Has Anyone Here Ever Got Themselves Committed?

[Henrietta]

What did you say and was help available to you? Is it any different to being committed when it isn't your choice and can you leave at any time you want?

[RATTER15]

Committed to?

Do you mean sectioned?

[Henrietta]

Yes that was the word I was looking for, SECTIONED. Thanks ratter.

[RATTER15]

if you go in voluntarily, you can leave when you want. there are different sections however, this may help.

http://www.rethink.org/carers-family-friends/brothers-and-sisters-siblings-network/get-info-and-advice/sibling-faqs/what-does-being-sectioned-mean

[RATTER15]

http://www.healthtalk.org/peoples-experiences/mental-health/mental-health-ethnic-minority-experiences/being-sectioned-under-mental-health-act

[RATTER15]

Why do you ask, if you dont mind saying?

[Henrietta]

Thanks ratter. Maybe I'm being a little extreme but am just disilusioned and p'd off with my life at the moment :(

[Buenchico]

The term 'sectioned' only applies when a person is admitted to a psychiatric hospital irrespective of whether they agree or not. i.e. the person has no choice in the matter and they can't leave until they're declared fit enough to do so:
http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/healthadvice/problemsdisorders/beingsectionedengland.aspx

Far more people are admitted into psychiatric hospitals on a voluntary basis. (My aunt spent much of her life there and met her future husband, whom she later attempted to murder, whilst there). Voluntary in-patients are free to leave whenever they choose (unless, of course, emergency action is taken to 'section' them when they try to do so, which would only happen if they were deemed to present an immediate threat to the well-being of others or to themselves).

[sunny-dave]

Be very cautious Henrietta.

It's a potentially dangerous game - I've known people deliberately get themselves 'sectioned' to access treatment which they were unable to get as a voluntary patient ... but then you can't just walk out when you feel better - you have to convince the medics (or an appeal panel/tribunal) to remove the 'sectioning' - which isn't always easy to do.

[RATTER15]

I think you can get a voluntary section where you can leave when you like, I dont know much about it but I think Im correct.

Im not sure how many different types of sectioning there are but it is a few.

[Henrietta]

Thanks guys. I remember a film, one flew over the cuckoos nest or 12 monkeys where I think they were allowed out when they wanted to but as you said sunnydave I don't wan't to go in and then find out I'm trapped. Need to face up to certain issues in my life as they all never disappeared at the strike of midnight from 2014 into 2015 like I would have hoped. It certainly isn't easy and life does not come with a manual unfortunately :(

[sunny-dave]

As Chris says, you can go in as a voluntary patient and then leave when you want.

The main problems with that are :

1. Lack of capacity - you may not be able to find a mental health unit accepting in-patient referrals

2. Once you are 'in' as a voluntary patient, there is always a chance that (if the medics are concerned about your behaviour damaging yourself and/or others) you could be sectioned at the point when you wish to leave.

I very much hope that you can find the help you need - there are plenty on here who have had there own problems (me included) who will be only to willing to help if we possibly can.

Dave xx

[grasscarp]

Life is not that easy for any of us. We just don't know what is going on in other people's lives. If there is anything that will help you by talking about it Henrietta then let us know. 24 hours a day and anonymity assured! The inside of a psychiatric ward is not a happy place. When you first go in everyone seems normal. You know you are getting better when you start to notice they all have problems.

[Henrietta]

Aah, thanks sunny dave :)

[Henrietta]

Thanks grasscarp :)

[237SJ]

Maybe you could find the information that you need if you phone these people http://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/helplines/

[bednobs]

sectioning is always the last step in a very long chain of events

[ummmm]

And they are very short on spaces.

[Mosaic]

You can get support to deal with whatever is causing you mental distress without entering any kind of hospital or institution. I suggest as a first step you book an appt with your GP specifically to explain how distressed you feel, and that you are looking for counselling and therapy to work through it.
In the bad old days of 'Cuckoo's Nest' (or even into the 1980s in darkest Lancashire) GPs used to prescribed chemical coshes like mogadon to stop distressed people bothering others with their feelings. Electro-convulsive therapy was dished out for afters. While these are still used, they aren't first resorts for treatment, and it sounds as if you might benefit from joining in with some CBT groups in your area.

[murraymints]

If you get caught up in the system you may find things spiral out of your control, better to speak to GP ..best of luck xx

[lcg]

you can get an assessment and intensive crisis/acute support at home if necessary (equivalent 'hospital at home' services): your gp can refer you to be assessed urgently if needed. or go to a+e if things reach crisis point. you cannot self-refer to an inpatient service, because there is just not enough beds; assessment for admission is a meticulous medical process; and as others have suggested, even if you do end up in hospital by agreeing to be there, you can then be stopped from leaving and sectioned at that point. all medics/social services/police prefer people to be treated at home in the safest, least restricted environment possible.