Reluctant to Tell Doc About Suicidal Thoughts... Posted: 11-14-07 18:35pm
I am reluctant to divulge suicidal
information with my doc for fear that he
may send me away against my will. Is this
possible? What are my mental health
rights? The thought of a psych sending me
away to be locked up for fear of his own
ass is very frightful!
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Marianne0558
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Joined: 10 Sep 2007 Posts: 1726 Location: Charleston, SC USA
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Posted: 11-14-07 18:40pm
You should never be scared to give your
doctor helpful information. If you are
experiencing suicidal thoughts, something
needs to be done to help.
I don't think he would send you away for
thoughts. Attempts would be a different
story.
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EndlessApathy
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 03 Nov 2007 Posts: 10
Posted: 11-14-07 18:54pm
In a perfect world, one shouldn't be
scared to tell their doc information.
However, we don't live in a perfect world.
We live in a world of dog-eat-dog, where
a doctor's first resposibility is to cover
his own ass. We also live in a
predominantly western society where the
view of suicide is one-dimensional.
Contrary viewpooints are immediately
dismissed. Is it any wonder why one would
feel suicidal being surrounded by hate,
hypocrisy, and arrogance?
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Marianne0558
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Joined: 10 Sep 2007 Posts: 1726 Location: Charleston, SC USA
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Posted: 11-15-07 06:57am
I think everyone experiences suicidal
thoughts at some point in their lives... I
know I have.
What I was saying is that you need to tell
your doctor you are having *thoughts.*
Are you on medication? Some medicines can
cause suicidal thoughts.
He might need to switch on you.
The world is a very terrible and scary
place these days... not something I would
want my daughter to experience.
But there is also a very beautiful part of
this world too.
I really don't think your doctor is going
to send you to a psychiatric hospital
because you are having suicidal thoughts
though.
Like I said, thoughts are very different
from attempting suicide.
I really think everyone experiences
thoughts like that sometimes.
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puzzld
Supporter
Joined: 19 Nov 2007 Posts: 220 Location: gulf coast =), USA
Posted: 12-14-07 14:00pm
not sure about the state of your local
mental health facilities but i've been
told that it is like a vacation. i wish i
could just go away for a little while and
get the intensive treatment i need. but i
have a job and bills to worry about.. oh,
and the stigma.
i sometimes tell when i'm feeling
suicidal. if i'm scaring myself then i
take action. but telling your dr. about
thoughts wont get you committed unless you
say i am going to kill myself. i've told
almost every dr. that i have had, which is
tons, when i have thoughts of suicide. the
majority say this is normal while severely
depressed. but needs to be closely
monitored. i know it's hard to trust dr.
i've spent many years looking for one that
i can believe in. i think i found him.
i would check out mental heath facilities
in your area... just in case. so you can
have a choice if it comes to that. and if
it does, you might find it useful and
revitalizing.
again, thoughts of suicide need to be
addressed and monitored closely. take
care.
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Stan
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Posted: 12-14-07 14:05pm
I would say it's ANYTHING but a vacation,
I've been in them for case studies and
such, the people they're certainly don't
look like they're sunbathing. As far as
law is concerned, your doctor legally
would probably refer you to a local mental
health center, and they would come assess
you. This essentially puts it into their
hands. So yeah, sort of saving one's ass,
but also because unfortunately, as with
any mental illness, it's impossible to
know what someone is going to do, so you
NEED to take every opportunity to make
sure they're safe. Usually they won't
consider it, though, unless you have a
specific plan. Suicidal thoughts are
actually much more common than people
would think, but no one talks about it and
that's the point. Thoughts like this may
in fact be categorized as obsessions,
unwanted thoughts that keep creeping in
your head but which you'll never perform.
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BoneyardDiva
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 26 Sep 2007 Posts: 72 Location: Nunya, USA
Posted: 12-14-07 18:25pm
Yeah, I'm not sure that suicidal ideation
on its own will involve a trip to the
hospital. My husband has admitted to
attempting suicide & that's what
triggers the visit to the psych ward.
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puzzld
Supporter
Joined: 19 Nov 2007 Posts: 220 Location: gulf coast =), USA
Posted: 12-15-07 09:03am
i'm sure they're different everywhere. i
guess we have some decent ones around
here. a couple of friends have actual
experience staying in them. my point is
that if you are worried about being
committed try looking at the alternative..
right? so, it is better to go to a
hospital than down under. my best to you!
