Posted by judy1 on February 8, 2005, at 14:30:07
In reply to Hospitalization stigma?, posted by Smeegle on February 8, 2005, at 0:10:55
Hi,
I've been hospitalized several times- all involuntarily. Several were for manic episodes, which averaged about a week- I was psychotic. The other 2( in the last 5 years) were for suicide attempts (not ideation) and it is a 72 hour hold in those situations. I loathe being hospitalized, despite the 'cushy' hospital my insurance is willing to allow for. My feelings stem from being held against my will, it is a situation that I fear and will do anything to avoid. All hospitalizations had day sessions afterward- these were voluntary and I chose not to attend after a day. It is critical to me to see where my pdoc/therp stands with suicidal ideation- all of them know that I will not be truthful if they threaten hospitalization so they promise to be available to me at all times should I have serious ideation. The only stigma I had was from the circumstances leading to the hospitalizations- manic behaviors and police questioning neighbors after suicide attempts. The police questioning was a small price to pay when my life was saved- despite my anger at the time. Nobody but immediate family knows about hospitalizations due to manic episodes- I'll assume this isn't a problem for you. You just need to find out your pdoc/therps stand(s) when it comes to ideation- be truthful about any fears you have of being hospitalized and ask that they be available to you if you do indeed experience serious suicidal ideation.
take care, judy
poster:judy1
thread:454802
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20050206/msgs/455046.html