My husband is acting is strangely

[Deppcandouno]

My husband is acting in a very depressive manner and is reading bizarre meaning into things like adverts. He is also saying phrases that don’t make any sense like ‘we need to level up like super Mario’ and expecting that what he has said is normal. He keeps disappearing to do household jobs and is gone for an hour but has no recollection of what he has been doing. He has said he is concerned about his mental health and feels he meets the criteria to be sectioned. What do I do? Pl ease help.

My DP tried to kill himself and wasn’t even hospitalised so I believe it.

He got handed a few contacts to reach out to and off you go.

That's absolutely ridiculous Op not you but the GP. Psychosis goes down really fast to the point you won't be able to take him the GP etc atall .So sorry OP . I have Olanzapine on hand with the support of my crisis team . GP's say I shouldn't take them without talking to them . I say well the thing is I won't come down to see you , I only really trust my DP at this point . I have enough awareness to know when I am ill but my trust in people goes down pretty fast unfortunately.Hence I say to my DP straight away if I hear so much as a voice . Sorry OP , just see how he goes and if he does get worse go to A&E .Yes I had to sit there for hours on a bed and have many tests but I eventually got seen by a mental health team. Good luck OP x

How is he doing now @Deppcandouno ?

Did the crisis team just tell you to call the GP? Where I live, the crisis team does like the patient to be seen by a professional first (GP or care co if they have one) before accepting a referral. However, stupidly, if you call out of hours you can often then self refer. That might be my area only.

If the crisis team did indeed need him to be seen by the GP first, then the GP should have offered an emergency same day appointment.

You need to go to A&E and they will have a MH team there who will assess him. In my A&E, mental health patients get put into a quiet side room with a bed. It's not amazing, but he shouldn't have to sit in a busy room with other people.

I would be tempted to call the crisis team back and 111 option 2 to explain that he can't see a GP in an acceptable time frame and see what they say to this.

There is also the option as nearest relative to request a mental health act assessment. Should you not get the help you need and you remain very concerned about his mental state and his safety that may be something to consider.

Every A&E should have a mental health team attached to it who will see patients in situations like this. They are initially assessed by a MH nurse, who may then organize a MHA assessment if warranted.

In my personal and professional experience, A&E is sadly often the quickest way of getting support.

I thought it was horrible as well that people were haranguing her. I am shocked though that they’ve said 20th! What an absolute mess we’re in.

I was worried that you might get fobbed off.

I echo going to A and E although experiences vary, but as others have said, he will be seen by a MH practitioner of some sort.
If his behaviour gets really concerning (for example I thought I needed to kill “evil people” last time I was psychotic) then call the police as they can section him in the short term ready for a MHAA.

This sounds scarily negligent. They're aware he is psychotic? Did they give you any contacts or advice for what to do in the meantime?

Yup. It’s awful

Her husband hasn’t been diagnosed with psychosis either, it’s not been confirmed he is/was psychotic, people are assuming a lot on this thread. He would not have been given an appointment for the 20th if he was deemed to be a risk to himself or others. At the very least he would be under the care of the crisis team with daily visits.

I hope the OP and her husband are doing okay.

Do you realise how hard it is to be seen when your in crises . My DP had to phone the police in the end . Trust me he tried the doctors etc. they wouldn't see me unless I involuntary went to them

That’s based on assumption that he’s been assessed.

From the info here she’s spoken to 111 who have recommended a GP appt and she’s made one for 3 weeks hence.

Psychosis cannot be confirmed or ruled out until he is seen.

If the receptionist didn’t triage correctly and recommend an urgent appt DH could easily fall between the cracks.

This

Yes - in my experience of calling 111 for mental health reasons, they always assess. Especially if there are reasons to suspect psychosis. It all sounds a bit odd.

20th January?! I'm sorry if I have missed something OP but if I'm understanding right that is really poor and it sounds like your partner (and you) need and deserve help before then. I would call your GP tomorrow morning first thing and ask for a consultation. Let us know how you get on.

A same day consultation, I mean. Say it is an emergency and don't let them fob you off.

OP hasn’t mentioned any assessment and it cannot be done over the phone.

I’d assume on the sparse info we have that the GP appt in 3 weeks is the assessment.

We don’t know if her DH has been assessed already and deemed to not need urgent intervention. Hopefully the OP will update further as we are just speculating otherwise.

Assessments can be carried out over the phone initially yes, in order to advise next steps.

This.

@Deppcandouno if you feel his actions - verbal or physical hint at being a danger to himself - either through possible suicide risk or just been so unaware of what danger he is putting himself or others in - walking into busy roads with little regard to traffic, doing things we’d consider against common sense that could put you, him, children or the general public at risk then please ring 999. For instance I certainly wouldnt let him drive a vehicle right now.

I say this as someone with an adult child who shows symptoms like this as the beginning of a psychotic episode.

All they can do is a preliminary assessment, not a proper mental health diagnosis.

@Mirabai Yes this is what I mean. So if there is risk picked up at initial screening assessment, or symptoms of serious mental health difficulties (such as psychosis) the person would be seen the same day by a clinician trained in mental health. To be given a GP appointment for 3 weeks time suggests that he was not deemed to be at risk and/or in need of urgent assessment. It’s impossible to know more unless the OP updates.

People are not realising the woeful state our MH services are in.
Last time I had psychosis I wanted to kill people. I was hiding knives on my person and around the house. I was seeing and hearing things. I wrote an entire notebook in two days full of my “observations” (people walking past, cars I saw, messages through the tv etc).
I wasn’t even referred to Crisis.

This.

This was the situation with my friend too.

when finally assessed weeks later diagnosed to be in an acute psychotic state and sectioned.