Is it possible to sign yourself in somewhere?

LegacyUser

Just wondering like. My mental state is not the best right now.
And can you choose how long you stay.
I'm not looking for a breakaway i just think i might need some help inpatient not outpatient

MODS: not looking for medical advice but asking a valid question

theg81der

You have to present yourself and say your suicidal - absolutely ridiculous isn`t it. Op I felt like this recently, have had a lot of issues in the last year, I was going to do what your thinking but I waited a day and you know I felt a wee bit better (not a lot better but just enough to function).
They choose when you get released as far as I know.

Peggypeg

Hey OP,

As far as I know if you sign yourself in you can sign yourself out. That is assuming the doctors haven't decided that you are a danger to yourself or others. I would caution against it though, the mental health care in this country is an absolute joke. Could you visit a GP and tell them what's been happening with you and maybe they can advice something a little less drastic? My heart goes out to you sweetie, it's awful that there's not a system in place so that you can get help about this easily. Like I say the mental health care system in this country isn't great. If it helps you, come back here and get your thoughts into a post and maybe that could help a little?

The very best of luck.

aidan24326

theg81der wrote: »

They choose when you get released as far as I know.

I don't think that's true, they would only decide when you leave if you're being there is involuntary i.e you were forcibly placed in a mental health facility due to being a danger to yourself or others. If you sign yourself in voluntarily you cannot be held against your will except where your mental condition has deteriorated to the extent that you are now considered you a danger.

ohanloj3

You can go to your GP and then he/she can refer you to be assessed for admission if you agree to go yourself you are able to self-discharge, but if it gets to the stage where you have to be admitted against your own will then either your psychiatrist or next of kin has to sign for your release.

LegacyUser

OP, I'd strongly recommend you go talk to your GP about this, they'll be best placed to advise you on a suitable course of action to help you, and the various options available.

LegacyUser

hi, i was in this situation myself a while ago - i went to my doc who organised an assessment for me in the local psych unit for that afternoon..

i went and after the whole big chat I said I did want to be admitted and i am glad I was not...

but if I wanted to, I think they would have done so...

Where do you live?

I would recommend you go private if you have insurance..

I did do a stint in a private psych hosp a few years ago and it was great for me - tough at the time but I needed it... and all better now - I know the tools I need to use should I go
low.

Svalbard

Hi OP,

I'd suggest you talk to family, friends or your GP.
If you feel you need more specialised help your GP can refer you to a psychiatrist.

Ignore those on here who suggest you treat psychiatric hospitals like a hotel or a holiday camp.

Good luck.

Victor

OP, you need to talk to your medical professionals.

That said, you don't indicate whether you have any such support in place. If you don't, the first start is your GP. If its an emergency, go to you local A&E.

In the meantime, if you need someone to talk to, try to talk to friends and family or indeed the Samaritans. Being bottled up is very negative and just talking often helps hugely.

http://www.samaritans.org/

Phone us
UK: 08457 90 90 90
ROI: 1850 60 90 90

Email us jo@samaritans.org

Write to us Chris, P.O. Box 9090 Stirling, FK8 2SA

We don't know when you might need us.

That's why we're open 24 hours a day.

Samaritans provides confidential non-judgemental emotional support, 24 hours a day for people who are experiencing feelings of distress or despair, including those which could lead to suicide.

Whatever you're going through, whether it's big or small, don't bottle it up. We are here for you if you're worried about something, feel upset or confused, or just want to talk to someone.

We offer our service by telephone, email, letter and face to face in most of our branches.

Samaritans is available to anyone in the UK and Ireland. If you live outside of the UK and Ireland, visit www.befrienders.org to find your nearest helpline.

sam34

theg81der wrote: »

You have to present yourself and say your suicidal - absolutely ridiculous isn`t it

claiming to be suicidal when you aren't, in an attempt to get a bed, is a bad idea for many reasons.

if you do get admitted, it will become obvious fairly quickly to the professionals looking after you that you are not actually suicidal. they will then perceive you as manipulative and untrustworthy.

secondly, if you get admitted, what about the next person who turns up, genuinely suicidal, and who cant be admitted cause you took the last bed, so they go away and kill themselves - you'd be doing a huuuuuuuuuuuuuge disservice to this person and their family.

sam34

ohanloj3 wrote: »

You can go to your GP and then he/she can refer you to be assessed for admission if you agree to go yourself you are able to self-discharge, but if it gets to the stage where you have to be admitted against your own will then either your psychiatrist or next of kin has to sign for your release.

if you are admitted against your will, your next of kin cannot arrange for you to be discharged.

in that situation you can only be discharged by the consultant psychiatrist or by a mental health tribunal.

LegacyUser

I have felt very similar to you OP. It's a horrible feeling when you feel like you are right on the edge, like you could go crazy any minute and everything is all a bit hopeless. I told my parents that I thought I needed to be admitted somewhere, but they got me the right supports through my doctor and I was referred to a psychiatrist who helped me a great deal.

