When is Mental Health a Medical Emergency? – When a person has the urge to harm themselves or the people around them or when it is considered a mental health emergency because it has gotten to the extreme. Here is what happens in the case of psychiatric emergency admissions.
According to a Psychiatrist, it is necessary to seek medical attention when you have a mental health emergency. A medical emergency is a great threat to the individual and also the people around them and the main focus of emergency intervention is to protect the patient and the community.
Types of psychiatric emergency
- Suicide
- Drug abuse
- Violence
- Severe depression
Most medical facilities rule out the fact that psychiatric issues can be caused by physical or medical illnesses which is the greatest error in the presentation of medical health emergency says Dr Magnus.
Abnormal behavior can be caused by head trauma, neurological disorders, metabolic abnormalities, and prescription medication.
Hospital Admissions
When there is a mental health emergency the person involved has to be admitted to the hospital. The presence of a doctor can stabilize the problem when it is being caused by an underlying condition.
Case-by-case Care
Proper mental health emergencies are managed differently on a case-by-case basis. There is no standard treatment for mental health emergency patients. You are being treated according to the kind of the type of psychiatric emergency.
I found out during my research that when a person refuses To receive treatment they are admitted without their permission. They are sent to a psychiatric facility.
Prioritise Mental Health Emergency
Having suicidal thoughts is a major thing associated with mental health. According to what I gathered, one person dies by suicide every 40 seconds in the world and about 23 people die through suicide every day in South Africa. Men mostly die by suicide than women.
Who is at risk?
Factors we should consider when looking at increased suicide risk are age, drug or alcohol abuse, the male gender, loss or separation, and even unemployment can cause suicide risk.
Warning signs
People with mental health disorders have one way or another given a clue to the people around them. They express Their feelings and thoughts with words like, I can’t take it anymore, I wish I could end it, I wish I wasn’t alive.
Busting myth
There are some busting myths about suicides and these include the following;
- People who talk about suicide end up not doing it.
- All suicidal people are mentally ill.
- When a person decides to die by suicide nothing can be done to stop them.
It is widely advised that people need to be enlightened about suicide myths and stop the stigma that comes with it.
Source: www.everythingsouthafrican.com