How do commit someone for alcohol and drug treatment?!


Question:

How do commit someone for alcohol and drug treatment?

My mother is an alcoholic and drug user. She needs to be committed to a treatment center but she will not go. Last week she slit her wrists and went to the emergency room (50 stitches) but they let her go. I did not know until afterward that she had done this. How can I have her committed if she won't go on her own? If she attemps suicide again, can I have her committed? Thanks.


Answers:

If you are in the United States, check with NAMI.org (national association on mental illness). They have a lot of advice for families trying to commit or talk a family member into treatment. I think the wheedling approach is widely viewed as being more effective than the confrontational approach, which is pushed because it is dramatic on TV. If you commit your mom and can't talk her into treatment, she may never forgive you, so be prepared for that. If my husband ever committed me for suicide attempts (I have bipolar really bad, and the drugs don't help me much) I probably wouldn't ever forgive him. It's like a rape to get treated against your will. Soooooooooo you may have to do it, sometimes you really have to, but don't expect any gratitude for it. You will have to comfort yourself with the fact you may have saved her life.

nami.org. They have a lot of info for you, and local chapters you can contact. Good luck!! Drug and alcohol abuse can be self medication for underlying depression/bipolar.




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