Has anyone close to you been so mentally ill you had to section them?

[KevinKnowsImMiserable]

If so, how did you find that experience?

DId you question yourself or feel guilty in any way?

I'm only asking as I had to do this many years ago and never let myself think about it. I wonder how I should have felt about it.

Also, how common it is to have to do this? It felt like a lonely experience at the time, but perhaps it's more common than I think?

Hi Kevin, my ex-boyfriend was sectioned a few times in Ireland close to that time (1999). I never signed anything but maybe other people did, landlord, people we were living with.

He was always clearly very ill, (psychotic) and a danger to himself and others. On two occasions at least the Garda were also called and would attend with the medical staff, I don't think they wanted to come alone, it was that bad.

He was in the mental hospital in Cork, which always seemed a bit of a basic place but I think the staff were kind.

Actually it would have been between 1997-1999 that he was being sectioned. So, yes, the same timeframe.

Yes, I had to arrange for my sister to be sectioned (thread on here, if you search). I believe I saved her life.

My other brothers and sisters were unsupportive and blinkered to how ill she was.

Friends and relatives cannot in the UK section anyone, all they can do is get the professionals involved, a close relative of mine (NOK) was sectioned however it was not my choice, it was two doctors and a social worker that came to the conclusion that sectioning was necessary and they kept me informed and asked for my input when appropriate - this was in addition to the police/GP/local mental health support team all being involved. It really isn't something that a relative can just demand by themselves

This is ff course correct, however I have now been granted power to action a mha if I feel appropriate. Rather than it be requested by a medical professional.

I thought it would be useful to clarify a bit more about relatives' role in someone being sectioned (being assessed under the Mental health Act) in English and Welsh law (law in different in rest of UK. I have no knowledge or ROI law).

The decision to detain someone under the Mental Health Act is made by 3 professionals. You need two doctors to write medical recommendations, and then the AMHP (a specially trained professional, usually a social worker) then makes the decision. Usually all 3 professionals asses the person together, but not always.

For Section 2 (up to 28 days) the AMHP has to inform the Nearest Relative (this is not necessarily the same person as the Next of Kin) about the decision. It is good practice to talk to people close to the patient before making the decision, but not legally necessary.

For Section 3 (up to 6 months), the AMHP has to consult the Nearest Relative before making their decision. At this point the Nearest Relative is asked if they object to the admission or not. If they don't object, relatives often feel that they are responsible for sectioning this person. This can often be a very stressful decision for the relative. But the way I explain it to Nearest Relatives, is that they shouldn't feel that weight on their shoulders, as the decision is being made by professionals.

If the Nearest Relative objects to a Section 3, the admission can't go ahead. So the Nearest Relative can actually block an admission under Section 3. In very rare cases, the Nearest Relative can be displaced by a court so the Section 3 can go ahead. This almost never happens.

Relatives involvement in Mental Health Act assessments is really important. It is often relatives that raise the alert that their family member is unwell. Relatives provide important information to the professionals to help them make the decision.

Legally, the Nearest Relative can section someone if they have two medical recommendations. I have never seen that happen though.

legally the nearest relative can section someone if they have two medical recommendations. I have never seen that happen though.

Mhep that all sounds very similar to the rules in the roi, especially that last paragraph. When we finally got him in we were told that 'we had done the impossible' by more than one professional. Tbh after he was beaten up very badly the second time and refused help or any kind of treatment and they still wouldn't help him my sister wrote to some influencial people and told them she would hold them personally responsible if her brother died on the streets. (her dh used to work in government and still has a few contacts) she told them she would sue them and talk to any of the newspapers that would listen. We were at the end of our tether by then and really waiting for him to be killed. It all happened fairly quickly after that so we have to assume she rattled the right person's cage.

Yes. My ex-boyfriend when we were both in our late teens. He was showing signs of psychosis and was putting himself in danger with no understanding of what he was doing. It was the best thing for him and I took the brunt of the blame from his mother, who herself had been through the mental health system and was adamant that it was no good for him to be back in there.

It was a very difficult time and decision but it was the right one in the end. Sometimes the risks are just too great to ignore. But no one ever tells you how it is hard to ignore your heart whilst it’s breaking.

Thank you everyone and I'm so sorry Daisy and Pippi.

It's saddened me to read how many people have been through this, but in a way it's nice to have company with something so difficult.

I can't really remember the ins and outs of a lot of what happened, but my brother had not long been released from hospital after a suicide attempt so I suspect that was why it was taken so seriously.

He had bipolar and was in a very manic episode and was arguing with the GP I took him to that there was nothing wrong with him and I was the mad one.

