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Lessons from Inpatient Therapy

I spent a few days this week in an inpatient psychiatric treatment program, and I have a few major takeaways.
1. I need a set schedule.
Having a set schedule while inpatient helped me a lot. I don't need every hour scheduled; that would be stressful and overwhelming. I need landmarks in my day to keep me on track. Here's the schedule my autism coach and I created:

8:00am      Wake up
8:20am       Coco out
8:30am       Morning medication
10:00am     Coco out
1:00pm       Coco out
3:30- 4:00   Cleaning
4:00pm       Coco out
5:30pm       Evening medication
7:00pm       Coco out

2. I would gain more independence by getting my pills in the pouches where each time's dosages are pre-packed. ExactCare Pharmacy is one way to do this, and they accept Medicaid and Medicare without charging extra for delivery.
3. The psychiatrist wants me to keep a voice and hallucination journal where I list what I see or hear, how intense it is, how I feel, how I respond, and what happens when I respond that way. He wants me to try responding different ways to my hallucinations and see if that has different results.
4. I'm on new medication, Zyprexa. It will take a few weeks to be totally in my system, but it already seems like an improvement from my old medication.  
I think this time could serve as sort of the reset button I needed. I hope I'm able to maintain better mental health on this new medication and with the coping skills I was reminded of during my brief stay. I only completed 3 days of the 7 day program, so I feel there are more benefits to be gleaned there if I ever need to go back. And maybe what I learned this time around will help other people, too.
 
 

 
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