Story Getting Sectioned in the UK for CTB just doesn't happen anymore

[CumbriaCTB]

So I'm currently in my local A&E after cutting my arm (normal self-harm) and trying to hang myself as a CTB attempt.

Here's a souvenir photo I took earlier:

(Hey, embed works for me on Tor mobile!)

I'm in here because I phoned 111 as a last ditch alternative to hanging (I aborted due to SI) and basically just wanted a paper trail so I could maybe get government caregivers who might be able to help me live a life that isn't daily suffering. Fat chance, of course, but it's worth a shot if I'm just going to CTB otherwise, right?

The bloke on 111 phones an ambulance after I babble a bunch of incoherent nonsense at him; carotid constriction does drain the oxygen out of your head, after all. Ambulance team shows up, photographs all of the bloodstains and destroyed furniture, and even photographs the noose (lmao) then they coerce me into the ambulance (said they were going to call the psych people to my house if I didn't haha) and so off to A&E we went.

Staff at A&E said they'd call the Police if I tried to leave (which is funny because all of the local coppers know me by name lol), took my phone charger "for safety" and told me I needed to keep the door open for monitoring purposes. Now, this is where I started getting a bit worried: normally they don't care about any of that - I've walked out loads of times before, often without trlling anyone, and they didn't care whatsoever. Nurses even checked on me every hour and gave me food which is weird because they usually don't do any of that at all for the acute psych admissions of which I've had literally hundreds due to public breakdowns and crisis-calls-gone-wrong. Here I am thinking "oh, shit, was I wrong? Do people actually still get Sectioned for CTB here? Did Labour free up a psych ward bed for me?".

Nah. After sitting in this room for 8+ hours and watching films on my tablet, a guy finally comes in to clean my self-harm wounds. I ask him about it and he just says they're going to do the usual bullshit with me - short & pointless conversation with a psych practioner before handing me a leafet, and sending me home - so why all the fuss about the Police if its just a normal admission like what usually happens whenever I self-harm in public? I really don't know haha but here we are.

So, whenever I come on here and say "you can't get Sectioned for CTB in the UK lolol", this is precisely what I mean. The NHS won't do shit unless you're at imminent risk of harming other people - they're not arsed about what you do to yourself.

Sincerely,
CumbriaCTB

 

[CumbriaCTB]

Update: it's the following morning. I've actually been back home since 10pm last night but walking 2 miles down an unlit B-road during a heavy rainstorm while carrying heavy bags (they don't give you bedding in there - just a thick gym mat - so I had to bring my own blankets) really saps the strength out of you. I've just woken up and now it's time to give an update!

Why didn't I just phone a taxi? It's a "man or bear" scenario: people of all stripes will play mind-games with you and then try to make you blame yourself for being upset (yes, I've had taxi drivers chat shit and claim it's "banter" even though I'm clearly not their "mate" or whatever... fuck off!); nature is very honest and just openly kicks your arse - I'll take the rainstorm over the stranger any day of the week, thank you very much. What I will also add is that a lot of people locally consider me a "whiny larl bitch who lacks resilience" but I bet none of those people would even attempt to walk that 2-mile gauntlet in those conditions (not even the first time I've done that route in rough weather lmao) so who's really the larl bitch here?

And, yes, they did let me go home. Obviously, I'm not being Sectioned and I even joked about it with the psych practioner; she was just as confused as I was about the hospital staff's weird behaviour. She even said she'll send a few emails regarding me getting caregivers/support-workers on my case so at least I got something out of it. It's up to the local government in the end but if both the NHS and Social Services are saying "CumbriaCTB is going to top herself if she doesn't get support" then hopefully that will justify the Council Tax spent on Adult Social Care - plus a portion self-financed via my PIP which is what it's meant to be used for anyhow. If not, I can just kill myself anyway so I'm not going to be biting my nails waiting for a decision.

To reiterate: no, you cannot get Sectioned for this sort of thing (as an adult, it happens to kids though - it happaned to me in 2016 even!) anymore and the most that will happen is that you get brought to A&E and made to twiddle your thumbs for like 10 hours. Don't want to wait? Just walk out! Nobody will even care and at most I've only ever received the occasional phonecall from A&E to ask where I've gone and they're always like "okay, cool, get home safe x" lmao

Regards,
CumbriaCTB