Mental health assessment

[epil]

So following on from Sunday when I made the mistake of sending a goodbye text to my friend. I now have a mental health assessment this afternoon. I don't really want to go and I don't really know how much if anything to discuss with them. I'm feeling even more trapped than ever.

 

[RacilyDank]

So following on from Sunday when I made the mistake of sending a goodbye text to my friend. I now have a mental health assessment this afternoon. I don't really want to go and I don't really know how much if anything to discuss with them. I'm feeling even more trapped than ever.

That's a very quick turnaround for an assessment. Speaking from experience, you should go or you could end up in more trouble. You do not want to be involuntarily admitted.

If you don't want help or don't think they can help you, just be honest about your mental health, admit to having suicidal feelings but state you have no intent And your goodbye text was a 'cry for help'

If it was a cry for help however, let them try to help you.

 

[Avicii]

So following on from Sunday when I made the mistake of sending a goodbye text to my friend. I now have a mental health assessment this afternoon. I don't really want to go and I don't really know how much if anything to discuss with them. I'm feeling even more trapped than ever.

Easy just don't come to clean to them certainly don't say your in this site and don't say you have suicidal feelings - I had an assessment recently from home care team and they can only go on what you say so I did feel suicidal but I'm not never going to act on it

 

[RacilyDank]

Easy just don't come to clean to them certainly don't say your in this site and don't say you have suicidal feelings - I had an assessment recently from home care team and they can only go on what you say so I did feel suicidal but I'm not never going to act on it

I've admitted FEELING suicidal to mental health professionals many times and never been locked up. Telling them you plan to kill yourself is another matter altogether.

 

[Phro]

I've told plenty of providers that I had suicidal thoughts. However, I never let them know that I had a specific plan or the intent to carry it out.

 

[RacilyDank]

Exactly. It is expressing intent which will get you in all sorts of trouble.

If they locked up everyone who said they'd thought about suicide the nuthouses would be full to capacity

 

[RacilyDank]

Given that anyone who makes it as far as a specialist mental health team will most likely be suicidal by then...

 

[Dumpling]

At this point, you still have some control over the situation. If you do not attend the appointment, you will have fewer options.

Do you want help?

 

[Avicii]

I've told plenty of providers that I had suicidal thoughts. However, I never let them know that I had a specific plan or the intent to carry it out.

Yes I think that's it - I've told mental health teams that I'm yes and no when it comes to suicidal and they didn't take me in - unless you go into specifics ie admit to a plan you'll be grand

 

[TAW122]

I would downplay having suicidal thoughts even because sometimes psychologists, therapists, counselors, and some mental health professionals may try to pry into it. Similar to what others say here, I would still tread very, very carefully because one misspoken statement would mean being involuntarily held against your will.

 

[epil]

So I was fairly honest with them. All they've done is suggest I consider antidepressants and possibly continuing to talk with a member of their team. I'm going to politely decline. They made it clear that at this stage it's all voluntary and I still have the option to say no thank you.

 

[Ashpac]

I have some insights and experience on these tests. I had an assessment this morning actually.

 

[HermitApprentice]

Personally I ran away from home once and even had a suicide note on display on my laptop. If the assessment team is anything like the police I saw then there is nothing you need to tell them per say especially if you think helping yourself is better for you or are adament on killing yourself. Their mental health nurse was also away so I got long distance "MH nurse advice" and general police advisement. I was in the middle before that but other experiences really further that divide when it comes to giving in to my suicidal thinking and all that stuff or not... Oh and the whole runaway incident was the lead up to an aborted suicide attempt by the way :P

 

[Maggoo]

What would happen if you just refuse to answer the questions? If you just say you don't need their help and leave it at that? Surely if you haven't admitted to anything they can't do anything?

I have had casual risk assessment type ones during appointments which you could change the subject or not asked in a way that stressed me so I could answer what they wanted to hear. But my rheumatologist said today she is extremely concerned about my thinking and that I'm not taking meds anymore, it's daggerous blah blah and wants me to be seen. So I am worried I will have someone knocking on my door or have to go see the MH which I stopped seeing a few months ago.

I have always managed to get out of the serious stuff by the whole 'yeah I think about it but most people do, it's just a thought' line while laughing it off. But when being asked seriously I worry as I cannot lie without smiling or laughing, I have never been able to.

 

[MissLisa]

What would happen if you just refuse to answer the questions? If you just say you don't need their help and leave it at that? Surely if you haven't admitted to anything they can't do anything?

I have had casual risk assessment type ones during appointments which you could change the subject or not asked in a way that stressed me so I could answer what they wanted to hear. But my rheumatologist said today she is extremely concerned about my thinking and that I'm not taking meds anymore, it's daggerous blah blah and wants me to be seen. So I am worried I will have someone knocking on my door or have to go see the MH which I stopped seeing a few months ago.

I have always managed to get out of the serious stuff by the whole 'yeah I think about it but most people do, it's just a thought' line while laughing it off. But when being asked seriously I worry as I cannot lie without smiling or laughing, I have never been able to.

