15 Sep 10
Originally posted by Marinkatombyou're better off talking to someone in your local area. like a hospital triage nurse or something.
By losing it i mean he is having paranoid delusions where he invents situations in his head and then starts laying into people (friends) accusing them of all sorts of nasty stuff that is simply a figment of his imagination. I need some advice as i need to do something before he hurts himself. BTW, when i say friends i don't mean me... though he has done this to me in the past. It has happened so often now that something needs to be done. 🙁
in US it's hard to get someone committed against their will until they actually do something illegal.
probably UK is same. doubt you can get them to hospital if they don't want to go.
although what he SHOULD get is committed and treated, the world is not perfect and the govt is more worried about peoples' right to freedom.
if he's paranoid he could easily refuse treatment unless forced.
call the hospital and ask them. only they could do something. you're not even a relative!
15 Sep 10
Originally posted by zeeblebotactually you may be committed in the U.K or what is termed 'sectioned', under section 28 of the mental health act, i reproduce it here in part,
you're better off talking to someone in your local area. like a hospital triage nurse or something.
in US it's hard to get someone committed against their will until they actually do something illegal.
probably UK is same. doubt you can get them to hospital if they don't want to go.
although what he SHOULD get is committed and treated, the wor ...[text shortened]... all the hospital and ask them. only they could do something. you're not even a relative!
the two most important considerations are,
28 (1) A police officer or constable may apprehend and immediately take a person to a physician for examination if satisfied from personal observations, or information received, that the person
(a) is acting in a manner likely to endanger that person's own safety or the safety of others, and
(b) is apparently a person with a mental disorder.
http://www.bclaws.ca/EPLibraries/bclaws_new/document/ID/freeside/00_96288_01
it is of course a MUST that you remember that delusions are REAL to the person suffering them, and its thus important to differentiate between the person and their symptoms. This is invaluable when you are experiencing the kind of behaviour that your friend is displaying.
15 Sep 10
Originally posted by cadwahThanks Chris, that was really helpful. I phoned the mind charity and they gave me some information. Unfortunately they can't give specific advice on how to deal with the situation but i got some useful stuff never the less. Unfortunately my friend is moving away to Oxford today so helping him is going to be even harder just because of the distance. 🙁
Hi Mate, not sure if they're any good but http://www.mind.org.uk/ offer a helpline. They may be able to offer advice on what to do. I personally think that your friend needs immediate and professional help. Whether you exacerbate the situation in the short term by forcing that help on him will not matter in the long term once he is getting the help he obviously needs.
Good luck.
15 Sep 10
Originally posted by robbie carrobieThanks, again, very useful information. I am hoping that it won't come to that. I have just arranged to meet him with a mutual friend tonight and we are going to try and establish whether he is prepared to seek help. I have to say, it is causing me some degree of stress contemplating this conversation, it's impossible to predict how he is going to react. 🙁
actually you may be committed in the U.K or what is termed 'sectioned', under section 28 of the mental health act, i reproduce it here in part,
the two most important considerations are,
28 (1) A police officer or constable may apprehend and immediately take a person to a physician for examination if satisfied from personal observations, or i ...[text shortened]... is invaluable when you are experiencing the kind of behaviour that your friend is displaying.
15 Sep 10
Originally posted by zeeblebotAs i said above, hopefully we won't need to commit him but rather he will seek help himself. We are going to have to word what we say very carefully...
you're better off talking to someone in your local area. like a hospital triage nurse or something.
in US it's hard to get someone committed against their will until they actually do something illegal.
probably UK is same. doubt you can get them to hospital if they don't want to go.
although what he SHOULD get is committed and treated, the wor ...[text shortened]... all the hospital and ask them. only they could do something. you're not even a relative!
15 Sep 10
Originally posted by Marinkatombis pepper gas legal in the UK? coz you might want to be carrying some.
Thanks, again, very useful information. I am hoping that it won't come to that. I have just arranged to meet him with a mutual friend tonight and we are going to try and establish whether he is prepared to seek help. I have to say, it is causing me some degree of stress contemplating this conversation, it's impossible to predict how he is going to react. 🙁
15 Sep 10
1 edit
Originally posted by robbie carrobiei know that when i observed it the person involved was totally convinced of the reality of the persecution of him by their friends, neighbors, and department store workers, but it took the violation of a court order against trespass on a friend's property to obtain an arrest, hearing, and committal. and persons who knew the person and who heard me tell them second-hand about the rants couldn't believe the person was paranoid, based on their prior behavior. thought -I- was mistaken.
actually you may be committed in the U.K or what is termed 'sectioned', under section 28 of the mental health act, i reproduce it here in part,
the two most important considerations are,
28 (1) A police officer or constable may apprehend and immediately take a person to a physician for examination if satisfied from personal observations, or i is invaluable when you are experiencing the kind of behaviour that your friend is displaying.
15 Sep 10
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Involuntary_commitment
Involuntary commitment is the practice of using legal means or forms as part of a mental health law to commit a person to a psychiatric hospital or ward against their will and/or over their protests.
....
In 1977, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that involuntary hospitalization and/or treatment violates an individual's civil rights in O'Connor v. Donaldson. This ruling forced individual states to change their statutes. For example, the individual must be exhibiting behavior that is a danger to himself or others in order to be held, the hold must be for evaluation only and a court order must be received for more than very short term treatment or hospitalization (typically no longer than 72 hours). This ruling has severely limited involuntary treatment and hospitalization in the U.S.[3] In the U.S. the specifics of the relevant statutes vary from state to state.[4]
17 Sep 10
Originally posted by Hand of HecateI went home with a waitress the way I always do
What a waste of time. Scotch and strippers is the way to go. Throw in a good steak dinner to round things out.
Do something useful and write a song about suicide, scotch and strippers.
How was I to know she was with the Russians, too?
I was gambling in Havana - I took a little risk
Send strippers, steak and scotch
Dad, get me out of this
An innocent bystander
Somehow I got stuck between a rock and a hard place
And I'm down on my luck
Yes, I'm down on my luck
Well, I'm down on my luck
I'm hiding in Honduras - I'm a desperate man
Send strippers, steak and scotch
The s*** has hit the fan
Send strippers, steak and scotch...
17 Sep 10
Originally posted by MarinkatombOne of the definitions of addiction is continuing the behavior even in the face of consequences. You could do an "intervention" where you gather his family and friends around and they all tell him what he means to them and they wish he'd seek help (the key to this working is to have help available so that he can start immediately), but the bottom line is that he may continue his behavior until he finally hits rock bottom. I know family and friends don't want that, but sometimes it's the only way the person will actually take steps to do the rehab. And by "take steps", I mean a 12-step program. But ultimately, the person has to want to get better and do the work. And that often means hitting bottom before they fully realize what they're doing not only to themselves but to their family and friends.
I've tried many things but this has been getting progressively worse for years. There have been some really ugly situations where accusations have been thrown around publicly via email and in person, all of which have been dubious at best, but on reflection most have been sheer fantasy. We've tried meditation, conversation, all of which generally work in ...[text shortened]... d advice on the best way to go about getting him that help without exacerbating the situation.