I know the GP asked him to leave the room then went through a list of questions and agreed that he needed to come in. She explained that it was better if he agreed to come in voluntarily but as he clearly didn't accept there was anything wrong with him I was going to have to sign something to say I agreed with him being taken in.

I assume that's sectioning, I don't know? The GP assessed him and then someone at the psychiatic unit did and he was admitted.

I think my parents thought I had over-reacted, which was ridiculous given the fact that he had been taking stupid risks like walking along the edge of a bridge over a fast-flowing river.

I'm really glad that I found a GP who was supportive and took it seriously as it sounds as though others really struggled to get help

I know this is going to sound very wrong... but I wish I had even had the chance to have my brother sectioned.

He killed himself when I was 18.

As a family, our whole lives have never been the same again. I miss him so much.

My husband had to agree to his father being sectioned last year. He was depressed, not looking after himself and not taking his pills. He wouldn’t let anyone in his house, wouldn’t keep himself clean or eat. He was a danger to himself and we were glad the mental health team were taking it seriously. He was away for a few nights in some sort of half way house and then they sent him home. Quite how that was supposed to help him I’m not sure. Then they tried again and we begged them to take him under a section 3 to give him a chance to recover and be made to take his medication. He was sent home again after a couple of weeks. He was so weak from lack of food that he fell down the stairs and broke his neck. He was taken to hospital, he had a heart attack and he died.

We were desperate for a section because we thought it would save him but there is no funding in the mental health services and they just couldn’t keep him.

ICESTAR

My poor BIL is going through hell at the moment with my DSis, she has a medical problem which she will not accept and ends up in hospital with quite severe injuries (self inflicted). In hospital she reacts badly, is violent to staff, has halucinations (the list is endless) there is a DOL order in place to stop her getting out, I feel it is only a matter of time...

Msadorabelle thank you so much. That's kind. Thanks for the flowers. For you as well. Mental health is one of the least underfunded illness, I hope one day it gets equal treatment. 0

MHEP has described what I was going to say. Nobody can actually 'get someone sectioned' they can only request that someone be assessed under the Mental Health Act. The threshold for being sectioned in the UK is extremely high. Psychiatry has a dreadful track records on human rights so the mental health system now is very heavily weighted towards human rights. The AMHP, who is usually a social worker, has the final say over whether someone is detained- I have attended several Mental Health Act assessments where 2 consultant psychiatrists have recommended detention but the AMHP has refused to sign.
Anyone who is detained has the right to appeal to an independent tribunal and the right to a solicitor.
If someone is detained under a section 3, their nearest relative can ask for them to be discharged at anytime and that can only be blocked in extreme circumstances.
I have worked in mental health for over 20 years and I've experienced many relatives pleading for their loved one to be sectioned and had to explain that they don't meet the threshold.
It really isn't a case of people being able to turn up and just cart someone off to hospital. People don't get detained unless they're extremely unwell.

Just managed to get ds to see sense and agree to going in on a voluntary basis last week. They're hanging on to him for a week, possibly two. Fortunately he is being compliant. It's heartbreaking and exhausting, particularly as it involved a four hundred mile round trip.

This is a really hard thread to read. FIL was sectioned by DH about 12 months before I met him.

He's much better these days but has a habit of tinkering with his meds (he upped his dosage when DS was born and poorly in hospital and often cuts his pills in half). We have to keep a close eye as MIL doesn't tend to act on any concerns (or communicate them with us).

Yes my nan was sectioned after becoming psychotic for the first time aged 91 - she was very agitated and like a lost soul, really suffering so it was the best thing for her.
She was taken (against her will) to an emi unit who were amazing, after several weeks she was almost back to normal (on risperidone) but she then died from aspiration pneumonia- this was very upsetting for us as a family as we felt we'd just got the real her back.

Friends and relatives cannot in the UK section anyone, all they can do is get the professionals involved Very true and worth remembering if you feel any guilt.

My aunt was sectioned. It was the right thing to do, and to be fair she should have gone in sooner. She was completely incapable of looking after herself and her health had declined considerably.

It’s a difficult decision to make, but if it’s the right thing for that person, then it’s also the right decision IYSWIM.

I was nearly sectioned by the police in 2012; i was having a psychotic episode & smashing up my kitchen (I was very agitated) so someone called the police.
An officer explained that if I stepped outside they'd have to section me but not if I stayed inside as I'd only damaged my own property. I was tempted as I was really ill but too scared to go out.
He then called the crisis team and stayed with me til they came.