Hello
Many people find staying in hospital difficult.
Here at The Inpatient Pal, we want to help. This webpage is co-created by psychologists and patients, for patients.
Take a quick look at our welcome video here.
We are here to support your emotional wellbeing and coping during your hospital stay. On this webpage you will find helpful tips and suggestions all based on real patient feedback and psychological research.
Remember, you are not alone. Some of the tips come from other patients who have walked a similar path, like Conor who has this to share.
Whether you're struggling with worry, loneliness, low mood, or seeking comfort we hope you can find something useful here.
Why is being an inpatient so hard?
What happens to me when I feel afraid?
When we encounter something scary or dangerous and feel under threat, our bodies try to be helpful by engaging in a biological response known as the ‘fight or flight’ or ‘stress response’. This is the body’s natural reaction to something scary.
You might know when you are in fight or flight if you are breathing quickly, feeling dizzy, feeling hot or sweaty, having tense muscles, feeling nervous or you might notice that your heart races. This stress response can be really helpful when we have short term stressors (like jumping out of the way of a car); however, when the stress response or ‘threat-meter’ is high and constantly switched on, it can be really unhelpful for us.
What are some of the ‘threats’ in hospital?
Simply pick and choose the areas that most suit you.
By using these resources you can help to calm your stress response, and can begin to feel a little more in control. You can go straight to the tracks to help now, or if you want to read more on the science behind managing stress using compassion focused theory see below.
Simply pick and choose the areas that most suit you.
At the Inpatient Pal, the psychological tools we provide are all embedded in compassion focused theory. But what is compassion?
Compassion is about
1) noticing when we or someone else is suffering and
2) wanting to do something to help ease that suffering.
Often we find it easy to notice when someone else is suffering and we are motivated to support and help them. However, we can often struggle to give the same care, kindness and support to ourselves during moments of difficulty.
We know from our work with patients in developing The Inpatient Pal, that using self-compassion can make your hospital admission so much easier. The good news is that self-compassion is a skill we can practice and develop! Just like stretching – it might be a bit uncomfortable in the beginning, but it does get easier.
Self-compassion involves noticing when we are suffering and wanting to do something to help ourselves. It involves treating yourself how you would treat a friend who is having a hard time.
Myths of Self-Compassion
Many people may think of self-compassion as self-pity, as self-indulgent or maybe even as ‘letting ourselves off the hook’.
And if you’re one of those people, then it might be helpful to see what self-compassion gives us less and more of in life.
What else can help us when we feel stressed?
We know we can’t get rid of all the threats in the hospital. But, we want to help you build your soothing system so that you can cope well with your hospital stay.
For when you need a skill to de-stress right away
Box Breathing – watch
For when you need to communicate with your team
Compassion PDA –
Care Before a Stem Cell Transplant
Patient to Patient - These are some tips from the Patients who helped us develop this page.
What does the hospital day look like? - Watch
Here’s the Science bit …
If you have any tips you'd like to share, we'd love to hear from you.
Click here for your say!
Thanks to SPARK for funding this website and thanks to our patient Emma Butler for creating the graphics, and all the patients who are our pals in creating this page.