I will be honest with you, psychiatric hospitals/units are not nice places. There are people in there with the full spectrum of psychiatric illnesses and it would just make you feel more on edge and more depressed. To put yourself in an environment where everyone is very down can only do you more harm than good. I suggest you speak to your family or friends, no matter how hard you find it, because they are the ones who will help you through the hard times, not nurses/doctors who are payed to medicate you back to functioning levels.

I wish you the best of luck and I really hope you overcome you daemons.

LegacyUser

Hi OP here

thanks for the replies.
I'll touch on a few things that people have said.

Family and Friends - tried this several times and was told to stop being silly and to go out and enjoy myself.. Ha! i no longer seek advice from these people

Samaritans - I tried that route and to be honest it made me feel worse. Don't ask why i have no idea. The people there are great and i fully respect and appreciate what they do, but for some reason it just wasnt for me.

Doctor + Psych - I went to the doctor, he gave me the usual, take these tablets etc
i told him i didnt want tablets but an evaluation from a trained professional
He sent me on a psych review and they said i was "Basically Normal".
How insulting

They said i was no danger to myself or others and doesnt recommend me going to a facility to be monitored.

So in conclusion, ive been told by everyone (i dont mean people here) to get on with it and stop bitching.

Nice to know, Male in my late twenties and im not allowed have problems

Thanks again people

LegacyUser

just to clarify when you went for the psych review did they reccomend medication, therapy, exercise?

Have you tried therapy? It just seems you may be jumping ahead of a lot of solutions. i suffered from really bad anxiety and panic attacks, but I took medication for a while and went to therapy and its much better now.

lynsalot

Hi OP

I'm so sorry you're feeling so down. I presume you're feeling depressed? This happened to me. It's a very dark and horrible time and some people have old fashioned views of this and palm it off which isn't fair. Have you tried speaking to a counsellor. At least you know you'll get to air whats bothering you or at least talk about your problems without judgement or dissapproval.

When u went to your GP, did you try the tablets you're doc prescribed? Generally people don't like using tablets but I did and they've helped immensely. In fact I've a whole new outlook on life. It's completely changed my life. I'm much better informed to make decisions in my life, I'm more rational, I cope better in situations and most importantly i don't have those dark days which cloud every emotion i'm going through.

Have you tried posting on boards how you feel. Again the support offered here can be great. i've certainly found it very effective.

I don't know if you can sign yourself in somewhere - perhaps you could phone and find out. I would be cautious in doing this as it should only be used as a last resort.

Would it help to explain how you're feeling? What do u hope to gain by being admitted? Medication? Therapy? These are options you haven't explored externally yet. There's plenty of support out there. i'm sorry you've not found it yet but it's a very common problem so you're not alone.

sam34

mentalcase wrote: »

Doctor + Psych - I went to the doctor, he gave me the usual, take these tablets etc
i told him i didnt want tablets but an evaluation from a trained professional
He sent me on a psych review and they said i was "Basically Normal".
How insulting

They said i was no danger to myself or others and doesnt recommend me going to a facility to be monitored.

So in conclusion, ive been told by everyone (i dont mean people here) to get on with it and stop bitching.

Nice to know, Male in my late twenties and im not allowed have problems

Thanks again people

eh?

you were offered meds, which you declined

you asked for a psych review, which you got

the psych didnt feel you needed admission- thats their professional opinion. you can't demand a particular form of treatment just because you would like it, if it is not clinically indicated.

who -of the professionals you approached- said you "werent allowed" have problems??

irishh_bob

Mentalcase wrote: »

Just wondering like. My mental state is not the best right now.
And can you choose how long you stay.
I'm not looking for a breakaway i just think i might need some help inpatient not outpatient

MODS: not looking for medical advice but asking a valid question

absolutley no problem having yourself committed willfully , almost impossible to be committe against your will though ( in this country )

saying your suicidal is a cynical but effective methood

Victor

irishh_bob wrote: »

almost impossible to be committe against your will though ( in this country )

I'm not sure if that is quiet right. Putting someone in a mental hospital against their will is a very serious thing and shouldn't be done lightly.

irishh_bob

Victor wrote: »

I'm not sure if that is quiet right. Putting someone in a mental hospital against their will is a very serious thing and shouldn't be done lightly.

what kind of behaviour do you believe would warrant admission against someones own will

LegacyUser

hey op, I don't like the feeling of knowing no one understands how you really feel about things. I have depression, constantly, also. I'm on prozac, don't feel it's doing much good, but my doctor is pretty uninterested, and so I don't know what i'm meant to do. Meds make me extra tired, so can't motivate myself to do exercise, have no friends to talk to, have some family but they're absolutely not going to understand or be interested, and have just broken up with my boyfriend, and have previously tried talking to samaritans twice and didn't find them any good to me at all. So I kinda feel like I know something like what you feel.

