Do I Need to Go to the Hospital for Depression?

When depression becomes so severe, a person may require psychiatric hospitalization for depression.

Gold Standard for Treating Depression (part 29)

Though psychiatric hospitalization is not an alternative therapy to medications, it's often a last resort choice for those who do not respond well to traditional depression treatment or for those who have not received treatment at all.

The most important thing for people with depression to remember regarding hospitals is that there is nothing wrong or weak about being treated in a psychiatric hospital for depression. If a person had life-threatening pneumonia, a hospital would be the first treatment choice. And people would certainly never think the ill person should just stick it out at home and 'take care of their problems!'

It's very sad and dangerous that depression is not seen in the same way as other physiological illnesses. If someone is severely depressed -- they are in a life-threatening situation that often requires hospitalization. Hospitals can be a safe place for people who are depressed. They provide the attention and medical help needed to get someone out of a severe and usually life-threatening depression. If you experience suicidal thoughts with a plan of how to kill yourself, then hospitalization is a safe and effective way to help you get out of the depression so that more traditional treatments can be used.

video: Depression Treatment Interviews w/Julie Fast