It gave me a place to feel safe and get my meds adjusted. Yes, it removes you from the real world but sometimes you need that. Going to group and just getting stuff out helps while you are in there. I, too, have felt suicidal and did not seek hospitalization, did not realize I could until I got in the system, i.e. getting on Disability. I gained stability and got my head together while in the hospital. There is really nothing else to do. lol!

i have been hospitalized twice, it didn't help too much either time except that it took me away from reality for a little bit. but being gone that long made for a real smack in the face when I got out (I was in for 10-11 days each time). The biggest thing other than the escape from reality was meeting people who were a lot worse off than I was. i know that seems sick, but letting them vent to me about their lives, helped me to take the focus off my own. they never could adjust my meds right, even as an inpatient, so that aspect was useless to me and both hospitals I was in didn't have much structured therapy. It was mostly the patients just sitting in the tv room venting amongst themselves.

Hospitalization has been nessesary in my life 4several times, the first time i was having emotional blackouts...the second time i was dx'd bipolar, 3rd and 4th time were meds work and intense therapy..5th was for overdose. They helped me tremedosly...my husband has been 3 times, he just broke down emotionally, suicidal attempts etc.. in there he was "safe" away from outside stress while they worked on his meds. It really helped with getting him on the meds he needed to be on. He was in a state hospital, so not much therapy in there. but the hosp i was in got alot of therapy in there, they weren't state run.

For me my hospitalization gave me a couple things...first it gave me a diagnosis of bipolar...second it got me to slow down and feel safe...but when i got out i wasn't ready and all hell broke loose...that's when i bought the car...so then i was hospitalized again...almost against my will until i signed myself back in. it was a threatening and scary experience...they're threatening to take you to court but i know it was for my own good. it was scary meeting some really scary people...not trying to judge, but some people were just plain rude and scary...others were very nice and i was lucky to have them help me through it. i think the experience is different for everyone. some people go there because they need a break. others because they are at their last rope and their family is so worried for them they have no other choice then to send them there. i just know that it changed my life forever. it got me on drugs, which i used to be completly against. in my mind it was one big conspiracy...the system had gotten me to be on drugs too...but then i realized that these were the meds keeping me alive. i'm rambling...

my hospitilizations, 3 of them, saved me. The first, I had NO idea there even was such a thing. I walked around for 2 days in amazement that people seem to be able to relate to me... and encouraged me FAR beyond what my family had ever done.

The second time... I was facing an eviction. I just could not find what it took to solve the problem,and I crumbled.
It was a much shorter stay... but they tweeded my meds.. and the SWorker got me the letter that I needed to have my, at the time, companion dogs. She worked very hard with me to find those solutions that I could not alone. How to get all new furniture, on her referral, should I need to. The support was AWESOME. and I gained confidence to take care of my 'outside' life issues a bit better.

The 3rd time... we won't even talk about.

servant of God,
denise

Thanks for the answers so far, please guys keep posting...

I was hospitalized twice when I was 21, and only twice in my life. The first time I was severely depressed & wished to die. I was placed on Pamelor, an anti-depressant known to trigger mania. My diagnosis was deep depression. I was also on sedatives to make it bearable for me. After 10 days, my doctor released me recommending that I live with someone & have psychotherapy for 3-4 years. I moved 500 miles away to live with my aunt & uncle, who are like 2nd parents to me. Within a week, I was hospitalized again, for mania. A new
doctor...who make the correct diagnosis of bipolar. This time I was hospitalized for 5-6 weeks. The doctor gave me time to begin to accept the dx, adjust my meds to balance me, & begin therapy, individual & group. At the time it was very helpful, although much of the time, I disliked it. Looking back, I would not take those experieces away; if for nothing else to know what is endured in psych hospitals & be able to share that. It was a valuable time for me, but one I have not felt needed since then.

i have been hospitalized for suicide attempts around 8 times within 11 years and i do not think i would have been able to function, what i could, if i had not been in a safe place with others who understood and cared and staff that supported all of the patients...i am not saying it was a 'cure all' but it helped to deal with issues at hand quickly...then the rest was outpatient...i have not been suicidal since 2002...but was hospitalized in sept 2006 for severe mania and delusions...that hospitalization was for 12 days and helped me in that i needed med changes and intensive support and care.

I have went three times. It gave me a place to feel peaceful. The main thing was it gavet them time to my meds adjusted while they watched me. The only time I was was when I was suicidal.

Being in the hospital for me, validated that there was something actually wrong with me. I think it helped my husband and parents to realize that all this time, something was wrong. Although they only diagnoes my depression, it was a safe haven. I was there for a week and did learn alot in the group therapy. The only thing I didnt like was the "occupational therapy" it was like arts and crafts in the 4th grade..LOL

As a psyche nurse with BP I read the posts with interest. For me being a psyche nurse I treated my patients with kindness and compassion, empathy not sympathy. I have a lot of thank you notes from ex patients and I read through these if I'm really depressed to know I really did make a difference in someones life.

I learned that I need to see my doctor and really stay on top of my meds...SO THAT I CAN STAY OUT OF THE HOSPITAL!

Hospitalization has done for me I think for me it saved my life at first I did not want any part of it then I felt I loved the place leart more about what was happing to me and there are people out there that care enought about you to save you and with people in there that are just as messed up as you are sometimes it helps to see others in the same boat as you to know your not alone was the place where I learnt what was going on with me now I take it one day at a time hopping not to go back there.

So far it seems: 1) safe place to relax; 2) someone to pay attention to what the meds are doing to you; 3) meet similar people to know you're not alone; 4) group therapy helps when they offer it; 5) of course, the life-saving last stop before suicide; 6) a place to get your bearings together without outside stimuli; 7) an official stamp of "looney" which either we or our close ones may need for acceptance/compliance/etc.; 8) a place to focus on yourself...

Please, anyone else who wants to add or to write about their experience, please keep posting. This is a very interesting post to me. Not that I'm thinking about checking in now, but right now it seems more appealing than our next planned vacation (six hours in a car with a 18-month old and a husband who is much better but still on my shit list).

even though i was put there against my will, it helped me greatly! gave me a chance to care about myself and nobody else and to get regulated on my meds and such. oh, and it helped me from killing myself even though the cops had to cuff me and stuff me