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Stan
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Joined: 01 Jan 2006 Posts: 1666 Location: ,
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Posted: 12-15-07 11:17am
No, they're not. State controlled
facilties are NOT very pleasant. There
are private owned facilities that are, but
they tend to be very difficult to get into
because they're high demand, and often you
can't get into them unless you have a
history. Typically, as well, they give
precedence to younger individuals. And
contrary to popular belief and what you
may learn in school, the majority of
people that talk about suicide DO NOT
attempt to actually kill themselves. When
I worked in MH, the people who would
actually succeed you usually had no
contact with before whatsoever. They
didn't threaten, they didn't talk about
it, they didn't make little teeny
attempts, they just did it.
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BoneyardDiva
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 26 Sep 2007 Posts: 72 Location: Nunya, USA
Posted: 12-16-07 17:40pm
Stan...very insightful. I've heard the
horrors of state-run facilities. I hope my
husband never has to go to them because I
would just be mortified. Here's to always
being able to send him to private
facilities if he has to go.
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Georgia59
Moderator
Joined: 11 Apr 2007 Posts: 5542 Location: Along the Mississippi, USA
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Posted: 01-17-08 17:57pm
Sorry this is a bit old but I wanted to
bring this up-
Your doc has a legal obligation to commit
you (or something) if he thinks your life
or someone else's life is in immediate
danger.
So, if you tell your doc "I am going to
kill myself tomorrow by OD'ing on aspirin"
he will probably commit you.
If you say, "I have had some suicidal
thoughts recently when I was feeling
really depressed" he probably won't,
instead he'll take that into consideration
when determining the severity of
depression and course of treatment.
Or that's the way it's supposed to work,
at least.
I can say that not all facilities are
wonderful, but in my life, whenever
someone has had to be committed, it was
really necessary and they came out better
for it. (And didn't regret it)
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vel
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 08 Nov 2005 Posts: 58
Posted: 01-17-08 22:28pm
suicidal thoughts is one thing but having
a "PLAN" would have your doctor curious ,i
tell my doctor about suicidal thoughts he
ask's me if i have a plan and do i wanna
physically harm myself i tell him no ,but
if your thoughts are leading you to
actually wanna kill yourself then seek
help before you harm yourself or some one
else if there thoughts then there just
thoughts
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Georgia59
Moderator
Joined: 11 Apr 2007 Posts: 5542 Location: Along the Mississippi, USA
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Posted: 01-18-08 11:53am
Right. If you are having suicidal
thoughts, you should tell your doc,
because it is a measure of how serious
your depression is and she/he will be able
to treat it more effectively.
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designlady
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BEEN THROUGH THIS! PLEASE READ! Posted: 01-18-08 17:56pm
Okay. I think I can claim "expertise" on
the matter since I've been sent away a
dozen times. Literally--12 times into the
mental ward at our local hospital since
2002. Average stay was 10 days each.
Anyway, my doc would put me there if I
posed a threat to myself or others. If I
was having ideations, he would watch me
closely.
Now, there's different types of being
committed. One is voluntarily, which is
the category I fell under. Honestly, I
felt pressured because my doctor would've
fired me if I didn't go, but I could've
left at anytime ADA (against doctor's
advice), but would not be welcome again if
I needed to be there in the future. So,
they say it's voluntary, but it's kinda
not.
The other type is when there is a court
order issued for your committment. For
this type, you are usually brought into
the hospital in handcuffs. This method is
resorted for those who absolutely have to
go in but will not cooperate. Any doctor
or family member can have you court
ordered to be committed if they deem
necessary. This does, however, lead to a
longer stay AND, in my state, send you
eventually to the county mental facility
when a bed opens up. That stay is usually
not too long. Kinda pointless if you ask
me. Total time of committment in this case
is over a month.
Being hospitalized for mental illness is
anything but a vacation. You lose all your
rights... especially if you are under
suicide watch. When you come in, you lose
your shoelaces, your belt, and all your
toiletries. You have no mirror, no coat
hangers, no racks. You can only shower at
a certain time, which is the only time you
can have your toiletries. If you want to
shave, you must wait until things are
going slow so a tech or nurse can be there
to watch you. You have to conform to their
schedule and one community television.
