By Nancy Virden (c)2026 AlwaysThe Fight.com

Didn’t think I would see one of these again. I’ve been through three IOPs, the last one in 2015. These programs are set up to help patients from the behavioral health ward who are leaving the hospital. IOPs are a halfway point between hospitalization and returning to one’s regular routine.

Intensive means talk therapy 9-10 hours per week for several weeks in a group setting. I’ve seen groups of 12-20. So far, they have been merely talking and sharing. It is a wonder how much one can learn about coping from others dealing with a similar struggle. Most members I met had been through this cycle before.

The upcoming IOP that I will be attending promises to be more like a classroom. Each day is designated to focus on a particular coping skill or exercise to help reframe one’s thoughts. It will be practical and relevant. Since (I am assuming) that most attendees were hospitalized (although I was only held for 24 hours) and are battling some unreasonable and irrational thinking spirals, this will be helpful for anyone in need of stabilization and recovery.

Like me.

The program will begin within a week.

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Today’s Helpful Word

Philippians 4:8

And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.

If you are feeling suicidal or concerned about someone who is, in the U.S., call 988, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. For a list of international suicide hotlines, go here.

If you are suicidal with a plan, immediately call 911 in the U.S. or go to your nearest emergency room; in the EU, call 112. (For other international emergency numbers, go here.) Hope and help are yours!

Always the Fight Ministries (ATFM) has been displaying compassion for those fighting mental illness, addiction, or abuse since 2012. Nancy is the founder and voice of ATFM and openly shares her emotional resurrection from despair. 

NOTE: Nancy is not a doctor or a mental health professional and speaks only from personal experience and observations. This website is not intended to substitute for professional mental or behavioral health care.

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