I had been seeing a psychiatrist but she was hesitant to diagnose me at such a young age for reasons of liability and caution, I think. My behavior wasn’t making sense and my parents were afraid to leave me alone. Another check on the list of criteria for admission.Īn inpatient stay made sense for me. I simply had a sense of my life being cut short-a symptom of manic paranoia-which the hospital interpreted as a threat of harm to myself or others. While I waited for what seemed like hours in a hospital gown on a cold metal table in an ER admissions room by myself, Mom and Dad signed papers and consulted with the administration to see what could be done for my extraordinary outbursts and melancholy “suicidal” ideations-which, by the way, were not actually suicidal ideations or intentions. But at first, my family and I didn’t recognize these moods as symptoms of bipolar disorder. Leading up to admission, I had the tell-tale behaviors of mania and depression. I wasn’t prepared in the least for what I would see and encounter, nor was my mind in a state to readily accept this place. I was still a minor, so I had the benefit of boarding with the youth in the juvenile behavioral unit in the local hospital. The first time I was admitted to the psych ward, I was 16. Jump to: How to Admit Yourself Into A Mental Hospital How Long Is An Inpatient Stay? Finally A Diagnosis What I Wish I Knew How to Admit Yourself Into A Mental Hospital

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