I think it depends on your country. In the UK they cannot section you if you don't say you have a plan. Just say you get thoughts but would never act on it etc

 

[Dead_Inside]

Can people really come to your house? Is that real?? I live in the US .... is that just a U.K. thing?

 

[Maggoo]

I think it depends on your country. In the UK they cannot section you if you don't say you have a plan. Just say you get thoughts but would never act on it etc

I am in the UK.
If you say you don't have a plan can they still section you if they think you're lying? And not taking the anti-depressants I feel like they feel is an issue. I'm getting stressed out and not quite ready yet but may be worth getting it out the way before I have more stress to deal with if they turn up at my door.

 

[Maggoo]

Can people really come to your house? Is that real?? I live in the US .... is that just a U.K. thing?

They have a mental health team/crisis team that turns up if there are sufficient concerns but i'm not sure what the threshold is. My mate who was manic was taken from his house after a doctor raised concerns and asked them to go assess him

I'm guessing there might be a similar thing in the US? Not sure, it would make sense if there was though.

 

[MissLisa]

I am in the UK.
If you say you don't have a plan can they still section you if they think you're lying? And not taking the anti-depressants I feel like they feel is an issue. I'm getting stressed out and not quite ready yet but may be worth getting it out the way before I have more stress to deal with if they turn up at my door.

I've stopped taking my meds, I said they are not right for me. When I was assessed I said I had no plans and want to feel better but I felt a hospital would make me worse, they agreed to home treatment. If you are a danger to yourself or others they can section you. If you admit to a plan they can section you. They cannot section you for not taking medication

 

[Dead_Inside]

They have a mental health team/crisis team that turns up if there are sufficient concerns but i'm not sure what the threshold is. My mate who was manic was taken from his house after a doctor raised concerns and asked them to go assess him

I'm guessing there might be a similar thing in the US? Not sure, it would make sense if there was though.

Seriously? They just took him from his home? No. Fuck that.
Hate to get all "American-y" but I have fucking rights .... my home is my property.
Now I am scared ...

 

[sky7]

I worked dispatch for a small police dept in the US and did a couple ride-outs with the officers and one call was to a house where the woman just said she was frustrated and wanted to die. No stated plan, no stated intent, and they put her under emergency detention (what being sectioned is called here).

But then in a city a few hours away my therapist asks me if I am having suicidal thoughts, and I tell her that she "knows that I cannot answer that question," and there wasn't a thing she could do about it.

So even in the US it depends on where you are.

 

[Maggoo]

Seriously? They just took him from his home? No. Fuck that.
Hate to get all "American-y" but I have fucking rights .... my home is my property.
Now I am scared ...

Yeah they turned up, 3 mental health people and a policeman. The police couldn't section him from inside his house and they aren't allowed to trick you outside to do it so these people had to come and they were able to section him there and then and he was in the local mental health ward for like 3 weeks until they sorted him out. He was very unwell though and Needed it. He's all good again now.

 

[Maggoo]

I worked dispatch for a small police dept in the US and did a couple ride-outs with the officers and one call was to a house where the woman just said she was frustrated and wanted to die. No stated plan, no stated intent, and they put her under emergency detention (what being sectioned is called here).

But then in a city a few hours away my therapist asks me if I am having suicidal thoughts, and I tell her that she "knows that I cannot answer that question," and there wasn't a thing she could do about it.

So even in the US it depends on where you are.

That's interesting. Is it a lack of funding/beds thing? I'm not sure how the costs work in America, would you be charged if you were sectioned and did not consent to treatment?

 

[Dead_Inside]

I worked dispatch for a small police dept in the US and did a couple ride-outs with the officers and one call was to a house where the woman just said she was frustrated and wanted to die. No stated plan, no stated intent, and they put her under emergency detention (what being sectioned is called here).

But then in a city a few hours away my therapist asks me if I am having suicidal thoughts, and I tell her that she "knows that I cannot answer that question," and there wasn't a thing she could do about it.

So even in the US it depends on where you are.

Ok .... well shit. Guess I had better start acting good.
No pressure right? Just kill yourself with a smile on your face so you don't upset the neighbors... I forgot this isn't about me ....

 

[Dead_Inside]

That's interesting. Is it a lack of funding/beds thing? I'm not sure how the costs work in America, would you be charged if you were sectioned and did not consent to treatment?

We have shit healthcare and you are always responsible for the costs. I am sure if it works like emergency services - which are rendered whether you agree or not - you will be charged for it.

 

[sky7]

That's interesting. Is it a lack of funding/beds thing? I'm not sure how the costs work in America, would you be charged if you were sectioned and did not consent to treatment?

Yes, even if you do not consent to treatment and are sectioned, you are charged for it. Though if you cannot pay, I don't know how far they are allowed to go to try to collect payment. However, medical costs are the #1 reason for bankruptcy in the US as I understand it.

In my case it wasn't a lack of beds or funding thing. My therapist wanted to hospitalize me on a voluntary basis, which I wasn't consenting to, and I was very careful not to cross the line to meet involuntary admission criteria.