Can my psychiatrist force me to be committed against my will?

It may depend on which state or country you live in. You don't have to give particulars, just "I live in Idaho" or "My home is in Norway" or whatever.

Yes, he can, IF your situation meets the criteria for committal under the laws governing this where you live. Generally, these days (I don't know what they are like where you live) such laws make it pretty hard to do so, and the clinician has to be pretty sure that such a step would be in your best interests.

A committal is generally for a short period, and, if it is to continue for longer, has to be reviewed by a panel. Where I live, the panel generally makes it very difficult for a continuance of an involuntary committal to occur.


That being said, these days most people are very reluctant to hospitalize people with BPD, and most psychiatrists will do their best to come up with a plan with you to support you when you are feeling this way without taking such a step.


That being said, you are, pardon me for being blunt, acting crazy if you DON'T tell your psychiatrist how you are feeling. A good collaborative relationship between you and your therapist/therapists is a helpful thing, and if you are at high suicide risk at the moment he can only help you if you guys can talk about it openly and try to figure out how you can get yourself feeling better.

As you likely know, there are a lot of skills we know about that can gradually help you deal better with your extremes of feeling (which is the crux of the help you need) and this is a good chance to use them/learn about them.

As you know, the suicidal feelings come and go in intensity, like waves. Like waves, if we understand this, we can ride them out.

It'd be a real bummer, wouldn't it, if you killed yourself in a trough when the next wave of feeling better is right there next to you!? Sharing openly with your therapist helps you deal with the troughs and live to enjoy the better times. And it helps you there to be better times!!!

houston, texas. I need to know if i should tell my doctor about my plans. if theres a chance of him being able to force me to be committed I will lie to him.

I live in houston, tx. i am on medicial & have been like this for a long time now. I lost my job over a year ago & cant find work. i pay $60 to see my doctor for our 20min med check. my father & the only person in my family die last month. I watched him take his last breathe. my 2 best friend stabbed me in the back. one of them told me to go ahead & do it, but screw them. if this doesnt make a person go crazy then i just dont know

Feeling the hurt?
Talk it out now
Please Call 1-800-273-Talk (8255)

Self-destructive thinking can be part of mood disorders. If you have thoughts about suicide, don't keep them secret. Get help right away. Tell you doctor, your family and your friends. Have crisis hotline numbers, your doctor's emergency number and other crisis resources at hand, posted by your home phone and programmed into a cell phone. In a crisis or emergency, go to the nearest hospital emergency room, call 911 or contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by calling 1-800-273-8255.

Many adults suffer in silence, rather than seek help from their primary care physician for mood disorders. And if they do ask for help, they may not be open about their symptoms. Don't expect your doctor to understand how you feel just by looking at you. It is just as important to describe and seek treatment for emotional pain as it is for physical pain. Early treatment keeps mood disorders from getting worse, lasting longer or affecting physical health. Tell your physician if you feel depressed, lose interest or pleasure in former activities or if you have alternating depressed and elevated moods. You might be at risk for one of the two more common mood disorders: unipolar/major depression or bipolar (manic depression).

Montero....please listen....you are far too upset right now to make such important decisions. Talk to your doctor about your feelings and the actions you want to take. If you kill yourself, there are no second chances, no do overs.

Please tell your doctor exactly how you feel, and how you have been acting. Tell him you are considering suicide. I think you want him to know--otherwise you would not intend to keep your appointment. Talking things over with him may help to change your perspective and help you to consider other alternatives.

You have been going through a very difficult time. Your psychiatrist needs to know how this is affecting you. He might suggest a change in your meds, or he might suggest you see a therapist in addition to seeing him. Seeing a therapist would provide you with an additional source of emotional support, and another person you can confide in.

Don't worry about whether he will hospitalize you. It is more likely that he will suggest you hospitalize yourself, if he feels that being in a hospital would be of benefit to you. You are obviously in a great deal of emotional pain, and this is the time to be completely honest with your doctor. Do not lie about the way you are feeling.

Let us know how your session went.

I really hope you listen to all this good advice being given to you. You are NOT crazy. You are going through a very difficult time in your life and there are people that can help you get through it.

