I have bipolar disorder and have been sectioned. AMA!

[slipperyeel]

AMA if anyone is interested

How do you feel about the social workers and doctors that sectioned you?

Mixed feelings. Some were kind and I know it was necessary but it's very much about containment rather than treatment at that stage.

Was it scary being sectioned?
What was it like in hospital?
Were there scary mentally ill people?
I want to explain what I mean. An ex colleague of my Dad was psychotic and came round and he scared the shit out of me. Also my Mum has a personality disorder and terrified me as a child/adult.

Yes it was very scary. I knew deep down I was ill but I also believed I was fine, great in fact. I felt really really high which at the time felt amazing.
Psych wards are scary places, very noisy and with some very very ill people.

I was very lucky in that shortly after my breakdown my employer paid for an inpatient stay at the Cardinal Clinic where the care was excellent, as you'd expect given how much private care costs! I feel very very privileged to have had that, it made me better quicker as I initially saw a psychiatrist every day and had my meds adjusted continuously.

It's a good thing that people are more aware of mental health but I feel the "it's good to talk " mantra is a bit naive. People with serious mental health conditions need professional treatment, not a chat and a biscuit.

What happened to cause the sectioning, how do you actually get sectioned, is this ok to ask? What's it like being in there on a day to day basis?

Yes it's ok to ask.

I had been getting progressively high, not sleeping, not eating, working 15 hour days, getting very aggressive. I felt like I was constantly on cocaine with no down.

DH was very worried but I didn't think anything was wrong. I was found drunk by the police one evening who realised something was not right. They called DH who called GP.

At this stage they normally ask if you will go into hospital (I have been admitted voluntarily in the past). I refused, another doctor was called and I was sectioned. They give you a high dose of drugs which stops the high very quickly. The aftermath is much harder.

The nhs hospital feels like a hospital. The staff do the best but there aren't enough of them. You do get your own room though which nobody else is allowed in.

The care at the cardinal clinic was much more intense and the environment much nicer, once the section is lifted and you're a voluntary patient it's easier.

Did you ever feel betrayed by the people who alerted the authorities? I have been involved at work in alerting drs to an unwell person which led to that person being sectioned. Initially I know there was a lot of anger and I hope they now know it was well intended.

No I don't. I was unhappy (understatement!) at the time but I know they were helping me.
The police were actually very good and kind, I suspect they have a lot of experience

To answer the question about day to day life - it's pretty boring. Being on a locked ward is not nice but when you can come and go it's easier.
Once I felt better I read, talked with the chaplain, had visitors, went swimming and attended lots of groups - group therapy, alcohol awareness, yoga, art, gardening...

Thank you. 💐

I had a colleague who had a breakdown and was sectioned. She came back after a period, then had to leave again. I felt unable to ask her about it during her brief return.

How are you now?

I am quite well. I am on meds and I think I've accepted that I will always be on them.
Accepting the diagnosis takes a long time .

I still struggle with guilt about some of the things I did when manic. Some people also won't speak to me because of some things I said and did. It's hard to forgive yourself when others won't forgive or let you forget.

That's another reason I struggle with the "it's good to talk" mantra. Being around mentally ill people is hard, it's not all heart to heart chats on the sofa.

Is there no way to make them understand? I'm glad you're well and you are able to talk about it so functionally.

And, god I'm really nosey when something makes me curious, what kind of things?

Hopefully you understand that you were ill. It's no different to a physical illness so your brain wasn't functioning correctly, as such, anything done or said during this time, you should forgive youtself for as you weren't responsible. I can see how hard it must be though. Anyone worth caring about would understand.

It's amazing that people don't. I was aggressive and said and did some bad things. I know it was my illness but people think it was me and they don't forgive me.

Some of the things I did are very embarrassing and I hate to think of them. Think of the most stupid things you've ever done drunk and times it by 100.

Wishing you well.

Are you allowed phone/tablet whilst sectioned? Is there a tv in your room? Are you allowed visitors at all?

Well to be fair, I've done some shockers when drunk, and I'm supposedly quite well, so I think you should try to forgive yourself. If they can't then they aren't worth the head space....life is hard enough without adding more in that's not needed...

There's a difference between being on a locked ward and an open ward. A locked ward is like intensive care, I was only there a few days. After I was allowed my phone but not sure if that's the norm. TV is communal and blaring all day.

I agree with you that mental health should be taken seriously. Many people don't understand that it needs to be treated with medication. Depression isn't just feeling fed up or sad, it can kill people. People say, 'oh I have depression but I don't like taking antidepressants'. I think, if you had severe depression like me, there is only two options medication or death! I hope I'm not high jacking your thread! I just feel very strongly about mental illness being taken as seriously as physical illness. No one ever says, 'oh you have diabetes, try meditation and mindfulness. If it doesn't work you can't be doing it properly!' 'Or eating healthily and stopping drinking will cure your cancer'. No, people get medication for it!

My mother spent much of her life in and out of psychiatric hospitals with bipolar, but has been mentally well for about 10 years now.

Are mental hospitals still boring as fuck? For my DM this got worse as time went on because the NHS trust got rid of a large psychiatric hospital that had resources and replaced it with a bunch of tiny units that are pretty much one ward and nothing else.

Does everyone still smoke?

What meds are you on?

@MalloryLaurel, medication is not the answer for everyone. I have bipolar and my depression just does not react to medication, also most medications make my mania worse. Mental health is not a one size fits all, I'm glad medication works for you but there are many of us that it does not.

Why doesn't it work for you? If you don't mind explaining. I'm very nosey and like learning.

Is there anything you'd like to receive as a present when in hospital? (A relative has been repeatedly sectioned, and I sent a few smellies and cards and things last time, but would books or something to do be better?)

I can't ask directly because their preferred way of coping is to pretend it didn't happen afterwards.

Mallory - completely agree with you.
I've sometimes felt I don't need meds but that's always preceded a manic phase.

I take quetiapine and lamotrigine