Depression can affect every facet of your life. The endless feelings of hopelessness can make it difficult to get out of bed. The social isolation can cut off the support system that you lean on. But the good news is that there is always help out there, even when it feels like there’s nowhere else to turn.

Treatment plays a vital role in your mental health journey when you’re living with depression. If you find that your symptoms have worsened to the point where you’re a danger to yourself or others, inpatient treatment is often the best course of action. But if you don’t know what to expect, it can be difficult to be completely open and engaged with the treatment. That’s why we’re here.

We’re going to talk about the benefits of inpatient depression treatment, what to expect during your stay and what to do after you’re discharged.

The benefits of inpatient depression treatment

Inpatient treatment refers to 24/7 behavioral and health care services for many mental health disorders, including major depressive disorder, also known as depression. An inpatient treatment center is a safe environment that provides short-term stays either in a psychiatric hospital or the psychiatric unit of a hospital.

Inpatient treatment is the highest level of care available for depression, and it’s often the best course of action for a mental health crisis where the individual is a risk of harm to self or others.

Here are some reasons why you should consider inpatient depression treatment:

• Constant support and monitoring
• No access to harmful substances or objects
• Time for focusing solely on mental health
• Structured programming
• Developing healthy coping skills
• Medication adjusted if needed

What to expect from inpatient depression treatment

While it may seem intimidating to go to inpatient treatment for the first time, it can help to know what you’re walking into so that you can feel comfortable and determined to improve during the structured schedule.

When you’re admitted into inpatient depression treatment, your stay typically lasts three to 10 days, depending on the severity of your symptoms and how well you respond to treatment. Here are a few of the main components of an inpatient depression treatment stay:

• Admittance — The first step is being admitted into the treatment facility. You can be voluntarily admitted on your own accord or you may be admitted involuntarily if you are refusing treatment and you are a harm to yourself or others. The admittance process involves an evaluation as well as being assigned to a caseworker. You may have to give urine or blood samples.
• Therapy — One of the essential parts of depression treatment is psychotherapy. The goal is to look at your depression and current crisis from every angle to determine how to manage your symptoms better in the future. There are likely to be different therapy dynamics, including one-on-one, group and family therapy.
• Recreation — Depending on the facility, you may have access to activities such as games, yoga and nature walks. Some centers may also offer recreational therapy, such as art and music therapy, to provide a creative outlet for your depressive thoughts and emotions.
• Medication management — One of the most important aspects of an inpatient treatment center is the medical care. Over the course of your stay, the staff can make adjustments to your depression medication to make sure that they are the safest and most effective options for your particular symptoms. That can mean changing the dosage, switching it for a different prescription or adding additional medication.

How Lightfully Behavioral Health can help you after inpatient depression treatment

Once you’re discharged from inpatient depression treatment, it’s important to keep moving along your mental health journey to work toward a more fulfilling life. The key is to find the next levels of care, such as a residential treatment center or an outpatient program. That way you’re able to continue learning about how to manage your depression while being able to integrate the skills into your regular lifestyle. That’s where we come in.

We have four levels of care at our centers to help you after you’re discharged from inpatient depression treatment: Residential Treatment, Virtual Intensive Outpatient Program (vIOP), Partial Hospitalization Program, also called our Day Treatment Program, and Intensive Outpatient Program.

Change is possible. When you’re ready to take the first step, reach out to our Admissions Concierge Team. We’ll take the next steps together, toward the fullest, brightest version of you.