My adult sister is bipolar, off meds & increasingly violent. Can she be committed for her own safety? How?

Question:

She blows up at family members over trivial matters, she seems to have her own version of reality these days. She can't hold a job for more than a year & relocates frequently, has very few friends and now is busily alienating family too. It's obvious she's off her meds but no one dares ask for fear of another of her tirades. She's irrational and hypersensitive, but accuses others of that. She needs help but feels everyone else in the extended family is toxic and that we should just leave her alone. How can we get through to her? She's already attempted suicide 3 times, but denies 2 of those attempts. At this point it seems another attempt is very possible.
What would it take to force her to get help?

Answers:
I think it's great that you want to help your sister and I understand how tough this must be for you and your family.

I'm thinking that you meant admitted instead of commited? When a person is commited they are sent to a state psychiatric hospital and these often are underfunded and unpleasant places. To have someone commited you would need to contact a lawyer or else you could go to her doctor or therapist. Your sister would then have to go through a psychiatric evaluation and go before a judge for a competency hearing. If the judge decides it's in her best interest to be sent to the state hospital then he or she can order her to be sent there. Once this is done a patient is evaluated during their stay until they're considered fit to be discharged.

An admission is something different and is when a person voluntarily agrees to be admitted to a private psychiatric hospital or the psychiatric wing of a community hospital. I'm not really sure but it may be possible to have someone admitted against their will but only for a brief evaluation period. This may be the best way to go because then she may be able to at least be stabilized on some meds.
But then again, people can't be forced to take psych meds unless it's court ordered so the admitting doctor would have to get a court order for that. If she's threatening suicide it may be fairly easy to get her admitted but all she has to say is that she's not suicidal and she may not be admitted.
That's why it's important for you to tell the doctor how suicidal she is and all the behavior that's concerning to you so that he or she can have a clear idea of what's going on.

Talk to her doctor and if that doesn't work you may want to look around for another doctor or therapist who may be more helpful.
I wish you all the best.

Other Answers:
good Psychotherapy sessions followed by medicines and involving her in the interests of her liking will definitely help

An adult family member can petition to have her held for mental evaluation for 72 hours.

you can probably have her put into a mental ward for a while. although this seems like a crazy idea it is actually a good idea. she will be put on the meds that she needs and she will be out of harms way. she will stop flying off the handle at everybody while she is there too because they will be out of her reach. and not holding a job wont be an issue either.

Yes! IT IS CALLED A MENTAL INSTITUTION RIGHT THERE WITHIN YOUR COUNTY/STATE. GET HER SOME HELP QUICK, THEY CAN BE VERY DANGEROUS NOT BEING ON THEIR MED. AND CAN HARM YOU/OTHERS. TAKE CARE

If you call and doctor or psychologist (preferably one of hers) they can commit her involunatrily.

There is a couple of ways:
1) if she assults someone (if cops are involved: e.g domestic disturbance/violence)
2)if she commits herself
3)a doctor commits her

Call her dr and talk to him/her. Let them know the situation and that she is off her meds and possibly dangerous to herself and others.

The dr. should be able to order her into the mental hospital for observation and treatment. He may insist on seeing her first, I really don't know. But call and ask. The dr. can tell you how to go about getting her help.

With her medical condition she might be able to get disability from Social Services and not have to work.

If sis is off her medications because she can't afford to get them, go to http://www.needymeds.com Look at the left hand section, you'll want prescription drugs or generic, whichever type your sister takes.

Look up her medication. If it's there, there should be information on printing out a form to take to her dr. for either 3 months of medication free or at a much reduced rate. You have to send in a form or call the company, every three months I think it is. It's based on income.

You could get a lawyer to get her declared legal unfit, at which time you could have her committed. Be aware though that this is an extreme measure and may cause hard feeling and resentment that will never go away.

If she is a danger to herself or others you can go to the local police station and file a petition for commitment to a mental hospital, she will go for a involuntary..I think it starts at like 72 hours, then she would go in front of a mental health board where they decide to commit for 90 days or release at that time.

You can petition her to go in to treatment.
You'd have to call the cops, or take her in the ER and fill out a petition.
This might get her 24 hours of being held against her will.
Then it would be up to the physician team to determine if she is unsafe.

she seriously needs help! a friend of a friend went off and he is no longer with us. god bless his soul!

start with her doctor if possible ... if not call the police the very next time she "blows up" and they can admit her without her permission to the hospital ... happened to me a few times and i finally realized i have to stay on my meds ... it will catch her attention that she needs to stay on her meds and that you are only trying to help her ..just take some time ...

You would have to get her declared mentally incompetent by a court of law. (It takes money and time.) Otherwise, a person cannot be forced to get help until they become a danger to themselves or others.

IF she threatens to harm herself she can be held for observation for only 24 hours ( in MI)
Someone can go to court to petition the court with evidence to declare her unstable and have someone her financial and medical power of attorney

You can get her committed (briefly) if she is a danger to herself or others. If she or someone else is in imminent danger you can call the police. ( They will take her in on a chapter 51/50, I believe it is called.) They can only hold her so long, though. Then if she's fighting against it, she will have a hearing. If enough evidence is presented at the hearing, they can commit her for a longer stay (1 month, for instance). Unless she's clearly irrational, delusional, hallucinating, etc., it might be tough to try to get her committed against her will. It's not against the law to not take your medication. Good luck and take care.

Yes you can and yes you should.

Go to the authorities and file.

They will evaluate her.

She will hate you forever.

Tough.

First off, you're right to want to get involved. I admire that. Many families have let a bipolar member self-destruct because they were too afraid to get their hands dirty.
The wisest thing you can do is contact a local hospital or rehabilitation center. They'll be able to give you a fuller idea of the options in your area, and let you know who to contact depending on your choice. Don't be afraid to ask specific questions-- men with butterfly nets won't show up just because you're concerned about your sis. Best of luck to you and your family.

As soon as she threatens to kill herself I think you can have her admitted. My best friends roommate has the same problems and last week he became violent and broke many things in her house. He started talking about committing suicide and she took him to a hospital. He was admitted for about a week.

Yes she can be committed for her own safety. There are some specifications on when and how you can do so. I went through a situation with an ex-boyfriend that I wanted to be omitted to a behavior unit. If you personally hear her say that she wants to harm herself or witness her doing so you can make a phone call to Crisis Intervention at 717-394-2631 in Lancaster county, PA. or your local Crisis Intervention. They will have you fill out a 302 form(involuntary commitment)

Sounds like you need to talk with a mental health center and have her taken to a hospital psychiatric center for a 72 hour hold to determine her mental status.

To get a person committed they have to be deemed a significant danger to themselves or others. Suicidal attempts or gestures are usually a good indication a person is a danger to themselves. No taking medication is not.

BiPolar is a medical condition, an inbalance in the body. And, it does many times cause the person to alienate family members. Check in your phone book for a support group families of people with various mental illnesses and related conditions.

IF you really feel she is very dangerous to herself, right now, call the police and tell them. They can do what in my state is called a "legal 2000" and take her to a hospital for evaluation.

See this under bipolar for natural, powerful help. Her letting off steam does help her like the tirades. Meds supress it like making hyperactive kids into zombies with meds.

http://phifoundation.org/heal.html

you can call the police and tell them what she is doing and they will help you

mind your bussssines......she's an adult

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My adult sister is bipolar, off meds & increasingly violent. Can she be committed for her own safety? How?

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