steve2470
steve2470's JournalShould we unsticky the posts at the top of the forum ?
Hi all,
A suggestion was made to me that we should "unsticky" the posts at the top of this forum. They definitely aren't absolutely necessary, and it's possible some of the information over time becomes incorrect. The incorrect (or highly debatable) information does need to be unstickied.
Let's have a two week poll. If it becomes apparent that the poll is being trolled one way or the other, I will disregard those votes. To keep this as unbiased as possible, I will NOT vote.
Please vote. Thanks.
Steve, your happy CHaS host
This was alluded to by another poster but....
under the law in many, if not most or all, jurisdictions, you can FORCE someone to get mental health treatment if they are in danger of hurting themselves or others. Of course, the criteria are very very strict and you have to prove to the cops and/or the courts that you are telling the truth and that the person, indeed, meets the criteria.
The cops usually know the criteria, it's part of their job. However, as one poster said, the cops are not famous for being kind gentle intervenors in mental health crises (they are simply not trained well, not that they are bad people). Cops are the absolute last resort.
Go to the mental health court in your jurisdiction. It's typically in the county courthouse and everyone working there knows where it is. The clerk there will know which paperwork to fill out and will help you as much as he or she can. You do NOT need a lawyer. Having a lawyer is helpful but NOT NECESSARY. It's not that difficult to do. You just have to learn the paperwork and procedures.
In my jurisdiction, it's called an ex parte procedure, and once your court date is set, you show up with your evidence (usually your testimony verbally) and see if you can bring an extra witness or two. If my memory serves me well, you need to have at least two eyewitnesses to the behavior to meet criteria. However, if that's absolutely impossible to meet, I would imagine the judge would accept only your testimony. You have to remember that this procedure HAS been abused, so you will be viewed very carefully as to your motives.
If anyone has strenous objections to that procedure for civil rights reasons, I'm NOT going to debate them with you. I get it, it is a way of forcing someone to do something. However, it's in the law to protect people from mental illness. Go take the debate to GD, NOT here.
Hope this helps. Good luck!
Emotional abuse, some thoughts
One good thing did come out of my pain today (see another post today): I was emotionally abused by my father. I had absolutely no idea until today. I was a psychotherapist for 20 years until I burned out and retired. For whatever reason, I never learned all of the symptoms. I admit, I did not specialize in emotional abuse. I learned some basic info, but for sure not the whole ball of wax. My therapist told me I was, when I called her up in tears. I do NOT cry easily, at all. Typical 58 year old American male in that one regard.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychological_abuse
That site is only a start, of course. It might have inaccuracies. I don't really know, since I'm no expert.
My emotional fragility (which I've spoken about a long time ago) comes directly from the EA as well as emotional neglect. No, I don't sit around moping and feeling sorry for myself and bashing my parents (who are now both deceased). Been there, done that, got the lousy T-shirt.
At any rate, DO NOT DIAGNOSE YOURSELF. Talk to a QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL. That means Ph.D or Psy.D or Ed.D psychologist (or the equivalent), a MA or MSW or MS or M.Ed level clinician (or equivalent), a M.D. psychiatrist (or equivalent), an ARNP nurse practicioner (or equivalent), psychiatric nurse (RN, MSN, BSN, DSN, or equivalent), or whatever it is in your country.
I hope this helps at least one fellow sufferer. Best wishes to our group and all lurkers.
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Gender: Do not displayMember since: Sat Oct 16, 2004, 01:04 PM
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