an “animal,” like movies and TV shows predict.
You do, however, have some limitations. You cannot go and come as you please. You do have to keep your doors open at certain times. There is someone watching you pretty much every second of the day.
Some hospitals allow visitors and others do not, but for the most part they are not right now due to COVID-19.
But it’s a safe place. You get food, group therapy, individual therapy and you see a psychiatrist every day. If you need to become stable in a crisis, it is the ideal place to go.
It is a perfectly natural response to be scared of going into an inpatient facility if you have never been in one before, but remember, many find the experience to be a positive turning point in their recovery. I definitely have found that. My hospitalizations have become small steps that kept me sane during times that I could not keep myself safe.
If you are in immediate need of crisis assistance, please call 1-800-273-8255 or text “HOME” to 741-741.