Being committed isn't a punishment and nothing you should feel bad about. Please don't lie to your doctor.

you may be crazy, you may have clinical depression. clinical depression is a genius of a disease. It is a cognitive disorder that makes clear thinking impossible--and yet requires insightful self-analysis in order to report the problem to a professional. toy have to admit that is pretty ingenious. A typical mental health commitment is 72 hours for evaluation.

montero, I just re-read your posts, and I can certainly understand how you are feeling, and I'm sure that your psychiatrist will be able to understand it too. You are dealing with very understandable human problems and emotions that really have very little to do with mental illness. You need help in dealing with these problems and help is available.

You very recently lost your father, the only person in your family. That is a very significant loss, and I'm sure it has left you feeling very alone. You are still grieving for your father, and you need to give yourself time to grieve. Whatever love you felt, and still feel, for your father is still alive inside of you, as is the love your father gave to you. In time, those feelings can be a great source of strength for you. The pain of loss will diminish slowly, as time goes by, but those feelings of love inside of you will be with you for the rest of your life. They can give you comfort, and they can give you courage and strength.

You lost your job and have not been able to find another one. That's a difficult loss also. And job hunting, and feeling rejected, is hard for anyone to deal with. Don't let this destroy your self esteem. Rethink your options. Perhaps you need to get training or go back to school to do a different type of work, something where the employment opportunities might be better. What sort of work do you do? Do you enjoy doing it? If you need money, are you willing to take any sort of job right now, just to have some income, even if it isn't the sort of work you usually do? Are you willing to do some volunteer work, just to keep yourself occupied until you find a job? Helping others is a good way to feel useful and better about yourself.

Your two best friends stabbed you in the back, that's another difficult loss and a terrible betrayal. You must be feeling pretty angry at them. In fact, you must be feeling pretty angry about a lot of things in your life right now. Perhaps that's why you've been thinking about suicide--suicide is an angry act, it's designed to punish those you left behind, to leave them feeling guilty for hurting you. Who did you write those suicide notes to? Who did you want to read them? What did you want them to feel?

You are not helpless, montero, you can make your life better, you can find new friends, you can build a future for yourself and some day have a family of your own. Don't let anger, or grief, or depression get the better of you and sap your energies. Focus on moving forward. Set some reasonable goals for yourself. Believe in yourself. Ask for help, and take it when it is offered and available.

We lose things, and people, from our lives, and, when that happens, those are very dark moments for all of us. But, new people and new opportunities do eventually enter our lives, particularly if we work to make that happen. You can shape your future, you can make positive things happen for yourself.

You don't need to end your life, montero, you need to re-start it. You need a new beginning. You need to start carving out a path for yourself that will take you to where you'd like to be. A therapist might well be of help to you on this journey. Ask your psychiatrist about that when you see him today. You do not have to do this all on your own, and you may need more help than you can get in a 20 minute session to check on your meds. You aren't just dealing with BPD, montero, you are also experiencing very human problems and going through a difficult time in your life. Sometimes, we need a lot more than meds, and you've got to ask for what you need.

Everyone here has offered you good advice. I hope you will consider it and continue to share your feelings with us.

Again, I urge you to be honest and open with your psychiatrist, and to let us know how your session went and how you are feeling.

Obviously, you don't really want to kill yourself; that's why you're here. I won't say I know where you are; I've never been to the point it seems you are at. But I can tell you that I've battled with depression now for some time (on and off meds, therapy, etc, etc), and it's tough.

However, remember this:
You are not alone.
You are not crazy.

Perhaps checking into an institution would be advisable until you can get your meds under control. I know that many BPD patients don't take their meds right, and that effects your thought process. Or maybe you just need someone to lean on while you grieve. Either way, I think deep down you really do want to get back on your feet. Life is too short as it is and this world is too small for you not to have an effect on someone. Your life means something to someone. Even if you don't feel that way right this moment.

We don't know you and you don't know us, but if complete strangers can come together and let you know you're not alone, isn't there some hope for a better tomorrow?

Yes, tell your doctor or voluntarily check in yourself.

Hi Montero, if they are anything like they are over here (in Britain), i'd say that they can! I have been admitted for four times now against my will for mental illness (mostly here, but for the third time in Kenya), and these have seen me locked away on section from seven months, twice, once for seven weeks, but for the latest time ten months and counting. I also fear that it will be well over a year before I can get out. I hate these so called experts, who are given the keys to our/my life/s. Damn them!