Maybe you could consider going to a different doctor? Could you do this? I'd like to but i'm on a medical card, so it'd be a whole lot of bother (if it's even possible), and he's the type to get offended. So I don't know what to do either. Only thing I can think might help me over the next while is taking one day at a time. That never made sense to me before, but it just means stopping yourself thinking far ahead, to all the things that get you down. Wake up and think what you would like to do, and do your best to do it. Don't try to make plans, or think past the next day, if you can.

Other than that I don't know what to say to you. I feel bad for you, I know how sad and confusing things can feel.

sam34

irishh_bob wrote: »

what kind of behaviour do you believe would warrant admission against someones own will

behaviour is only part of it, there has to be a mental illness also, and various other criteria set out by law

for the record, there were over 4000 people detained against their will in ireland in the last two years

Novella

You can get out-patient help, but as far as I'm aware most places do so on the basis of a GP referral. Otherwise, I think you would have to be a danger to yourself and/or others and so would be admitted as an in-patient.

If you are not happy with the diagnosis of your doctor, maybe you should see another one? Also, is there any reason you are adamant not to take medication? I mean, you say you're "not allowed have problems". The doctor obviously acknowledged you had problems when he/she prescribed you medication. You are the one who refused the treatment you were being offered.

What is it you want exactly?

Here are some websites you might want to take a look at :
www.yourmentalhealth.ie
www.hse.ie

LegacyUser

Op Here

@Sam34 - why the aggression? I wasnt talking about the doctors when i used the "not allowed to have problems" line. I was talking about the outside world in general. Family, friends etc....

@Novella - when you say "The doctor obviously acknowledged you had problems when he/she prescribed you medication"
thats not the case, He is the type of doctor, who basically doesnt listen and throws medication at anything.
I dont know what i want, thats the problem, but one thing i do know is i dont want to take medication. Im not a fan of painkillers nevermind mood altering substances.

@hi op - very similar situation to yourself. End of relationship, have posted about it here before but its gone from the pages.

@everyone else - thanks for the replies

Novella

mentalcase wrote: »

@Novella - when you say "The doctor obviously acknowledged you had problems when he/she prescribed you medication"
thats not the case, He is the type of doctor, who basically doesnt listen and throws medication at anything.
I dont know what i want, thats the problem, but one thing i do know is i dont want to take medication. Im not a fan of painkillers nevermind mood altering substances.

Then I do suggest you see another doctor and hopefully get a more appropriate response.
Have you taken anti-depressants before?

irishh_bob

sam34 wrote: »

behaviour is only part of it, there has to be a mental illness also, and various other criteria set out by law

for the record, there were over 4000 people detained against their will in ireland in the last two years

told you before on other occasions when you tailed me , im not interested in semantics , not interested in data either

6th

irishh_bob wrote: »

told you before on other occasions when you tailed me , im not interested in semantics , not interested in data either

And I'm telling you both that this isnt the place for point scoring and sniping.

Victor

mentalcase wrote: »

@Novella - when you say "The doctor obviously acknowledged you had problems when he/she prescribed you medication"
thats not the case, He is the type of doctor, who basically doesnt listen and throws medication at anything.

Then perhaps you need another doctor.

I dont know what i want, thats the problem, but one thing i do know is i dont want to take medication. Im not a fan of painkillers nevermind mood altering substances.

If your leg was broken, would you refuse medication? If your head is "broken", would you refuse medication?

LegacyUser

irishh_bob wrote: »

, almost impossible to be committe against your will though ( in this country )

untrue, if you are a danger to yourself or others you can be

irishh_bob

unregistered wrote: »

untrue, if you are a danger to yourself or others you can be

technically yes but it rarely ever happens , my cousin frightended the life out of an elderly neighbour by claiming the devil was in them , this happened in public and the neigbour is still traumatised , the local gp and the guards were pushing for involuntary committal but the ruling psychiatricts in the local hospital vetoed , claiming the problem was one of aquired brain injury rather than psychiatric , in other words , they decided to engage in semantics , wooly liberalism is at the heart of mental health politics in this country and while the powers that be think they are helping those who are not all in it , they are thier and thier familys worst enemy , i have seen what this conceited mentality has done to my own extended family , the pain never ends yet the holier than thou doctors refuse help at every turn

sam34

mentalcase wrote: »

@Sam34 - why the aggression? I wasnt talking about the doctors when i used the "not allowed to have problems" line. I was talking about the outside world in general. Family, friends etc...

firstly, my post was not intended to be aggressive and i genuinely cannot see how it could be perceived as such

secondly, it wasnt clear you were not referring to the professionals, as you actualy stated:

mentalcase wrote: »

So in conclusion, ive been told by everyone (i dont mean people here) to get on with it and stop bitching

the outside world, lay people, are notoriously uneducated and ignorant about psychiatric problems, unfortunately. but the professionals should be able to offer help... go back to your GP, or go seek a second opinion.

best of luck.