After completing the portion of the story, I did yesterday and posting the blog, “I” Snapped, “She” Snapped, I have had crippling anxiety. The kind of anxiety where you are so overwhelmed on the inside that the tears just start flowing without restraint. The kind where you cannot self sooth regardless of your attempts. The skills I have learned seem futile, but I keep persisting. STOP! I tell myself internally, yoga breathing, guided meditation, Xanax, wise mind, or when it gets so raw, I think it will overtake me the movie starts playing again, “you are okay sweet girl.”
There is no cure all, there is no magic potion. Just minute by minute.
I have a close friend who is a therapist I have been in touch with throughout this ordeal and she gave me the names of some hospitals and treatment centers that are taking a whole person approach to their patients. I wanted to share with you what she has shared with me. This is for the Colorado area, because that is where we are local too.
Hospitals
Denver Springs - https://www.denversprings.com/
Medical Center of Aurora - https://auroramed.com/campaigns/behavioral-health
Porter - https://www.centura.org/locations/porter-adventist-hospital/medical-services/behavioral-health-services/adult-psychiatric-inpatient-unit
Denver Health - https://www.denverhealth.org/services/behavioral-health
West Pines - https://www.sclhealth.org/locations/west-pines/
Centennial Peaks - https://www.centennialpeaks.com/
Highlands Behavioral Health - https://highlandsbhs.com/
She said overall the best psychiatric hospitals are attached to medical facilities. Then they are able to treat the whole patient medically, emotionally, psychiatric, and family.
I think for the professionals in the mental health arena as well as for the patients everyone wants to see positive changes. We just all have to join together to make that a possibility. Step number one is of course asking for help, but directly after that...you have to advocate for yourself. Navigating this terrain can feel pretty impossible when you are in the thick of it, so coming up with a plan for the hospital, the person you will tell, the step by step plan of how to keep yourself safe or to be proactive about your care are very apparent to me after what I have been through over the last month. Knowing ahead of time what was going to be happen and what would have been best for me instead of having to decide in a few chaotic hours would have been a much smoother road.
Also from my perspective and because the of the demoralizing care I witnessed happen to other patience with worse physical illnesses than I. If you are physically ill and have pre-existing conditions do not in anyway expect them to look into it, EVEN IF THEY ASSURE YOU THEY HAVE IT UNDER CONTROL! Call your PCP or call them as soon as possible so that they can have direct and effective information sharing. Also, for pain patients. Just FUCKING say it. I will get into that on my next blog more. If you are in pain, fight peacefully for yourself. I did not even realize the amount of trauma I had been through in Mountain Crest in Fort Collins, Colorado until I had to go to the ER a couple weeks later and a full panic attack. That story will hopefully conclude the completely dehumanizing treatment I have experienced in 2019,,,and it's only February!
My story is just one story of many. If you need help telling your story, I am a resource for that. What is your story?