r/radicalmentalhealth

I was illegally put on a 5150 (there has to be action taken for the hold to be legal and there wasn’t. I did not attempt to harm myself or anyone else). I called my county’s medi-cal behavioral health hotline to get therapy referrals. The guy over the phone asked me a lot of questions and I answered the questions honestly. He offered to have a crisis team evaluate me and said it would be completely voluntary and that I could refuse. I said yes. After he sends them, he tells me the cops may come.

I never would’ve agreed to this if I knew the police would be involved. I refused to go to a crisis center and they 5150d me and put me in handcuffs. I was in cuffs for 3 hours and I spent the night in the ER with an IV in my arm that bled while I slept. I dealt with nurses in the ER and the ward who were physically rough with me when doing my vitals.

The psych ward I was at was awful. I was terrified. I only stayed one night in the psych ward, one night at the ER. I couldn’t imagine being on a 14 day hold- those poor people. We didn’t have individual therapists. They refused to give me my meds for one night. The group “therapy” was like a kindergarten class.

I was telling a couple women there that it isn’t go to the psych ward or nothing- that they deserve actual treatment (voluntary residential/php/iop) and how they can get it. I feel bad for everyone at the facility.
They all need help and instead they’re in a mental health prison. I especially feel bad for those who have no visitors. This was the most traumatic experience of my life. I have never been so terrified in my life. I was privileged enough to be able to have an attorney to help me get out sooner- I feel for those who don’t have this privilege.

The place I was at had a lot of medi-cal (California Medicaid) recipients so I’m sure they think they can do whatever since these patients probably lack financial resources. I’m just an adult who aged out of being able to be on my parents’ health insurance but I have family with the money for an attorney.

I was able to get out for these reasons:

My family paid for an attorney that specializes in cases like mine. They determined I was illegally held there, which allowed me to be released a day early. Now, I need to appeal this decision to ban me from owning a lethal weapon for 5 years. I know I have a solid case considering there was no legal reason to 5150 me.
I was clearly lucid- I was the only one that was.
I was pretty much cooperative. I followed the rules. I did my best to keep my emotions in check to not make myself look bad. I didn’t cause trouble for the staff. I didn’t have problems with the other patients.
I said that since I got there, I had no thoughts of hurting myself or others.

The attorney I got practices law in California. If you are interested in this person’s services, DM me and I will give them to you.

My advice to you to not get 5150:

Be extremely careful who you tell if you have suicidal ideation, homicidal ideation, or thoughts of harming. Do not tell a behavioral health line this. In my experience, 988 and the friendship line along with the peer run California warm line have been safe.
Do not go to a crisis bed center. They will easily send you to a psych ward. Do not have a crisis team come to your house. NEVER I MEAN NEVER tell police if you have thoughts of hurting yourself and others.

What to do if you get 5150d:

Cooperate. Do advocate for yourself but pick your battles. I was cooperative but insisted I be given my meds that help with my mental health (not controlled substances). Go to the groups. Remember, your number one priority is escaping the hellhole.
Stay away from assholes/crazy patients.
Don’t get into arguments with other patients. If someone is being an asshole to you, just ignore them. Don’t debate staff or patients.
Be as emotionally levelheaded as possible.
Tell them that since you’ve arrived, you haven’t had thoughts of harming yourself and others. It doesn’t matter if you do or don’t have those thoughts. Never tell them if you have thoughts of harming yourself or others. These places are mental health prisons- they will not help you get better.
Have an aftercare plan in place. At minimum, say you plan to get weekly therapy. Involve family in the aftercare plan if you can.
Tell them about the goals you want to achieve when you leave. They’ll ask what you plan to do when you leave. Ensure your answer talks about doing things that are productive and meaningful.
Get an attorney who specializes in these cases. If your family will pay for it, let them. If anyone offers to pay for the attorney, let them. Even if you aren’t on great terms with the person helping pay for the attorney. Even if your hold is legal, you are still entitled to a hearing in front of a judge. An attorney can advocate for you to be released in this hearing.
Don’t talk to people on the phone who will upset you. Don’t have visitors that will upset you or lash out. Avoid reactions.

Everyone deserves real help for their mental health. Do not share thoughts of harm to self in others in the ER, to cops, crisis people, or people in psych wards. Find a therapist who is a safe person to tell this to. If you want treatment that’s more intensive than individual therapy, look into support groups.

Or residential (not psych inpatient or crisis res), PHP, and IOP programs. I did PHP/IOP for 7 1/2 months and discharged from the program last year. This program greatly helped me. I wouldn’t go for a PHP/IOP program affiliated with a hospital as those places are way more likely to 5150 you. Private or nonprofit practices are less likely to do that.

Also my empathy goes out to fellow autistics who have been in this situation. I am autistic and it’s definitely worse for us.

Been working around this issue for the last few decades and it is absolutely clear to me that all mental health issues stem from some form of rupture in the original attachment process, first to caretaker, then to self then to God/Source in stages. It is the separation of self to other, self to self which allows then negative influences to take up residence that then manifest as the various mental conditions which are known.

Healing the rupture from the core, at the junction from where it manifested is where the work needs to transpire. The very moment of connection/attachment creates signals within and without the brain/mind/body/soul, laying down a foundational neuropathway that remains for life. It is this foundational level that allows the person to attract, maintain and love within relationship. The rupture is a chasm, a divide, the mechanism of separation, that one then constantly and desperately will need to locate, navigate but eventually descends/falls/sinks into. The cycle which then repeats, furtively attempting to attach, but due to the original spark/chemical/knowledge aspect missing they remain stuck, and so retreat, numb or run or do what is needed to preserve self.

The constant hum of aliveness within the body/mind/soul is the thread to the Divine/God/Source, this remains as tether and will operate as a beacon, life-sustaining, rejuvenating force for life. It can also impart spiritual sustenance. It is a connection that can not be severed, except in death. The belief system in a rupture will then take on a life of its own, creating the necessary filters and belief system to reinforce itself as it is known. *There is a God, but not for me. God is unfair, I don't believe in God, God hates me* etc. These belief systems carry on to beliefs about self and others, unless the other can relate in a way that bypasses the fear activation process. and possesses the ability to maintain a constant signal of reassurance and presence, emulating and reenacting a loving caretaker's role.

Therapies as we know them have all tried to re-pair the attachment through various windows of thought, that building psychological bridges or other artificial structures might create a mental/psychological bandage strong enough to serve the individual in their quest for relationship. With enough convincing the subconsciousness or super consciousness, the higher aspects of self, perhaps there could be even a bypassing of this rupture altogether and formulate relationships that are based on understanding or pre-set rules agreed upon, but the love aspect is missing.

I am proposing that at the development stages, from conception to birth to toddlerhood to childhood to adolescence to adulthood there are milestone sparks, grooves and added layers to the foundational level that together with conditioning, genetic codes and nuances comprise the aspect which is known as attachment. Without addressing these milestones, their structure in particular is missing the entire mark. I believe that these structures are multifaceted and in this, the approach to re-pair too must be on a multi-tiered, dimensional level as well. That is the gestalt of this and it's probably been written somewhere, though I have not read this, only come to these conclusions via experience and deep reflective thought.