Did I do the right thing having my daughter sectioned?

[Sobusynow]

My daughter who had a terrible fall a few months ago, has made a full recovery, but sadly due to the private family court situation she is in with her child’s father, mentally she can’t recover! She is suffering from extreme anxiety disorder and sadly last week she was suffering so much and trying to end her life I had to have her sectioned for her own good and so her child will grow up with a mummy. So far she isn’t engaging and just wants to come home. I do hope I did the right thing.

Given she was placed, you obviously did the right thing. I'm very, very sorry you're all going through this. Do get some support for yourself, too

Op, on the opposite side if you hadn’t and she’d done something, you’d have wished you’d done this. That’s how I’d look at it. Don’t doubt yourself ❤️ they also don’t take the decision to section people lightly, I’m a healthcare worker and see it day in day out. By doing that, you’ve given your daughter the best chance. Sending lots of love

You’ve done the right thing, OP. It must have been very painful but you did it for her own safety, please don’t be hard on yourself for protecting your daughter. 💐

@Sobusynow
this must have been a really hard decision but ultimately you could have saved her life here. I used to work in A&E in a hospital and saw a lot of cases being triaged and they don’t section someone lightly so the medical professionals obviously made that cell, THANKS TO YOU for being amazing and noticing what needed to be done here.

Give her time to engage and hopefully you can work thru this with her. Sending you strength and love.

You didn't make this decision alone - you asked, the professionals agreed.
I hope your DD recovers well.

You got her help which she needed. You didn't section her.

You made the right decision. It will get her the help she needs.
We agreed to it - it wasn’t difficult for us but that’s probably because we had no time to think about it. A decision made in a split second. But not once have we or our DC regretted it. Seeing 2 security guards standing guard outside an A&E cubicle shocked us into realising we really had no choice. It is the most heartbreaking thing to see your child (adult) in such distress. The NHS early intervention team have been amazing and have supported them 100%
2 years on life is good. No that’s not true - it’s bloody amazing. My DC is strong and I’m so proud it hurts.

The proof you did the right thing is the fact that they didn't turn her away.

Be patient with the treatment.

I went to the go who sent me to A&E and we were then in triage for 18 hours while they found a bed. 3 Ambulance driver/workers came and took her around lunch time the next day. She was calmer by then. So walked quietly, but not been off the phone since. Texting or calling me to get her out.

You didn't get her sectioned. You took her to a place of safety for assessment. They sectioned her. If you hadn't been right, they would have sent her home.

Tell her you are going to limit phone calls from her to two each day until she cooperates and engages with the medical assistance offered and advised.

I'm sorry you had the awful experience of 18 hours at A&E. It will be a few days at least before your daughter can begin to step down from the trauma of the (necessary) attempts to get her help. After that she will hopefully begin to be ready to make use of the space and time you have assisted her in obtaining.

And a a PP said, you didn't get her sectioned. You helped make it possible for the professionals to observe her and make their decision about sectioning.

The whole business is so traumatic. My son was so ill that police had to come to our home and handcuff him, to prevent him running away from the professionals attempting to get him to hospital. And he absconded a few times over the years. One, when very ill, he asled me "Why are you doing this?", misconceiving us as participating in some hostile conspiracy.

I had to keep reminding myself that I wasn't the one making decisions. As a parent you feel so responsible, and you work so hard trying to get mental health support. But you are an observer, really, once the professionals are involved. Use the time of your daughter's hospitalisation to be kind and caring to yourself. Your vigilance can stand down for now - it takes time for your body to accept that, so it mutates the vigilance into guilt and rumination.

Of course you were right. Someone trying to end their life is not mentally healthy or safe. She needed professional intervention. It is very hard to get someone sectioned so if it’s successful it’s because it was absolutely necessary.

She will thank you for this in time.

You can't 'have someone sectioned'. It's not an episode of peep show ffs. There aren't millions of empty psych beds just waiting to be filled by people who their family 'section'?!

If they were sectioned it's because a psychiatrist plus two other MH professionals believe they are suffering from mental illness that is a danger to their or another person's life. Then they can do a section two. They can rescind it at any time if the person gets sufficiently better. I'm presuming that is the type of section you refer to?

You absolutely did the right thing OP.
you didn’t get her sectioned, you got her assessed and the professionals deemed that to be what she needs.

and given the stretch MH services are under they wouldn’t have done that lightly. There are many people who need more support but aren’t currently seen as a priority. The fact they feel your Dd is a priority case says it all. Thank god you did get her assessed when you did!

OP, I'm so sorry about what you are going through.

But you "didn't get her sectioned". It doesn't work like that. The professionals made that decision not you and to say otherwise is damaging to everyone.

All the best for the future for you both.

Thank you everyone, I am aware that I wasn’t the one who actually sectioned her, but obviously it is early days and I can’t help the way I feel. Despite knowing that it is for her own good.

It's a really tough situation OP.
The worry is very natural.
Try to accept your worry is going to be there and just look after yourself.

If someone is at risk of serious harm to themselves or others they need to be in a safe place. There’s just no two ways about that. Once she is stable she will be glad you did this for her child. It might take her a while to get there but she will.