We Can Help You Get Through This
Not only is a San Diego mental health emergency frightening, but it can also feel lonely and like no one can understand what you are going through — much less help you. However, there are caring, safe mental health treatment options in your area specializing in mental health emergency and crisis situations. Alter Mental Health San Diego is a crisis stabilization unit offering an alternative to inpatient hospitalization. We offer personalized treatment plans with evidence-based therapies to quickly get clients to a non-crisis level where they can continue on to long-term care.
What Is a Mental Health Emergency?
The terms mental health crisis and mental health emergency are often used interchangeably. However, a San Diego mental health emergency can be far more serious and include the risk of a person harming themselves or others. Examples of a mental health emergency include suicide, being out of touch with reality, or severe disorientation, all of which can be life-threatening. These situations require immediate professional mental health help, which can be accessed by calling 911 or getting help from a crisis stabilization unit in San Diego.
While some mental health emergencies slowly build up over time from untreated mental health issues, they can also occur suddenly and without warning. They can be triggered by a stressful or traumatic event, from untreated mental health disorders, or when mental health treatments stop working.
Determining whether someone is going through a crisis or an emergency can be difficult. Knowing what to look for can help you determine the appropriate actions. Every person will experience a mental health emergency differently; however, some of the signs and symptoms that suggest they are going through a mental health emergency include:
- Extreme agitation and appearing highly distressed.
- Making irrational decisions with a lack of rational judgment.
- Their actions are putting them in danger and they are not aware of the consequences of those actions.
- Loss of touch with their surrounding reality.
- Violent or aggressive behaviors that are a threat to others.
- Catatonic states, including lack of movement without speech or response to stimuli or others.
- Suicidal behaviors, including planning for suicide or engaging in self-harm.
- Psychosis, which includes paranoia, hallucinations, and detachment.
What Causes Mental Health Emergencies?
Anyone can experience a mental health emergency; however, people predisposed to mental health disorders are more susceptible. Also, it is not uncommon for a mental health emergency to occur before a mental illness has been diagnosed. Often, families and loved ones will say they did not realize their loved one was going through a crisis. People are typically not prepared for it, and it’s all too easy to miss the signs. They can occur without warning due to a traumatic event or a highly stressful situation or gradually build up over time.
Some common causes of a San Diego mental health emergency include:
- Underlying mental health disorders include anxiety, depression, PTSD, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia.
- Poor coping skills or a lack of social support can lower their ability to handle periods of stress.
- A gradual buildup of stress from work, relationships, or financial pressures.
- Loss of a loved one, a pet, money, or material possessions, such as a home.
- Divorce or a breakup.
- Traumatic events.
- A medical diagnosis.
- Loss of a job or failing a class.
- Extreme isolation.
- Switching or stopping mental health treatments, including medications.
- Substance use disorder can cause worsening mental health disorders or drug-induced psychosis.
Can Mental Health Emergencies be Treated in San Diego?
You may need to seek immediate professional help when someone is undergoing an acute crisis. The National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is available 24/7 by calling or texting 988. They offer free and confidential support for people in distress or in crisis and can help you navigate the steps you should take. You can also call 911, especially if they are in immediate danger of hurting themselves or others. Mental health emergencies can be treated in emergency hospitals through short-term inpatient care.
People going through a San Diego mental health emergency can also seek help from crisis stabilization units (CSU), such as Alter Mental Health, which offer an alternative to inpatient hospitalization. Our CSU at Alter provides round-the-clock support from a team of highly qualified and caring medical staff made up of mental health professionals, nurses, and doctors. Patients are stabilized in a comfortable, private setting where they will receive individualized evidence-based therapies and medication management to regain control of their mental state.
Mental health crises cannot be treated within a few hours or allow people to go home in the evening during treatment. Inpatient treatment is necessary during mental health emergencies to ensure the person’s safety and to remove any triggers so they can entirely focus on healing. Once people are stabilized, they are given an aftercare plan with referrals for ongoing treatment as they continue their path toward recovery and return to life at home.
How Therapy and Treatment Can Help With Long-Term Mental Health and Wellness
Mental health stabilization in San Diego is only the first step toward long-term recovery from a crisis and mental health disorders. Taking care of your mental health is an ongoing process involving psychotherapy, medication management, and holistic methods. After getting a handle on a mental health crisis, it is essential to continue with treatment to achieve long-term mental health and wellness. A combination of therapy and medication can significantly improve long-term mental health outcomes. Some ways therapy and treatment can help you achieve this include:
- Learn lifelong coping skills: Psychotherapists and counselors can help you develop better coping skills to manage mental health symptoms and learn how to handle stressful events or situations in a healthier manner.
- Build better interpersonal skills: Therapy can help you learn healthy, productive, and positive communication skills to successfully navigate various areas of your life. These skills can also help you resolve conflict and learn how to establish healthy boundaries.
- Improve the ability to handle chronic stress: Chronic stress can lead to a mental health crisis, so learning how to handle stressors in your life in a healthier manner can help you avoid letting stress affect you or lead to future crises.
- Develop self-care techniques: Taking care of your mental health involves self-care techniques such as getting enough sleep, eating well, and exercising, as well as stress reduction techniques. Therapy can teach you how to achieve these goals.
- Uncover and treat underlying issues: Mental health crises usually have an underlying cause, whether it is a traumatic event, a mental health disorder, or unresolved issues. Therapists can help you uncover the root causes of mental health distress and learn how to resolve them.
Call Alter and Get Through a San Diego Mental Health Emergency
Alter Mental Health can help you through a San Diego mental health emergency today. Our assessment counselors are available 24/7 to take your call and help you get admitted quickly into our crisis stabilization unit. Once admitted, our clinicians will conduct a thorough evaluation to get to the root of the issue and provide personalized treatment plans to stabilize you fully. We will ensure you have a plan and resources before leaving our facility to get you the long-term care you need to recover from a mental health emergency fully.
Please do not hesitate to call us today at 866-986-1481 if you are experiencing a mental health emergency. We are here to help. You do not need to go through this difficult time alone. There is free mental health San Diego available for you.
