How to you yourself committed to an Mental Health Facility (Asylum)?!

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Hi Marcus,

Helena is right. There are no such things as asylums any more. People were never treated as ill in asylums. They were just labelled as 'mad' and 'lunatics' but thankfully time has moved on and we now understand mental disorder to be illness and not 'madness' or 'lunacy'. Believe it or not, there was even once something called the 'Lunacy Act' which set out rules on who was a lunatic and what should be done with them! They had holes drilled in their skills to release demons and alsorts. Crazy (literally!).

In England it is now impossible to self-admit. You cannot just choose to go into a psych ward like you used to. We have something called the Community Care Act which means most people who are mentally unwell are treated at home in the community rather than in hospital. That is not exclusive, however.

We still have psychiatric wards but they are mostly full of seriously ill people in the grips of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and extremely suicidal. Many people find it very frustrating when they urgently need help and cannot get it due to lack of beds, wards or even staff.

Social Anxiety Disorder and BDD are not disorders which would be treated on an inpatient basis. They are treated on an outpatient basis with therapy and medication - mostly Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.

Some people are admitted for self-inflicted injury but this is usually when the circumstances cause the injury to be life-threatening. Self harmers are not generally hospitalised. If they were, we'd need hundreds more hospitals with hundreds more wards, thousands more bed and thousands of nurses and doctors to treat them.

An attack on another individual will land you in a police cell and/or jail. Not a psychiatric ward. SAD and BDD are not reasons for somebody to claim insanity (ie not in control of their actions) and this would be handled by the police. You WILL get arrested and not hospitalised.

Yes, to be admitted to a psychiatric ward, two doctors, a social worker, an AMHP and the crisis team must all deem you a significant risk to yourself and/or others.

I'm a qualified mental health practitioner in the UK.

I can't speak for the UK.

In the US, the person must speak of homicidal and/or suicidal thoughts. Meaning, they must state or act out as a harm to another or themselves. (deep cuts, overdose, "I'm going to hurt someone", "I want my life to end," etc..

Aside form that, they have to show sings of neglect for their physical and mental health. Ex; how bad is their hygiene? Have they been starving themselves? Have they been wandering out in snow with bare feet? Have they walked in public naked? Have they made comments that a hallucination is out to get them? Have they dressed in a sweatsuit in the dead of summer?

It's questions like those you have to consider; is that person really capable of going one more day without assistance?

Added: the person can always be taken to the hospital and evaluated, but they won't always be admitted.

you could contact the asylum and ask to be assessed or tell your local doctor about your problems

well, I do not live in the UK, however I live in the US (California). The mental health section of the laws is the welfare and institutions code that covers it. You could check your local laws regarding it. I assume that the law where you are at is similar to the laws in the US. If you were to call 911 (or whatever the emergency number in the UK is) and told them that you were going to OD on pills they would send an officer. I cant tell you enough that if you are really considering hurting yourself or someone, get help. There are resources for you. Here is a link on the code in California... start by calling 911

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5150_%28Inv…

here is the UK law
Section 135/136 of the Mental Health Act

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5150_%28Inv…

Hello Marcus, they aren't called asylums any longer thank god. The are hospitals for people who are not well mentally. You can enter one of these hospitals maybe as a day patient.

Or for a 28 day assessment but this will be depend on your GP. If you suffer from the above mentioned illnesses and need some rest and care go and see your doctor and explain how you feel.

Maybe explain that you don't feels able to cope at this time and you are finding i difficult to control your symptoms. You don't want the mental health law. As this is a tricky road to travel. Doing it voluntary is the best way and hopefully you will get the help that you seek.
Good Luck and I hope you feel better soon

So sorry you didn't like this answer, but that's the way it is.