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Mentally ill in the country

LouiseSenior Contributor05 Jan 2016, 8:52 pm AEDT

Mentally ill in the country

I live in a country town an hour out of the city. Over the last month I have seen a young woman on the roadside several times. I stopped and talked to her a few times; she was very thin and scruffy, liable to walk dangerously in front of the fast traffic, I asked her if she wanted a lift and where she wanted to go, but she was confused and frightened and unsure which way she wanted to go. I offered her my cut lunch but she wouldn't eat, she wouldn't tell me her name, she wouldn't get into my car. Today I saw her again sitting in the dirt by the highway, in the same clothes. When I pulled up she dashed in front of fast traffic again, but this time she climbed into my car. I have never seen anyone in such filthy, stinking clothes, and she had just wet herself. I offered to drive her home and we set off, but she kept changing her mind about where she should go, taking her cues from the number plates of the other cars on the road. She was obsessed about wanting to see a particular person who I think is a psychologist she was seeing. She said people had put curses and hexes on her to stop her from seeing this woman. We drove to and fro a few times as she kept changing her mind but eventually I said I can't keep driving back and forth, she became more and more upset, confused and suicidal. She just could NOT decide what she wanted from one minute to the next. In the end I just had to drop her in the middle of the town. She thanked me for helping her but told me she was definitely definitely definitely going to commit suicide.

I am sure she should be in hospital but it is an hours drive away, and she could easily become very agitated on the way ...and I would have to use force to restrain her and take her into the emergency department. Then, would they actually accept her? Would I get into trouble for using force? If it wasn't so far to drive I would probably do it....but from out here it's more dangerous.

It's just been so sad to see her with no support over the festive season. A few people know of her but she doesn't seem to have any family and is distrustful of police and hospital

5 replies

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In response to: Mentally ill in the country

BabooSenior Contributor05 Jan 2016, 9:02 pm AEDT

Re: Mentally ill in the country

Hello Louise,

Best to ring 000 right away about this person- i do not advise restraining any one. an ambulance or police will be able to take care of them.

Baboo

In response to: Re: Mentally ill in the country

LouiseSenior Contributor05 Jan 2016, 9:31 pm AEDT

Re: Mentally ill in the country

Thanks Baboo

but how does that actually work? If I see her by the road again tomorrow, do I ring 000 and keep on driving to work..( in which case she's highly likely to be gone by the time they arrive?) or will they ask me to stay with her til they arrive? Giving an address could also be quite tricky!

I guess I have thought I should prioritise getting myself to work...but I do think this qualifies as an emergency...so I could justify being late to work?

In response to: Re: Mentally ill in the country

BabooSenior Contributor05 Jan 2016, 9:57 pm AEDT

Re: Mentally ill in the country

I think the decision whether to stay or go is yours to make Louise.

i hope this person finds the support and care they need- good on you for caring about their welfare.

It takes good kind people to make a difference in the world 🙂

In response to: Re: Mentally ill in the country

LouiseSenior Contributor07 Jan 2016, 10:43 pm AEDT

Re: Mentally ill in the country

Thanks Baboo

As it happened I saw this young woman again on my way home from work yesterday, this time in the center of a nearby town. I slowed down and turned into the car park of the hotel. I rang my son, who I knew was working nearby and asked if he could meet me there and call 000 also, which he agreed to. ( I have never rung 000 in my life, and couldn't bring myself to do it) Meanwhile this woman came up to me, I opened the car door and she started talking, in the same state as the day before. She sat down in the dirt as she often does and talked about suicide, still in the throes of indecision. I kept her talking for quite some time, and eventually she asked if I would come inside the pub with her to get something to eat. We went in and she bought a pack of crisps. (it amazes me that she is able to manage money) My son came and met us there and eventually started walking up the street with her to buy her an icecream ( she said the salt of the crisps was causing her to see dead pigs everywhere).

Just as they had left, the ambulance pulled into the carpark and I described this woman to the paramedics. The male paramedic knew exactly who I was talking about. He said it was the third time he'd attended a call out to her in the last few months and once she'd run in front of the ambulance. He said he doubted there would be much they could do, but as I said she was threatening suicide he said they would go and chat to her at the shop, which they did. After a while I joined them there and heard them telling her they could not force her to go to hospital against her will. They told her they were just concerned about her getting runover. They told her they would like to give her a lift home if she agreed. She seemed a bit happier.

The male paramedic told me he had rung the psyche ward who know her well . They said there's nothing they can do for her. All this behaviour I have described here is "normal for her" and has been going on for months. He also rang the CAT team who also said they can't do anything for her either. Apparently she has a home and some animals and will be receiving a scheduled visit from authorities tomorrow. I left then, and hopefully she agreed to getting a lift home with them.

It is very sad that nothing can be done for her, she only looks about 25 and is in such an extreme situation, probably spending 8 hours a day sitting or walking beside the highway. I've done the best I can...and her situation hasn't changed. Yet maybe I've earned a bit of trust...she recognises my car now and comes to me and trusts me to help her get something to eat. And I guess she's also learnt yesterday that not all people in uniform are going to be forceful with her...maybe her attitude towards hospital will change a little bit.

In response to: Re: Mentally ill in the country

ivanaSenior Contributor08 Jan 2016, 3:48 pm AEDT

Re: Mentally ill in the country

Its a hearbreaking situation.

Maybe this young woman has had bad experiences with force used as hospitals before so to gain her trust will involve this not happening again as clearly the force has not helped and likely has been counterproductive.

Its dismaying,although not surprising,to hear that the mental health services have given up on her.

They seem to not care,or are accepting of, that this young woman is living everyday life at this poor level of functioning.

The issue may partly be due to services being overstretched due to a lack of funding,but it is also partly due to attitudal problems in the public mental health services.

Ie:there is excessive focus placed on acute "flare ups" and a disinterest in chronic case and an acceptance of people with certain mental illnesses living at low function/with very low quality of lives.

Are you able to fnd out from her whether she has even had basic tests done such as vitamin B12,Homocysteine,methylmalonic acid,and thyroid function tests as Vitamin b12 deficiency,thyroid disorders (amongst many other things) can also cause psychosis and it sounds like with her level of functioing if her diet consists primarily of junk food (crisps etc) she might have nutrient deficiencies?

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