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When do you give up waiting and call the mental health team?

LuliaCasual Contributor01 May 2021, 12:30 pm AEST

When do you give up waiting and call the mental health team?

My 23 year old son was psychotic a few years ago and was on antipsychotics for 2 years. He was miserable and suicidal on antipsychotics. A year ago he was discharged from the “care” of the mental health team.

He went cold turkey off anti psychotics. Seemed much happier and worked hard trying to get a job. After 6 months unable to find a job he started drinking heavily. He moved back home at Christmas.

He has given up all, alcohol, and cigarettes and lives an isolated life with his dad and I. He is getting more and more irritable. Says he hates my husband and I. He can’t cope with noise, in the house or neighbourhood noise.

He refuses to see a psychologist, gp or private mental health assistance.

We have checked what the community mental health team will do if we request their help. They will arrive at the house with police and he will be admitted and stabilised on antipsychotics.

Should we get the mental health to come now or wait?

3 replies

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In response to: When do you give up waiting and call the mental health team?

saltandpepperSenior Contributor02 May 2021, 9:41 am AEST

Re: When do you give up waiting and call the mental health team?

@Lulia Thats a tough one, and ultimately no one can make that decision besides you. Can't imagine how difficult things are for you all right now.

Is your son in a state of psychosis currently? Is he a threat to the safety of anyone, including himself? What kind of ongoing care did he recieve after being released from the mental health "care" team. What support did you and your partner have in place for yourselves as well?

I'm cringing that he's gone off medication cold turkey, that's never a good idea. But you've said he didn't do well being on the medication. If he is admitted and medicated again, will the cycle continue? Or will they explore different medications and approaches to managing his condition? It's not going to benefit anyone if they try to repeat something that only worsened his condition.

Is it possible to have an open conversation with him? Telling him that things can't keep going the way they are and you all need to get some support to work through this. Telling him he either needs to start taking steps towards managing his mental health by seeing a GP/psychologist or the reality is he'll wind up in hospital again.

It's OK to place boundaries with him, he shouldn't be running the show. In the end it doesn't benefit anyone. The current situation doesn't sound sustainable. If he isn't willing to get himself some help, then intervention may be necessary. I'm just hesitant with that given you said he seemed to go backwards being medicated and in Hospital. If it comes down to that, take the time to talk with his team and express those concerns about how it all went down last time.

I know there's a few forum members on here that have experienced hospitalisation so I'm hoping they will chime in here with some insight that will be much more helpful than I can be here.

@Former-Member I can't 100% remember the names of forum members who've talked about hospitalisation but if you know of anyone that'd be able to help out here can you please tag them in

In response to: Re: When do you give up waiting and call the mental health team?

LuliaCasual Contributor06 May 2021, 9:21 am AEST

Re: When do you give up waiting and call the mental health team?

Thanks for the useful advice saltandpepper. We had some talks over the weekend as suggested about seeing a psychologist and that he embrace medical help. We got no where and we ended up calling the mental health team and he has now been admitted and has been put back on medication. Which is the best outcome in this difficult situation, where we ran out of options.

In response to: Re: When do you give up waiting and call the mental health team?

saltandpepperSenior Contributor06 May 2021, 9:40 am AEST

Re: When do you give up waiting and call the mental health team?

@Lulia I wish he hadn't resisted help for everyone's sake, but at least you know you tried everything else first and gave him that choice. I think that's important.

Can't imagine how difficult this has been for you all. If you haven't done so already, look into setting up some support for yourself. Take a breath and get some rest before taking on the next challenge. And always ask as many questions as you can and need to when it comes to the treatment of your son. Trust your instincts.

I sincerely wish you and your family all the best, I hope your son responds well to treatment this time

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