Critical Care

If you or a loved one needs to be admitted to Critical Care (which can also be called the Intensive Care Unit (ICU)), this is likely to be stressful and can bring up a range of difficult thoughts and feelings. These feelings are likely to vary greatly from person to person and may change over time. It is common for people to experience anxiety, uncertainty, low mood, and loss of confidence while in hospital. Difficulties with sleep and nightmares are also very common whilst in hospital. 

It is common for people who are critical ill to experience delirium, usually called ICU delirium. Delirium is a name for acute confusion. It can be caused by infection, side effects of medication needed to treat a person’s illness or because the person’s brain and/or is not working properly at the time. It can sometimes be described as like being in a nightmare, but it feels very real and often frightening. A person with delirium can hallucinate, meaning they are seeing, hearing, or feeling things that do not exist outside their mind. They may still recognise friends and family but they will not believe it when they are told that they are imagining these frightening situations. They can feel in danger which they cannot escape from, so they may try to get out of their hospital bed or demand to be taken home. People with delirium can also find it very difficult  to  understand  or remember information.

Delirium can also change quickly, one minute you will be having a normal conversation and next they will say something that makes no sense to those listening. Delirium is usually temporary and will normally last from a few days to a week, however, it can take several weeks to completely clear. Once the patient is no longer delirious, it may take time for them to realise what they have experienced in their mind did not really happen.  

Leaving Critical Care can also be a worrying time. It can take a considerable period of time to recover physically and psychologically. Some people may also need to adjust to long-term changes to their body and abilities. Many people experience feelings of uncertainty as they move from Critical Care to other hospitals wards and when they are discharged from hospital. It can take time to adjust back today-to-day life after an admission to Critical Care. 

Your psychological recovery after a Critical Care admission is likely to be affected by how you feel, this maybe weakness, pain or fatigue.  It can take quite a while to get back to your normal self.  Some people find themselves becoming emotional when thinking about being a patient within Critical Care.  Pace yourself and make realistic goals.  Take your time and try to achieve and build yourself up slowly.