What does it take to get a person committed into a mental institution?!
Question: My step mother has been clinically depressed all her life.
She had a mental breakdown which caused her to retire early and her husband to leave her.
Twelve years later she met and married my dad.
Since then, she's had another mental breakdown, 13 shock therapies, has been addicted to oxicotin since 1993, comes up with a variety of aches and pains just to go under the blade and get more meds. She sleeps for more than 16 hours a day.
Has had the same 2 phychiatrists for over 20 years and she only gets worse.
She's killing my dad. She is sucking the life out of him. He has to wait on her hand and foot.
The only time she leaves the house is for doctors appointments, approximately 3 times a week.
Everyone walks on eggshells around her mood swings. Every room in the house is cluttered. She won't throw anything away.
What does it take to have her removed and under hospital care?
Answers: My step mother has been clinically depressed all her life.
She had a mental breakdown which caused her to retire early and her husband to leave her.
Twelve years later she met and married my dad.
Since then, she's had another mental breakdown, 13 shock therapies, has been addicted to oxicotin since 1993, comes up with a variety of aches and pains just to go under the blade and get more meds. She sleeps for more than 16 hours a day.
Has had the same 2 phychiatrists for over 20 years and she only gets worse.
She's killing my dad. She is sucking the life out of him. He has to wait on her hand and foot.
The only time she leaves the house is for doctors appointments, approximately 3 times a week.
Everyone walks on eggshells around her mood swings. Every room in the house is cluttered. She won't throw anything away.
What does it take to have her removed and under hospital care?
To be committed, she has to be a danger to herself or others. Then they can only hold her for 72 hours before deciding to keep her for up to two weeks or releasing her.
What you are describing is that she needs help she is not getting.
This happened in my family and happens in many others. If she cannot or will not get help, at least you others can and should.
Contact NAMI (the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill) for information and support, free classes and support groups, referrals, and what you need to get started. This saved my life! They are all over the US and are there for families.
Please go there without delay. I know this is a very tough situation. I have been there.
Call the police without anyone knowing it was you and tell them the situationt then they will have her committed if its bad enough.
You have to file a mental health warrant and she will have to go before a judge. The judge will listen to both sides and determine if she needs to go somewhere to receive help. I think if you go or call a court house they will tell you what you have to do to obtain a mental health warrant.
for her to be a danger to herself or others.
If I were you I would complain to the psychiatrist, he absolutely has to know that she is addicted, and let them give advice. The whole family has to get involved which is hard because she is resistant but that is the problem with psychiatric illneses. The more involved the family is with the psychitrist and the doctors the better for the her and the sooner you ill get anything done.
She depends on the doctors so go and complain to them. I would not report them because you need them to have any influence over her, and they could back you up in the courts. If they refuse to help than maybie threaten to report but why start off as enemies when they can help.
You need to go before the courts to get an order for this. In the mean time, I think her 2 psychiatrists should be reported to the American Medical Association, they are not helping their patient, just propagating her mental frailties. Your father is the one who is (by law) responsible for any legal action taken, as her next of kin she is his responsibility. You need to talk this over with him first, then see where he's willing to go from there. Perhaps getting him into counseling on his own would be a good idea too. It might help him find some perspective on what's going on around him.
so sorry for your situation. i can't imagine what you are going through. unfortunately, since your step-mother is an adult, the only way i am aware to get someone comitted to a psychiatric unit against their will, is if they are a danger to themselves or someone else. in other words, if they are suicidal or homicidal. she would have to go to the emergency room, be examined by one, or maybe two, doctors to get committed. even then, the insurance companies do not like to pay for mental health care. the minimum stay for an involuntary committal (AKA "302") is 3 days. this can be extended if the doctors see that it is necessary.
you should think about yourself here too. are you getting any help to deal with all of this? how about going to a NAMI support group? they have support groups for family members of those with mental illness. they have a website, if you are in the USA, they may have meetings in your area. please seek one out and best of luck to you.