Niece been sectioned- what will happen

[Mistyplanet]

Mental health/Drug abuse (trigger warning)

Hi all, just coming here for some handholding really. My niece is 25 and has been on a downward spiral for the last say 10 years. Shes not been able to hold down a job or be independent. In the last 5 years shes been taking drugs probably the worst ones (i don't know- i havent seen her for maybe 3 years). Shes become more and more paranoid and delusional and this year her mum decided the best thing was to get her sectioned as there was no reasoning with her. She was sectioned in march but managed to escape 3 times and the section ran out. Shes completely delusional saying things like she cant talk to my brother because she has down syndrome (she hasnt), people are jealous of her- have poured petrol over her. You get the picture. Different delusional stuff all the time about people having ill intentions towards her and compeltely bizarre stuff like saying her mum's racist and shes black ( shes white). Shes very ill clearly. Or possibly street drugs be making her act this way and when shes completely clean some normality could return? The worst thing in the past few months is shes picked all the skin on her face. Its raw and its like shes been burned or in a car crash. Thankfully because of her appearance the police got her sectioned again and this time in an apparently more secure ward but shes still waiting for an assesment before anything more can happen. What will happen now? Does anyone think she can improve? Things feel hopeless right now but im trying to say to my brother while shes still alive there's still hope but im not sure to be honest. Any support would be appreciated.

Oh op how awful. I don't know much about mental health but I do know about drug psychosis. I have had countless clients over the years (criminal solicitor) who have required psychiatric reports and they often come back as drug induced. Hopefully for your niece that means there's hope if she gets clean?

Hi. So she would have been sectioned under a section 136 she will within 72 hours have a mental health act Assesment in the hospital to see if she needs to go on a section 2 or 3 if sectionable. But ultimately yes she can get better. I work within mental health services and I have seen many many unwell patients come in and leave like different people. There is Hope. Honestly.

Thankyou so much for your message @teawomen. I think shes already under a section 2 and in around 2 weeks she'll be having a further assesment. Im already feeling a tiny bit more hopeful today as we sent some things in for her the other day and shes messaged saying thankyou for them. Shes demanding a smart phone but at least the message did make sense. She sent my mum a message saying she'd been sectioned (she already knew) and she needs a phone for listening to music and job hunting. (My mum used to always tell her to get a job- when she was mentally well obviously) so it was reassuring that her message had some context and made sense to a degree. We also sent a colouring book and my brother said shed been using it so that's also positive right? Shes been eating and drinking so looking a bit better apparently. I think ill visit in about a week if shes still there. Is there anything i should do or bring? Thanks x

Sounds very reassuring. It’s a good thing she is sectioned if she needs the help as sometimes people can go under the radar and not get the help she deserves. I’d try and put her off job hunting that’s another huge stress that won’t help.

Maybe take her toiletries and snacks. Word searches are good too because people don’t have to think to much when doing them if that makes sense.

But you are already doing amazing just by being there for her and worrying shows how much her family care.

We dont actually think she will be job hunting- she hasnt for years- but shes using that as an excuse to get a smart phone. Her parents say she shouldn't have one as last time someone brought her one when she was sectioned before she was on it all day messaging her old "friends" - druggies and the like and random people and asking for things and probably to help her escape. Shes escaped around 4 times now from different places. We suspect this is the real reason she wants a phone and job hunting is just a lie to get it. Anyway i just thought it was good that at least the message was based in reality. Thanks for the advice about what to bring in- will try word searches. We are really glad shes sectioned too just hope they can keep her in there long enough for her to improve.

Hopefully the unit she is in will have properly risk assessed your niece and realise that a smartphone is not appropriate right now. Or if she has one, she is supervised when using it. I have been inpatient with people who were not allowed phones because they just kept calling the police and plead for help to get them out of hospital.

I second the word search suggestion... maybe a nice colouring book and pens too. Nice smellies, and treats like her favourite chocolates or biscuits.

Hi Op.
There’s hope for your niece now she’s in the right hands and I wish you all well.
Like others have mentioned, they have the right to take mobile phone and other things like that off her if it’s not considered in her best interest. She will be allowed it back when it’s deemed safe to do so. I’m not sure if she’s able to focus on word searches/books etc but those are good suggestions all the same. How about a portable DVD player and a box set she likes? Even if her attention span is short, it’s really quiet in ward (and other times exceptionally loud and all hell is breaking loose), so a distraction from that might be welcome. I for one hate silence.

I'm so sorry about your niece. It's heartbreaking.

Hello OP

this sounds like a sad and difficult time for your family - sorry to hear

I am by no means close to this, but I briefly worked in a mental health rehabilitation unit (I'm not a MH professional). There is hope: I still remember many of the patients who had been sectioned, sometimes under awful circumstances, and who were able to get the support they needed to turn things around - I hope this will be the same for your niece. xx

Primarily this all comes down to her getting a confirmed diagnosis and a treatment plan of both meds and therapy. Often patients improve whilst being sectioned as they take the medication and are motivated to get out. As soon as they're out they revert back to old behaviours and stop the meds because 'they're better now' and the cycle starts again.

As a family you need to understand what she is being diagnosed with and to get some support and education yourselves on how to help her. Learn what her triggers are etc

She needs to be away from druggy mates completely.

Diagnosis is key as is the treatment path. Often MH is treated in ' the community' these days with GP's and crisis teams. It's really difficult to help someone get well
And stay well.

Wishing your niece well.

How about a cheap tablet rather than a smart phone? That way she’d be able to job hunt if that is what she wants to do, but not phone/text her druggie friends. Plus your sister could have more control over what was on it.

