Advice on Mental Health Clinics/Hospitalisation in UK

[Area88]

I'm at the point where my anxiety condition is so bad now I want to be hospitalised now. I live in the Cambridgeshire area, if anyone could recommend how I could go about it?

I've seen hundrends of doctors, a few psychiatrists, I've tried seeing people in london like hynotherapists, EFT, acupuncture. Literally everything I could think of. Also I've tried a lot of medication which has either not worked or the side effects are too severe to stay on, like anything in the prozac family is really, really bad for me.

I'm young and had to drop out of a top 10 university because my generalised anxiety disorder became so severe. On the outside, I'm intelligent, good looking and calm but inside I'm a wreck. It's been a year since I left Uni and my conditon has got worse and worse. I'm at the point where I need urgent help or I will defintly end up in hospital due to a lack of eating/exhaustion.

I just need a plan of action, for morale if anything. Hospitalisation is the only method I have not tried. Is it quick way to get CBT? I've been on my local waiting list forever. Also had to discontinue my latest medication so I'm in no man's land right now.

If anyone can help, please post here or PM. I will be more than happy to give any details or answers to questions, so please feel free to fire anything away. Thanks!

[one_step_closer]

I used to think that I would like to go into hospital because it was one of the only things that I hadn't tried but in reality it doesn't work like that. It's primarily there for people who are in crisis such as those who are going to kill themselves. Being in hospital is like being in a little bubble of nothingness, there are groups etc but most of the time you are trapped on a ward doing nothing. It doesn't really help you to move forward because while you are in hospital you aren't moving at all. Yes, there are specialist hospitals that provide treatment programmes but it's always best to get treatment in the community where you can continue with your 'real' life.

Have you tried medication from each of the different antidepressant groups? I know that medication isn't the answer but it can be useful. If your main concern is your anxiety then there are lots of medications that you can go on, the one i'm on now is actually used to control seizures and has mild side effects.

Do you think that leaving uni has impacted on your health? I finished my degree but since leaving uni I feel that my mental health has deteriorated because there is nothing to focus on or motivate me. What's stopping you from eating and making you exhausted? I hope things get better for you soon. Take care and please get in touch any time if you need to talk.

[Area88]

What is it that you hope hospital will give you? CBT and a proper medication plan.

Have you tried medication from each of the different antidepressant groups? I know that medication isn't the answer but it can be useful. If your main concern is your anxiety then there are lots of medications that you can go on, the one i'm on now is actually used to control seizures and has mild side effects.

Do you think that leaving uni has impacted on your health? I finished my degree but since leaving uni I feel that my mental health has deteriorated because there is nothing to focus on or motivate me. What's stopping you from eating and making you exhausted? I hope things get better for you soon. Take care and please get in touch any time if you need to talk. Thanks for the quick responces guys. I've tried a lot of medicaiton, all of the most obvious ones. The most recent ones have been Venlafaxine, 6 weeks, side effects were too severe and no respite from anxiety. The last one has been pregabalin, which I tried for probaly too short a time, it was 2 weeks at 600mg, no side effects but no benefit. What medication were you referring to one_step_closer?

Leaving Uni has made things worse, faster! However the anxiety was geting uncontolable to Uni, I was always going to drop out because I could no longer study anymore. My anxiety is too severe to get a job, socialising for someone that used to be an extrovert, is near impossible. I can't sleep in my own bed anymore without panic attacks so I sleep on the couch. My appetite is really low now because the anxiety represses it. I've been losing weight for a year now, I'm the skinniest I've ever been, I can't get it back up either. So in all fairness, I have no real every day life. Therefore I wouldn't really be sacrificing much by going into hospital.

Look forward to more responces, thanks :-)

[Soviette]

In my experience with a psychiatric ward (I went to one voluntarily after a suicide attempt)... most of the nurses just seem to babysit you and write down where you are, what you're doing, etc. I was in a locked ward, so there wasn't a lot I could do really. I mean they had a games console and a few TV's, but without freedom.. you get cheesed off quickly. I was glad when I got out of there, I'll tell you that. Although being on suicide watch made it a bit less desireble.

Can you not directly request CBT, rather than go to hospital? I know my mental nurse thing has actually offered me it.

[random.swirls]

I was in hospital earlier this year and admittedly I saw a psychiatrist once a week I didn't have any medication changes bar the addition of an anti depressant which sent me manic so i came off it days later.

There was no therapy on offer though there was a ward activity once a day e.g. art for an hour, football for an hour, a trip to starbucks the rest of the time you could watch tv/sit in the lounge/spend time in your room alone.

I don't know what form your anxiety takes as in can you be surrounded by people or do you need to isolate yourself - that kind of thing?

It sounds like your Psychiatrist is changing your meds and from my limited knowledge a lot of psych drugs take upwards of 6 weeks to kick in. You will need to referred to therapy services so if this hasnt been done you should request it ASAP as the waiting lists can be very long - an alternative would be to see what charity services there are in your area?

[sherlock holmes]

You dont need an acute psychiatric ward. They are purely to contain people who are going through a mental health crisis and need to be kept safe. No real therapy is done during this time.

However, I do know of a specialist anxiety disorder unit within a psychiatric hospital that I was in for the self harm unit. http://psychology.iop.kcl.ac.uk/cadat/general-information/Residential-unit.aspx

You will need your doctor or psychiatrist to refer you if they feel it is appropriate, and for funding to be agreed by your primary care trust (PCT).