DS missing from psychiatric ward

[Masie24]

Young adult son is under a MH section and has gone missing from his ward. Police are involved. He was allowed some unsupervised time yesterday morning but didn't return. We weren't informed until very late in the evening. He's on aripiprazole though won't have taken it since yesterday.

Police will be using social media in an attempt to locate him.

Worried stiff. And trying to hold down two jobs and care for other DCs. DS has a long history of disturbed behaviour and suicide attempts. I can barely keep things together.

Any suggestions or encouragement would be gratefully received.

Did the hospital give him anything to go with on his day out?

He has schizophrenia, is 18, absconded from a secure mental unit, has a history of suicide attempts and police aren't even looking for him lol. Welcome to GB.

How does he behave without his meds for schizophrenia? You know what OP, I'd tell the police, that he's a danger to the public. They'll fucking find him then. I know he's not, and he can prove he's not when they do find him, but just tell police some shit so that they actually start looking.

He'll have limited funds. It's very likely he's sleeping on the streets a borough or two away from you.

People sleep on the streets near a park with a toilet. He's on foot, so look at the nearest parks to the hospital.

In the cold, everyone sleeps in A&E until you're booted out at 6am. Unless he has friends he might be staying with?

Do you have a link to social media posts people can share?

So, check out your local A&E between midnight and 6am.

But you need to actually go there, as they're not logged in as patients, they just sleep there.

Hospital wasn't in the north east was it by any chance?

On the off chance it was WP in the Dton area if the friend your DS made who promised work was a frequent flier there's a small chance I could help.

If as more likely not I just wanted to say I've done the hospital stays, I made good friends and we did look out for each other. I can't imagine how your feeling

(Zopiclone has a metallic taste, I find it bearable but others don't there is an alternative Zolpidem which doesn't have the taste if you can't get away with it)

So sorry to hear what you are going through . I don’t believe that people really understand the impact of serious mental illness on the patient and the family . Do you know if the hospital he was in has sent an alert to other psychiatric wards in the country as he may present elsewhere if he is unwell.please ask them about it .
Look after yourself ( if you can ) [flowes]

[ flowers] obv

thinking of you op

Hope you've managed to get some sleep, and that you receive some good news asap.

I hope that you're not posting here because your DS is safely back home with you. Thinking of you

Another who has been thinking of you and sending best wishes.

Been following the thread and echo what others have said and I hope your son is found soon x

OP my son was 14 and he had a terrible bipolar episode over the holidays and was eventually committed for almost four months-he had a stroke as a preemie and the brain damage with puberty caused the bipolar behavior. He was gone so long from us to be stabilized and his medication regimen sorted. It was the longest four months of our lives. His hospital was hundreds of miles away from us. He eventually stabilized and came back to us. He visits a psychiatrist quarterly. I hope your son is found.

My ds has bipolar and we've had some terrible times over the last few years, but he's far more stable lately. This book, I Am Not Sick I Don't Need Help!: How to Help Someone with Mental Illness Accept Treatment is an excellent guide for interacting with people with mental illness (in particular psychosis). I have also found it useful for dealing with people in general.
My heart goes out to you....lots of hugs.

Thinking of you and your family. Hope everything is well & that's why you haven't posted recently.

Any news? Thinking of you both

Any news op?

Any news OP thinking of you

OP, offers a handhold, Ive been the absonder, I was gone less than 10 mins in total before I was found and brought back.

I wasnt on section before I went but was deemed a flight risk and so was afterwards, one psychiatrist gave a viewpoint on what it was like to be the relative, I had a teddy (doesnt matter what age in my 20s I was) and so middle of night it was taken away from me, they wouldn't tell me where it was and when I was got upset and distressed over it, I was told magnify that x 1000+ and I would gain a tiny bit of insight into what I was putting my family thru.

It hurt me at a new level to think about that, it broke thru something in me and saw it how others were affected.

I may have only been gone 10 mins but I was a high suicide risk and so being forced into treatment via the section was the best thing ever happened to me for my own sake.

I also spoke to 2 psychiatrists and a nurse as I passed them in the corridor on my way out. It was when the ward realised very quickly that panic broke out, I was located at that stage as ambulance control had spotted me acting very suspiciously. I won't go into detail.

Sending love and a hand to hold, hope you are holding on there and that he is/has been found asap.

So sorry to hear that this is still going on for you OP. I hope you get good news soon x