Posted by judy1 on February 9, 2005, at 11:35:17
In reply to Re: Hospitalization stigma?, posted by Smeegle on February 9, 2005, at 0:16:34
I'm glad that you are slowly feeling better. The best time to put things in place are when you do feel better since most people with MDD are almost certain to have another depressive episode. During my stays at psych hospitals I have met people who have voluntarily committed themselves, they needed a place to feel safe- and for some people (unlike me) a hospital is a very safe place. You have no access to anything dangerous (they take your shoelaces for heavens sake), you can get stabilized on a med, and you have access to daily group therapy. Usually your personal pdoc visits briefly each day- maybe 10 or 15 minutes at a time. You have the right to sign yourself out at any time, and in my experience most people did that after a week or so, then blended into the day program. Since you have family, it is really critical to get them on board. I cannot tell you how many times my husband has literally saved me, but that took trust. We developed that together with my pdoc, he came to a few sessions with me and knew what to look for in order to prevent a dangerous (to me) episode. I hope you avail yourself of your spouse's help.
take care, judy
poster:judy1
thread:454802
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20050206/msgs/455406.html