Psychosis

Very true, your health has to come first but my post was more in sympathy than it sounded, it is just my frustration with a system that sucks. I do hope she gets the help that makes a difference.
 
Yes, the system does totally suck when it comes to mental health treatment. You have to wait for a person to harm another or themselves it seems before anyone will do anything if the person suffering the illness won't voluntarily seek treatment, and of course the problem with psychosis is that frequently the sufferer will not accept that they are ill. So of course they are not going to seek treatment, and it's just a case of waiting until something really drastic happens. I'm just glad no-one was badly hurt; it could have been an awful lot worse, and often is.
 
Now that things have calmed down a bit at this end, I was just reviewing some of the responses to this thread.
Firstly, Joe mcclaine; pleeeeeese put me back on your ignore list!! You may believe that my choice of topic is inappropriate; I feel that your blatent hostility is inappropriate - yet again.
Secondly, my friend is totally anonymous on here, so I do not feel I have betrayed any confidences.
Thirdly, it is useful to remind ourselves that there is not anything shameful in mental illness. It is an illness that happens to affect the brain. Yes, it's distressing for all involved, and can be downright scary, but there cannot be any shame attached to the person afflicted.
Fourthly, my opening post did not seek a diagnosis, that's a hit and miss job for the professionals at the best of times.
Fifthly, to those who gave genuine advice or opinions thank you.
Sixthly, for to those who chose to make no comment but are well aware of why I posted as I did in utter desperation, (and statistically, there will be many) - well, you've been there, done that, and you know how it is. Any hint or clue as to what might help, what might calm things, would be gold dust. Those members will also be well aware that it isn't just a case of getting appropriate medical intervention!!! They won't intervene until there is a serious attempt to commit violence either against another or suicide wise. I haven't yet had to deal with the situation where the sufferer already has that history, maybe then they are a bit more willing to intervene, but believe me, until that happens, you are on your own dealing with this.....a wait and see game. Tough if that first serious enough violence does actually result in serious injury or death.
Been to see my friend twice so far and she isn't doing too bad. Still confused, but generally accepting that hospital is a good place for her to be - ish. The hospital is actually pretty pleasant in do far as it can be.
 
Just a hint of a correction around a thing that's been mentioned. The concept that social services won't do anything unless violence against self or another person has been attempted is a false one. As I've stated, my wife up until a few years ago was an Approved Social Worker for people with mental illnesses, so I know a little bit about this. Of course I'm biased, but social workers have a desperate job knowing that one false move could land them in the newspapers. However they can and do act in situations before acts of violence or self-harm occur. They have the power, under Section 2 of the Mental Health Act, to detain someone who they believe has the potential to harm themselves and/or others. There are about a trillion guidelines around this, as you can imagine, because the removal of someone's civil liberty against their will is not a thing to be taken lightly.

Hope this post won't cause a flamewar.

Dave.
 
Thanks for the clarification Dave. I accept my post was misleading, and I should have clarified what the test is, but that in my experience it often seems to be a case of waiting for something to happen, at which point the professionals can say with 100% certainty that the test has been satisfied. I am however pretty certain that if the professionals who make these decisions were sharing their own home with someone suffering from severe psychosis, they would rather more readily accept that the test was satisfied.
Of course it's a very difficult situation, and as you point out it can involve taking away a person's civil liberties. But in my opinion, full blown psychosis does that anyway. Where are your civil liberties when you are being driven by illusions?
 
soapalchemist said:
Of course it's a very difficult situation, and as you point out it can involve taking away a person's civil liberties. But in my opinion, full blown psychosis does that anyway. Where are your civil liberties when you are being driven by illusions?
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Problem is Sharon, that in this day of increased litigation and ambulance chasing lawyers, it only takes one wrong decision (no matter how well meant) which takes away the liberty of a person for all hell to break loose. I feel for the Health workers i really do, as they are in a no win situation - make the call and essentially put someone in a secure facility for their own good and then be found out that actually the decision was wrong.....or hold off on that decision and then have that person injure themselves or others. Unfortunately, the result of both is the same: Healthcare worker's fault!!

The blame here lies squarely at the sueing for damages culture we as a Nation have embraced (not saying any one member of the forum has - but the Nation as a whole clearly has).
 
I doubt a professional would take a psychotic friend into their own home, by thinking you could help you simply delayed her getting the proper treatment. When you did help and you couldn't cope you expected to be bailed out immediately and then you complain that they didn't or couldn't act quickly enough.

As difficult as it may have been you should have called the police made a complaint and they would have sectioned her.
 
AJP, I agree that the professionals making these decisions are in an incredibly difficult situation, and I certainly don't envy them the job.
Moodymick, I was not asking for advice on either diagnosis or treatment. I was asking for advice on how to try to deal with the situation where you are not receiving any professional assistance but have to deal with this situation at home.
I was not aware that any particular subjects were off limits on this board; indeed, I thought it was the lure of a bit more freedom of expression that led to this forum being set up in the first place.
Antdad, I sought treatment and it was not forthcoming. I invited my friend to my home as she was on the verge of driving a couple of hundred miles in a clearly psychotic state (think about that the next time you're on the motorway), and her home is abroad, so she has no home here to stay in. I was not suggesting that a professional would invite someone psychotic to their home, I was alluding to a hypothetical situation where they might find themselves in the situation where they had such a person in their home; even mental health professionals can have mental illness in the family. As for the police, my friend had already presented herself in a clearly psychotic state to a police station to confess to 'crimes', they didn't feel the need to take any action. And frankly, by thinking I could help, I may well have saved my friends life. As for not coping, I don't think there is any way of coping in these situations.
 
True, but still shave related even at the very outer edge of queries, anecdotes, jokes, illusions of grandeur, late night semi conscious ramblings.

Mental illness needs immediate notification to the relevant bodies set in place for this problem, so that they can at the earliest stage/notification build a case study in the eventual goal of prognosis.

This in turn should not only provide some protection for the afflicted person in question, but also to at least prohibit the danger that can be presented to YOU, ME and OURS going about our daily lives.

Current circumstances being another highlight as to why mental illness needs early intervention.
 
soapalchemist said:
Joe mcclaine; pleeeeeese put me back on your ignore list!! You may believe that my choice of topic is inappropriate; I feel that your blatent hostility is inappropriate - yet again.
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I didn't feel my post was hostile, blatantly so or otherwise.
 
I've been in a few situations with people attempting suicide over the past few years. One involved physically restraining someone for over half an hour who was attempting rather violent suicide, on a fair amount of psychiatric medication at the time, attending a psychiatrist, and recent attempts at suicide. Police and paramedics said there was no way they would take hir against their will. They did spend a fair amount of time convincing hir ze needed more immediate help though.

antdad said:
As difficult as it may have been you should have called the police made a complaint and they would have sectioned her.
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I think that's wishful thinking. As difficult as it may have been taking her in, seeking professional help and checking her into hospital of her own accord seems to have things on the right track.

On the other hand if you say someone is drunk driving, as opposed to mad driving, they'll be off like whippets.
 
Proinsias, delighted to see a post from someone with personal experience of similar situations who knows that where the sufferer refuses medical help, it's far from easy to have a person committed, no matter how obvious it might appear to the lay person that unfortunately that seems to be the only solution.
 
I don't have an opinion on the subject but in what may be classed as Badger & Blade fashion. I believe this thread should be locked.

I mean no offence to the OP or anyone else on here but this is one of those things that will just get dragged on and on because one person disagrees with another.
 
I disagree :lol:

We're all adults on here (apart from 1gear... and really, he IS an adult). If we don't like what's going on in a thread, we don't have to read it. Problem solved.
 
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