Depression and When to Seek Inpaitent Treatment

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), 15 million American adults, approximately 5 to 8 percent of the adult population, suffer from depression each year. While many cases of depression can be effectively treated on an outpatient basis, there are instances when inpatient treatment is necessary, sometimes to save the person's life.

Risk Factors

• According to the Mayo Clinic, depression is a chronic disorder which can interfere with an individual's ability to perform basic and necessary functions. NAMI claims that major depression is persistent. An individual who has experienced one incident of major depression is likely to have a recurrence. In fact, depressive episodes can occur repeatedly, as often as twice per year, and can take a significant toll on an individual's physical health.

  Depression has a number of risk factors, and it manifests itself in several areas: biochemical imbalances, cognitive (negative) thought patterns, as a byproduct of certain medications or illnesses, or because of adverse circumstances in an individual's life. Women report symptoms related to depression twice as often as men. Depression also has a genetic component. It tends to run in families.

When is inpaitent treatment necessary?

• The most serious danger of untreated severe depression is suicide. Some severely depressed individuals may also strike out at others, often those close to them. Someone who shows extreme despair over the loss of a job or a loved one may be at risk for suicide or some other drastic action. Putting one's affairs in order, especially giving away personal possessions, is a classic sign of a possible impending suicide attempt. Overt threats to commit suicide should always be taken seriously. It is a myth that people who talk about committing suicide rarely carry out the act.

  A psychotic episode triggered by a chemical imbalance in the brain may also trigger someone to commit suicide or to harm others. Someone who exhibits bizarre behavior may need inpatient psychiatric care, if only to determine the cause of the behavior. The threat of harm to the self and others is the leading factor that determines the need for inpatient treatment for depression.

  Another indication is when an individual ceases to perform basic hygiene or manifests other indications that he is no longer capable of caring for himself. Severe substance abuse, including abuse of prescribed medications, which can serve as a means of self-medication for depression, can also necessitate inpatient care.

Finding the right inpatient facility

• Once the difficult decision is made to seek inpatient care, the next step is choosing a facility and admitting the depressed person. Some facilities specialize in treating specific disorders. Others strictly forbid visitors, even family, while the patient is in treatment. These and other factors, along with cost, will determine the choice of facility. Other factors to consider is who will make the discharge decision, and under what circumstances the patient will be released from the facility.