Alter Mental Health Can Help in California
Mental health is essential to handling stress, relating to others, and making healthy choices. It is important in every stage of life and overall well-being. However, life stressors, events, and lifestyle choices can sometimes affect our mental health negatively, which can be severe enough to lead to a mental health crisis. In the event of a mental health crisis, it is sometimes necessary to seek out immediate professional help, especially if the person is at risk of harming themselves or others. A crisis house San Diego mental health can provide the necessary monitoring, medication management, and therapy needed to get a mental health crisis under control.
Alter Mental Health is a crisis center in San Diego offering an alternative to inpatient hospitalization. Our helpline is available 24/7 to help you determine if our facility is the right fit and to quickly get you admitted in times of crisis. A team of highly skilled clinicians can provide round-the-clock monitoring to ensure safety and administer various evidence-based treatments to help you get your mental health under control. Patients will leave our short-term facility with the proper foundation and referrals to seek out long-term mental health care successfully.
What is a Crisis Center?
A crisis center in San Diego is a mental health facility that provides a safe space to heal along with comprehensive treatment programs to stabilize a crisis. They provide 24-hour observation and support from trained clinical staff to help a person regain control of their mental health. Crisis centers are intended to be short-term inpatient programs to lower the risk of self-harm or harming others or to help a patient regain the ability to take care of themselves. Clinicians will properly diagnose mental health crises through a series of intake assessments and build a personalized treatment plan to treat the challenges at hand. Treatment plans can be made up of various evidence-based therapies, medications, and holistic treatments. Once the patient is stabilized, clinicians will prepare a discharge plan that includes various referrals and resources for long-term care.
Alter Mental Health in San Diego has the clinical staff and tools necessary to treat any types of mental disorder, including:
- Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD).
- Major depression disorder.
- Bipolar disorder.
- Trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
- Panic disorder.
- Personality disorder.
- Schizoaffective disorder.
- Schizophrenia.
- Substance use disorder (SUD).
What Causes a Mental Health Crisis?
A mental health crisis is a situation in which a person’s behaviors, thoughts, and emotions put them at risk of harming themselves or others. Their mental health may also impede them from taking care of themselves, such as getting out of bed, eating, or going to work. Each person handles stress, trauma, or unexpected events differently. While one person may be able to handle a situation without effects, others may experience a severe negative impact on their mental health or even a mental health crisis. There are also several causes that can lead to a mental health crisis, including:
- Mental health disorders that go untreated.
- Changing or stopping mental health treatment or medications.
- Traumatic events, such as sexual assault, a natural disaster, or an accident.
- Normal life changes, such as puberty, retirement, or menopause, cause stress and strain on a person.
- Loss or grief, which can include the death of a loved one or a pet, or loss of material possessions like a home.
- Drug or alcohol abuse, can worsen mental health disorders, bring out underlying mental health conditions or cause drug-induced psychosis.
- Gradual stress buildup from finances, work, or relationships.
- A medical diagnosis.
- A divorce or breakup.
- Poor coping skills or lack of social support during stressful periods.
- Extreme isolation.
Who is at Risk of a Mental Health Crisis?
Mental health crises can happen to anyone. They can occur suddenly, without warning, or they can slowly build up over time. However, people with underlying mental health conditions, such as bipolar disorder, anxiety, and depression, are at higher risk of developing a crisis. Untreated mental health conditions can worsen and lead to mental health crises. However, even when a person is undergoing treatment through medications and therapy, they can still experience a crisis. Their treatment may no longer be working, or they can experience a stressful or traumatic event that can trigger a crisis.
People who engage in frequent substance misuse are also more prone to mental health crises. Drug and alcohol abuse alters areas of the brain responsible for maintaining mental health which can trigger an underlying mental health condition or drug-induced psychosis. People with mental health disorders may self-medicate with substance abuse to numb symptoms, which can worsen their condition and lead to a crisis.
Every person will experience a mental health crisis differently. They may be disoriented or out of touch with reality, or at risk of harming themselves or others. While some mental health crises occur without warning, some people exhibit certain signs and symptoms that may point to an impending mental health crisis, including:
- Intense and sudden mood swings.
- Increasing agitation, anger, or violence.
- No longer taking care of themselves, including hygiene, eating, or getting out of bed.
- Difficulty functioning with everyday tasks, such as cleaning up after themselves or going to work.
- Exhibiting extreme paranoia or psychosis, such as delusions and hallucinations.
For many people who struggle with mental health disorders, some of these symptoms may be normal or happen on occasion. The key to figuring out if someone is experiencing a mental health crisis is if they are exhibiting clear and abrupt changes in their normal behavior. When this happens, it is critical to get professional help from a mental health specialist as soon as possible to lessen or stop a mental health crisis.
How is a Mental Health Crisis Treated?
Mental health crisis treatment will look different for each person depending on the severity of their symptoms. Milder symptoms may be treated at home with self-soothing techniques and through outpatient care, such as through a therapist or counselor. Severe cases, such as in the case of someone at risk of self-harming behavior, may need help that can be offered at a crisis center in San Diego.
Inpatient treatment with 24-hour monitoring may be required to ensure their safety and provide the intensive care needed to stabilize them. Evidence-based therapies such as cognitive-behavioral therapy and dialectical behavioral therapy along with medication management are the best route of treatment. Whole-person wellness through holistic therapies can also improve their chances of successful recovery. People will also need long-term mental health treatment after being stabilized and discharged from a crisis stabilization unit.
Alter Mental Health is the Best Crisis Center in San Diego
Mental health crises can become dangerous. It is important to get help as soon as possible if you or a loved one is dealing with a mental health crisis. Alter Mental Health is a top-rated crisis center in San Diego offering evidence-based treatment methods to stabilize a crisis. Short-term inpatient treatment can help you quickly regain normal daily functioning and minimize your risk of self-harm or harming others. Clinical staff members at Alter have the expertise and experience to treat any type of mental health disorder or crisis with care and compassion. Our programs can help you get on track toward long-term mental health treatment through aftercare planning and referral resources as you return to daily life.
If you or a loved one are experiencing a mental health crisis, please call us today at 657-218-5095 to speak to one of our assessment counselors. We are available 24/7 to take your call and quickly get you admitted.