I do hope she continues to improves

Hi All, thanks so much for your kind and thoughtful mesaages. My niece is still on the ward which is good and shes due to see a Doctor tomorrow. Im not sure whether thats for physical or mental health but anything would be good right now. Ive still not seen her. I dont think I feel strong enough myself to do so until shes a little bit more settled (hopefully). I think if her skins very bad I could end up feeling haunted by it. I sometimes have trouble getting images out of my mind. Although I have seen a picture of it from about a month ago which i didnt find too distressing. The skin was quite raw but it didnt look like it would be "unfixable" to me... seeing it in real life would probably be too much though. Ive got 3 young kids of my own all on summer holidays right now- so I feel I need to guard myself a bit from getting too upset.

As for how shes doing shes been messaging my mum alot still asking for a phone/tablet but its a definite no no as she'll contact people who are bad influences for her. On her Facebook she has around 4000 people and was messaging random people all day last time she was sectioned. In the past week one "friend" has brought her in a smart phone- pretending he was her father. This all managed to get past the staff. My brother has since rang the hospital and reiterated that she absolutely must not have "tech" and now theyve also got a password system set up which only her parents know so if someone brings anything they have to state what the password is. Apparently shes already had a large amount of stuff brought in from various "friends" in the past week which can't be good and hopefully they'll put a stop to. She needs to get out of this begging cycle as i doubt the stuff will come without strings attached but she seems not to discern between people and begging for things has become like a way of life for her (even before being sectioned). I dont know if its drug addiction which has made her like this. Anyway, the positives are she's still there and i think stable-ish, getting 3 meals a day and safe. Lets hope they can keep her there for now and I'll let you know what the doctors say or when she gets the assessment. Thanks so much everyone. Its good to know theres hope of improvement.

I can totally understand you being reticent about visiting your DN, it sounds so distressing for all of you.

Some great suggestions on here already. I'll just add my suggestion of some nice PJs or Loungewear as a gift. If she's eating now and wasn't previously because of addiction she may well put on a little weight and outgrow her current clothes.

The smart phone and stuff may well be from her drug dealers.

The smart phone and stuff may well be from her drug dealers.

That's what I was thinking. It's financially beneficial for them to keep her orders coming in.

Thanks all. Update is that Dr has seen her today and say they think she has schizophrenia but there is a remote possibility it could be brain damage or extreme drug withdrawal. So quite sad news really but im not that suprised as shes clearly been very unwell for a while now. They want to do a brain scan but havent been able to yet as shes at high risk of escaping. At least they are recognising how ill she is and hopefully will be able to treat her in the hospital. Thanks for your suggestions of what to bring in. All good ideas x

Very similar thing happened to a young man I know, he was my son's best friend all through school but he went to uni and got in with a crowd doing drugs. He is fine now, in a relationship with a lovely young woman and planning to get married soon, he has a job and has sorted his life out.

There is hope.

That's good they want to do a brain scan. She will need support to come to terms with and manage the diagnosis. It won't happen straight away but hopefully she can just take things one step at a time

@ancientgran im glad there was a happy ending for your son's friend.

Another update: niece spoke to my mum and brother today and both said they had a very "normal" conversation with her today... its been 10 days / 2 weeks since shes been in there. Maybe coming off street drugs has had an effect. I really hope so....

Hi OP,

I had an 'acute drug induced psychosis' and was sectioned. I was told if I ever came back it would be changed to schizophrenia.

It is difficult to come through but luckily I recovered.

The only chance she has is to not do the recreational drugs and to take the antipsychotics.

Even if she gets better - this will have a long lasting effect on her life.

I have been refused life insurance last month - half a decade after the one time incident. Its unlikely I will be able to have insurance again for a long time - if ever.

This prompted me to look into the relapse rates for these incidents. Its staggeringly high. Every relapse and episode is less chance of recovery.

Some one needs to form trust and get through to her. Explain the severity of this.

If she can recover quickly and not relapse they may not label her with 'schizophrenia'.

Its a damning diagnosis and renders you ineligible for all manner of things - life insurance, organ transplant, a number of different professions, visas to other countries, travel insurance, car insurance, drivers license etc.

She is a cat on her 8th life and she has this one chance to fix it.

That sounds quite depressing. I am not trying to be pessimistic. I am just trying to explain that she is at a cross roads.

• Quit drugs, get better and keep her fingers crossed for life that it was short term drug induced.
• Dont quit, get resectioned, get a diagnosis of schizophrenia and then it wont matter whether later she gets clean and it was drug induced short term or not.

That's interesting to read Lemonswan. Im glad you've managed to pull yourself out of that cycle. It must have taken incredible strength. Im not close to my niece myself. I think her mum is trying to get her on side so to speak but I suppose its still early days and she had been completely unable to have any kind of rational conversation up until yesterday. I guess its only her who can decide if she wants to quit drugs permanently- if she does get released. No one really has been able to get through to her so far and shes been living a dysfunctional kind of lifestyle for a long time now- its become like her norm so it would take a lot of determination to change that. I do believe miracles can happen though and maybe as she gets older she might mature a bit. I really dont know. Im waiting for things to settle a bit before I make contact/ visit. We arent regularly in contact so she wont expect it. Obviously im concerned for her though.

Thanks for that information though I can at least pass that onto her when the time is right.

Hi @Mistyplanet I have a diagnosis of schizophrenia and just want to say that even if it does turn out to be that it doesn't mean it's hopeless- I believe that actually the majority of people either only suffer one or two episode, some have recurring episodes but with big gaps( me!) and some do have more ongoing problems, but it is the minority. The most important thing she can do right now is stop the street drugs. Honestly on an inpatient ward the majority of young patients seem to be drug users- particularly weed. Being sectioned is shit, but if it means she gets some weeks of a sort of normalish life- no all nighters, no drugs or alcohol , regular meals etc- it could help her.