If you’re struggling with your mental health, there are many treatment options you can explore. It’s important to consider the severity of your mental health issue to determine what will be the most effective for you. While some people will benefit from biweekly therapy appointments, others may require a higher level of care.

Inpatient treatment allows people in mental health crises to receive 24/7 care and support. There are more than 12,000 mental health facilities across the U.S., with more than 1,700 of those facilities offering inpatient care. But why should you consider inpatient treatment for a mental health issue like bipolar disorder? That’s what we’re here to answer.

Read on to learn about the basics of inpatient treatment as well as the ins and outs of bipolar disorder. At the end, you’ll learn about the benefits you can gain from seeking inpatient treatment for bipolar disorder

What is inpatient treatment?

Mental health treatment has several different levels, but all options fall under inpatient or outpatient care. The main difference between the two is that inpatient treatment provides round-the-clock medical and behavioral support that requires overnight stays, while outpatient care allows people to return home at night after treatment.

Inpatient treatment is the highest level of mental health care and provided in a psychiatric hospital or hospital unit. Its purpose is to help people in immediate mental health crises who are a danger to themselves or others. Inpatient treatment can help alleviate symptoms through therapeutic techniques and proper medication. 

People can voluntarily admit themselves into an inpatient treatment facility, or they may be recommended by a mental health provider.

The basics of bipolar disorder

Bipolar disorder, formerly known as manic-depressive disorder, is a mood disorder that affects about 5.7 million adults in the U.S. It’s characterized by episodes of extreme shifts in energy levels, from manic highs to depressive lows. These mood swings can interfere with your quality of life by making it difficult to complete your daily activities and maintain meaningful relationships with others. 

Manic high episodes can last up to seven days and cause symptoms such as:

• Unusually high levels of energy
• Hyperactivity
• Increased irritability
• Spontaneous behavior

Depressive episodes can last more than two weeks and cause:

• Persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness
• Increased fatigue
• Concentration and decision-making problems
• Suicidality

The highest level of acuity for this mood disorder is bipolar 1, which consists of extreme shifts between manic and depressive episodes. Bipolar 2 has hypomania instead of manic episodes, which means that the symptoms are less severe. Bipolar 2 episodes also tend to be shorter than those for bipolar 1. 

There’s a chance that you develop cyclothymic disorder, which means you experience patterns of behaviors and symptoms that don’t fit the criteria of a full bipolar disorder diagnosis. The episodes for this level can last longer than a year.

7 advantages of inpatient treatment for bipolar disorder

With so many different treatment options to choose from, it’s not always easy to decide which one will be the most effective for your mental health issues. Inpatient treatment can be intimidating to some people because it involves 24/7 care in a hospital. But it’s important to know about the advantages that this high level of treatment can offer you. By learning about the benefits that you can gain from inpatient treatment, you can determine how well it fits with your mental health needs.

Here are seven advantages of seeking inpatient treatment for bipolar disorder:

1. Decreasing suicidality or self-harm behavior
2. Gaining stability around harmful emotions and behavior
3. Having a structured schedule
4. Being in a safe space away from triggering people or places
5. Prioritizing your mental health without distraction
6. Working with a variety of mental health providers
7. Eliminating access to harmful substances

Lightfully Behavioral Health can provide you with help after bipolar inpatient treatment

Bipolar disorder can cause symptoms that put you into a mental health crisis where you’re a danger to yourself or others. Inpatient treatment for bipolar disorder will provide you with the highest care possible to ensure that you’re in a safe place to focus all your energy on improving your mental health. And when you discharge from your bipolar inpatient treatment, we’re here to help you continue on your mental health journey.

You can find help for your bipolar disorder in our four programs: Residential Treatment, Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP), Virtual Intensive Outpatient Program (vIOP), and Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP), also called our Day Treatment Program.

Change is possible. When you’re ready to continue improving after bipolar inpatient treatment, reach out to our Admissions Concierge Team. We’ll take the next steps together, toward the fullest, brightest version of you.