Posted by Racer on November 9, 2008, at 10:41:03
In reply to Re: For once I disagree with you! That's fine » Racer, posted by yxibow on November 9, 2008, at 3:06:27
> A disagreement is fine, that's what conversations are about.
It helps that you respect other views than your own. I appreciate that.
>
> As for anorexia nervosa, I have no experience on that so I can't say anything about it other than it is one of hundreds of diagnoses and can be treated in an outpatient way successfully.Actually, Anorexia Nervosa is one of the few that probably is best treated in a residential setting. Not necessarily a hospital -- in fact, probably not a psychiatric hospital, but a residential facility specializing in eating disorders. (Then again, for those who require significant refeeding, that really does require very intense, specialized medical care. Refeeding syndromes are fatal for a fair number of patients.) Then again, it's also a very different sort of disorder than many of the others, for a variety of reasons.
And it really doesn't apply to most of what you're talking about.
> So that's my take and you can have yours.
>For the most part, I agree with your basic premise -- most psych wards at this point are not healthy places to be. My only real disagreement with any of it relates to the fact that some people just don't have the social supports necessary for outpatient treatment of acute symptoms. For those people, in an acute crisis state, no matter how bad hospitals might be, they may still be the best choice out of a lot of bad choices.
Some of this is based on my own experiences, by the way. I've been mostly in pretty terrible places when I've been hospitalized. In fact, I've only been in one place that wasn't very much like a snake pit. Nonetheless, at the times that I've been in the hospital, it's often been a life-saver. Even the two weeks I spent in one terrible, terrible place -- their HVAC was broken, so it was about 45 degrees the whole time I was there; there was nothing like actual treatment; and I didn't eat for days on end and no one noticed -- was better than what I had to go home to. I know my situation has never been as bad as many people experience, but there's no hierarchy of suffering and it was bad enough. So, we're both projecting.
I guess my fundamental premise is about what one might expect from me: Psych hospitals are not places to go for a vacation, but there are times when they're still the best place for someone to be.
And, like any other hospital, don't go if you don't need to be there...
Peace.
poster:Racer
thread:860689
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20081106/msgs/861748.html