There's awful, boring activities and group
therapy about 4 times a day, except
weekends when you do nothing except count
ceiling tiles. If you get in trouble, you
may get sent to solitary confinement. If
you get out of control, they can stick you
with a shot that will knock you out for 2
days. Straight jackets are rarely used and
they rarely ever strap someone down unless
it's absolutely necessary. There's no
privacy, total boredom, and the ups and
downs that go with medication changes. You
only get to see your family for an hour in
the evenings and twice per day on the
weekend. It's awful. Thankfully, it's a
place I haven't been to in 2 years. At one
time, I was deemed a "frequent flier," as
they called it. AWFUL... (Oh, and limited
caffeine, snacks, and awful hospital food.
I always lost weight and then they would
try to tell me I was anorexic. What a
nightmare...)
With that said, you still really NEED to
confide your feelings to your doctor. If
you can convince him that you are not a
threat to yourself or others, you should
have nothing to worry about. If he feels
you are a threat, he may resort to having
your family watch you closely before
considering hospitalization. Depends on
the doctor and the level of care in your
town. If you go, I sure hope it's better
than the place I ended up. I've heard ours
is worse than average. They don't even
allow people to smoke. Smokers have to
wear a nic patch, so they are all just
pissed off the whole time and can't work
on getting well because they're just
pissed 'cause they want to smoke. I felt
sorry for them.
Now I have a new doctor. The other one did
eventually fire me. I think my problem was
the old doctor. I've been fine since my
new doc pulled me off of half the meds I
was on. Turns out, I was overmedicated. I
feel pretty okay now.
Good luck to you and I hope you are
feeling better.
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CarolDiane
Moderator
Joined: 23 Sep 2007 Posts: 2393 Location: ,
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Posted: 01-19-08 01:18am
My 2 cents is, that if you are up front
and honest with your doctor on your
thoughts, he can better treat you. He can
not treat something he is not aware of.
There are some pretty decent medications
out there now if use properly that I am
sure might help you. But, only if you tell
him your thoughts.
Carrie
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illectronic
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 02 Feb 2008 Posts: 16 Location: NYC,
Posted: 02-02-08 12:29pm
I was brought to the hospital in handcuffs
5 times. Having literally 30 policeman in
your house, being handcuffed, and put in
an ambulance is not my idea of a pleasant
ride to a vacation spot. The hospitals
themselves varied. I was in private and
county hospitals. The private hospital was
more clean overall, but all of them were
dirty and run down. I would NEVER want to
be in a state facility. They said if I
would have been hospitalized again, that
would happen. Oh, and my only thought on
my mind while bieng hospitalized was that
I wanted to get out, and the things I will
do when I get out.
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designlady
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 07 Jan 2008 Posts: 55 Location: , USA
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Posted: 02-02-08 12:39pm
illectronic
wrote:
Oh, and my only thought on
my mind while bieng hospitalized was that
I wanted to get out, and the things I will
do when I get
out.
You are SOOOO right!!!
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CarolDiane
Moderator
Joined: 23 Sep 2007 Posts: 2393 Location: ,
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Posted: 02-02-08 19:24pm
illectronic
wrote:
I was brought to the
hospital in handcuffs 5 times. Having
literally 30 policeman in your house,
being handcuffed, and put in an ambulance
is not my idea of a pleasant ride to a
vacation spot. The hospitals themselves
varied. I was in private and county
hospitals. The private hospital was more
clean overall, but all of them were dirty
and run down. I would NEVER want to be in
a state facility. They said if I would
have been hospitalized again, that would
happen. Oh, and my only thought on my mind
while bieng hospitalized was that I wanted
to get out, and the things I will do when
I get out.
Been there, done that too!
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want2binformed
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 24 Jan 2008 Posts: 3
Posted: 02-02-08 19:35pm
Be completly honest EndlessApathy if you
want to start to get better. Your doc will
not lock you up for this information.
Suicidal thoughts are a lot more common
than you may think. But still they can be
dangerous for you and often uneccissary A
small amount of counseling could have you
on the track to a new way of thinking. But
again he will not try to commit you for
sharing that you have suicidal thoughts.
If you have a suicide kit ready to go and
are planning it intently and have tried or
have a history of trying He may get a
little more concerned. But he will want
you to go see someone. So be ready and
open to getting the help you want This can be done on
a outpatient basis for sure. As long as
you dont hurt yourself or others.
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designlady
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Joined: 07 Jan 2008 Posts: 55 Location: , USA
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Posted: 02-03-08 11:48am
Anyone heard from EndlessApathy, the
original poster? I wonder how he's doing.
Been months since his last post.
This can be done on
a outpatient basis for sure. As long as
you dont hurt yourself or others.