Bipolar Breakdown

[SilentRage]

Do everyone with bipolar will end up in the hospital at one time or another, from a mental breakdown? I think I posted this before but wanted to refresh it. Is it inevitable, or can it be avoided.

[jimgreg]

yes i belive so..most will be in the hospital a time or more..i never thought i would be..5 days last feb suicide watch was not fun..but im still here at times lol

[Xila31]

Yes, I know people who do that as well.

For a while there was a program where you could get yellow cards explaining  your suicidal thoughts and needing help to give to others. I can't remember what it was called, but it was started by a family who ignored their son's cries for help as "wanting attention."

[paranoid_cataclysm]

I know a lot of people who don't take it seriously because they don't understand it and a lot of them say they would just say "go ahead and do it" which further shows how much they don't understand it.

[Xila31]

I would have to say that in my experience, about 85% of people do not take suicidal ideation seriously and say "you just want attention." This is extremely dangerous and even in the event that you have spoken about suicide to others, it can still be ignored.

[moonpanda]

I agree with the posters above that say it depends on what kind of mood episode you're experiencing, where you are, what you do, and who witnesses it happening. I've been hospitalized twice, but there are times where I was worse off than I was when I was hospitalized. In those cases there was no one to witness my behavior and I certainly didn't want to seek that kind of treatment myself. I would say that I've had a few full-on mental breakdowns of one kind or another, but the hospitalizations were both from mixed episodes involving suicidal gestures or attempts. I know a lot of bipolar hospitalizations are for mania that spirals out of control, rather than for severe depression, and that's probably due to the visibility of manic symptoms over depressive ones. A severely depressed person can hide away and withdraw completely, and it's possible that others won't see that happening until the person starts talking about suicide or actually attempts it. If someone is more prone to severe mania, especially when it involves psychosis, then hospitalization is much more likely to occur at one point or another.

[lindahand]

As some others have said - likely, especially with bipolar 1. Less likely with bipolar 2 because they don't get the manic high which is what often leads to people being taken to the hospital.

Myself. I have never spent a night in the mental health wing but I did go to a day program for 4 weeks. Best 4 weeks I ever spent.

[Xila31]

I have never been hospitalized. I can think of a few times when maybe it would have been a good idea, but I think a lot of people witnessing such a thing don't think to send you to the hospital. Most people don't realize that it isn't that you're having a bad day, but your having an episode.

I know a lot of people do get hospitalized, but I think it all depends who who is with them when the episode happens and what the circumstances are. For example, a suicide attempt is far more likely to get you hospitalized that a screaming melt-down in a public place. (Espeically if you've already done something bad to yourself.) If you're with someone who knows that you're way out over the edge, they're probably more likely to get you help than someone who has no idea about bipolar.

So, no, I don't think it is inevitable. But I do think it happens a lot and should probably happen more often for certain cases.

[wineandroses]

I've been hositalized a few times from meltdowns.  I think it all depends on the person and their experiences.  Some episodes can be more brutal than others.  Some people have more issues with mania and some with depression, either way I think it depends on the severity of the symptoms.  I have mixed eisodes and get racing thoughts of suicide and I have learned it is okay to go for help.

[paranoid_cataclysm]

I think it can be unavoidable if the right conditions are met.  I was diagnosed with schizophrenia, which can potentially be just as severe functionality-wise as bipolar disorder, and I never have been to the hospital even though I should of, for example.  It depends on how bad a person's episodes get versus how knowledgeable people are around the person versus how much the person acts out in public (and gets the police called on them) versus the person themselves and such.  Usually though in my case and the case of people with full blown mania, both can have a high potential to end up in the hospital but not always.  Depression can also lead to hospitalizations of course but I was told on here full blown mania usually ends up in a hospital visit.