Once upon a time, in another life, I decided to throw a swing at an emergency room attendant. This lead to the arrest described in the last chapter. I'm not proud of it. I try to forget about it. The next time I had an episode I actually apologized to him for it. Why did I throw that swing?
Because one of the doctors asked me why I thought I needed to be there. My dad had brought me there in the middle of the night because I was feeling horribly manic After four hours of observation with no symptoms they told me to go home, so I proceeded to give them some proof of my condition.
My dad felt badly because he didn't act fast enough to jump between us. It all happened too fast. Please don't follow in my footsteps. I am including that story here so you understand how important it is to verbally get your message across to the emergency room staff without using force. They need to understand what is going on in order to treat you properly, so verbally help them as much as you can. At the emergency room the policy is pretty much observation. If you do not feel you are a danger to either yourself or to someone else, and you are not producing psychotic symptoms, then you might as well be at home. If you don't need emergency room attention, then you shouldn't be there. You can wait until regular office hours and call your regular doctor. On the other hand, if you're suicidal or a danger to someone else, the ER is heaven on Earth. There's no better place to be. A psychiatrist will evaluate you, you'll get the proper medication, and if necessary you'll be hospitalized. I highly recommend an emergency room trip if you feel like you need it.
Your average trip to the emergency room could last three hours or more, so get ready to wait. You will not be rushed in and rushed out. They may set you up in a separate room to wait, but you'll basically just need to be patient. Don't make problems, don't be violent, just wait your turn.
Because one of the doctors asked me why I thought I needed to be there. My dad had brought me there in the middle of the night because I was feeling horribly manic After four hours of observation with no symptoms they told me to go home, so I proceeded to give them some proof of my condition.
My dad felt badly because he didn't act fast enough to jump between us. It all happened too fast. Please don't follow in my footsteps. I am including that story here so you understand how important it is to verbally get your message across to the emergency room staff without using force. They need to understand what is going on in order to treat you properly, so verbally help them as much as you can. At the emergency room the policy is pretty much observation. If you do not feel you are a danger to either yourself or to someone else, and you are not producing psychotic symptoms, then you might as well be at home. If you don't need emergency room attention, then you shouldn't be there. You can wait until regular office hours and call your regular doctor. On the other hand, if you're suicidal or a danger to someone else, the ER is heaven on Earth. There's no better place to be. A psychiatrist will evaluate you, you'll get the proper medication, and if necessary you'll be hospitalized. I highly recommend an emergency room trip if you feel like you need it.
Your average trip to the emergency room could last three hours or more, so get ready to wait. You will not be rushed in and rushed out. They may set you up in a separate room to wait, but you'll basically just need to be patient. Don't make problems, don't be violent, just wait your turn.
During one of my trips I was under the impression that I was a key member of the Second Coming of Christ. When a clock struck eight o'clock in the morning, I went berserk and started screaming. I fell on the floor in self-induced convulsions, positive that I was contributing to God's Master Plan. Was I right? Probably not, because a few seconds later I was strapped to a gurney headed to the hospital. A few years of experience have shown me that several mental patients experience the exact same thing when under the influence of a severe manic episode.
My advice to you if you find yourself in the same situation is this: tell somebody! Let somebody know what's going on. The best thing you can do for yourself is to let someone in on the madness flowing through your mind. Not only will you receive help faster, but you'll feel a whole lot better after you unload those thoughts.
Sometimes during emergency room trips, neophyte bipolar patients get scared, and don't really want to tell the evaluating psychiatrist what's wrong. This is the worst thing you can possibly do. That is what they are there for, after all! They are there to help you! They are there to listen and get you the help you need. Keep in mind that doesn't always mean a trip the hospital. Sometimes they will just set up a doctor's appointment for the next morning. Emergency room visits don't always end in the Quiet Room, which we'll talk about later.
My advice to you if you find yourself in the same situation is this: tell somebody! Let somebody know what's going on. The best thing you can do for yourself is to let someone in on the madness flowing through your mind. Not only will you receive help faster, but you'll feel a whole lot better after you unload those thoughts.
Sometimes during emergency room trips, neophyte bipolar patients get scared, and don't really want to tell the evaluating psychiatrist what's wrong. This is the worst thing you can possibly do. That is what they are there for, after all! They are there to help you! They are there to listen and get you the help you need. Keep in mind that doesn't always mean a trip the hospital. Sometimes they will just set up a doctor's appointment for the next morning. Emergency room visits don't always end in the Quiet Room, which we'll talk about later.
So remember that when you make the trip to the ER, you are taking care of yourself. You are making sure nothing crazy happens while your disorder is doing a number on you. A lot of new patients have no idea what it is like to really go full force into a manic or suicidal episode. Well, let me tell you that it is not fun. A lot of folks don't even make it out of them alive. Speaking as one who has, I want to convey to you how important it is to have a cutoff switch. You must work really hard at training your mind to just pull the switch if need be.
You must be able to sit or lie down, and allow others to care for you. I call it the "Prime Directive". You must be able to say to yourself, "I will not die today. I absolutely positively will take every step necessary to stay alive." This is a must. I suspect most successful bipolar patients have one of these. We are able to just stop the actions, and just lie down. Without this ability you are in trouble. If you don't master this, there will come a time when people will have to bring you down. You may have to spend time in jail, or you may be severely drugged for long periods of time. Take my advice and develop a Prime Directive. It could save your life some time, or like it did for me, many times.
You must be able to sit or lie down, and allow others to care for you. I call it the "Prime Directive". You must be able to say to yourself, "I will not die today. I absolutely positively will take every step necessary to stay alive." This is a must. I suspect most successful bipolar patients have one of these. We are able to just stop the actions, and just lie down. Without this ability you are in trouble. If you don't master this, there will come a time when people will have to bring you down. You may have to spend time in jail, or you may be severely drugged for long periods of time. Take my advice and develop a Prime Directive. It could save your life some time, or like it did for me, many times.