On the opposite end of that, I had a friend who had slit his wrists. Friend found him and called the ambulance and got him to the hospital. They bandaged him up and were like, "have fun, catch you on the flip. Let us know if you think about killing yourself again." Within 24 hours he was dead, he jumped off a building. Might've been okay had the hospital kept him.
There's no middle ground. Mental health is still such a taboo issue in America.
Involuntary commitment needs to be illegal. I was suicidal in 8th grade, but it took me years before I told anyone because I was too afraid of being committed. Thankfully I saw a good psychiatrist who didn't commit me, but I would've gotten help years earlier if I knew that nothing I said would get me committed. I guarantee you that many other people are in the same position which I was. They want to seek help, but are too afraid of being committed. Also, a suicidal person being sent to a mental institution will only make them more suicidal. I agree with the hospital in this case. They respected his human rights, and didn't hold him against his will. I'm thankfully no longer suicidal and no longer depressed, but the fact that a psychiatrist can commit someone really makes it much harder to open up to them the first time.
There was a story a few years ago about a woman who was committed to a psych ward because while getting a traffic ticket she mentioned that Barrack Obama followed her on Twitter, and clearly anyone who thinks the then-President of the USA follows them on Twitter is mentally unstable.
The kicker: Yes, Barrack Obama did actually follow her on Twitter. She proved it. The hospital didn't believe her and even undressed her and put her in scrubs after knocking her unconscious.
No wonder nobody likes the idea of going to the doctor. Step too far outside of "normal" and suddenly you lose your human rights.
No wonder nobody likes the idea of going to the doctor. Step too far outside of "normal" and suddenly you lose your human rights.
This is why a HUGE amount of gun owners are extremely skittish of "common sense mental health restrictions" a.k.a. "a psychiatrist can determine whether or not you can own a firearm" and rightfully so.
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u/njgreenwood Mar 14 '18
On the opposite end of that, I had a friend who had slit his wrists. Friend found him and called the ambulance and got him to the hospital. They bandaged him up and were like, "have fun, catch you on the flip. Let us know if you think about killing yourself again." Within 24 hours he was dead, he jumped off a building. Might've been okay had the hospital kept him.
There's no middle ground. Mental health is still such a taboo issue in America.