Going Inpatient for Psychiatric Treatment

I have been in and out of psychiatric treatment facilities for the past 16 years. I have lost count of the number of times I was hospitalized for my mental illness.

In fact, on Monday, I was released from a seven day stay in a Behavioral Health Unit in Somerset Hospital in Pennsylvania. I have been diagnosed with major depression, severe anxiety disorder, panic disorder and several behavioral disorders including borderline personality disorder, post traumatic stress disorder and social anxiety disorder. But what all that boils down to is I have a medical condition which requires I take prescription medications every day and attend weekly therapy sessions where I learn new healthy ways of dealing with my emotions, stress and day-to-day life.

For some people, medication is the answer to their problems. Unfortunately, In my case, medication only plays a small role in my mental health. To put it simply, my meds take the edge off. There is no specific medication to treat behavioral disorders such as mine. Behavioral disorders are nothing more than bad habits. Many people while they were growing up learn how to cope with stress in negative ways.

In my case, I learned some from my mom, some from my dad, and figured out the rest by myself. Unfortunately, if parents do not handle emotions and stress in positive ways it can set a poor example for their children. This doesn't mean they were bad parents or that they failed. All parents do the best they can for their children with what they have to work with. It just so happens that if they didn't learn positive habits, most likely their parents didn't learn them and the list goes on.

This particular recent stay resulted from some severe withdrawal symptoms as I was changing from the antidepressant Effexor to Wellbutrin. I suffered headaches, nausea, vomiting, blurred vision and passed out a few times before my husband and I decided to go to the emergency room.

The result: I became an inpatient on the behavioral health ward. The psychiatrist slowed down the process of getting me off the drug and increasing the new one. Seven days later, I was discharged to go home, get some rest and continue to adjust to the new medication. For those of you who are unfamiliar with antidepressants, it can take up to 30 days or longer for your body to adjust to any change to your medication. This is generally why people who suffer from mental illness see their psychiatrist once a month.