how honest can i be with my gp? (uk)

[viljalauss]

so i'm meant to be having an appointment with my gp tomorrow morning. ngl the purpose of it wasn't entirely clear; i booked it for mental health help and then on the phone when i asked to confirm it they asked if it was about my adhd referral? which if they take that up again that would be great as they rejected my application

but yea. assuming it is for mental health. ummmm i mean i wanna be as honest as possible (and also i am a bad liar). in the past i have told the welfare officer at my college i was suicidal but she didn't press for further action even though i had a plan, i think because i didn't have a fixed date and also i'd pretty much planned to cancel the sn order by the time i saw her (not even cause i wanted to keep living, but so i didn't disrupt other people's (life) plans. that's not really a problem now). but (my previous post is an example) i have been feeling a lot less stable the past two days, was pretty close to impulsively attempting tonight (though it was a new method and so the chance i'd fail, and nothing would happen to me, would very much be nonzero).

my question, to be clear, is how do i make sure i don't get sectioned? cause being sectioned especially if it's immediate will almost definitely mean i get forced to rusticate this year. and, as i said in my last post, i would rather die than go home. (hence part of my reason to ctb in the first place.) would telling the whole truth be fine (that i nearly attempted?)? or just that i don't feel stable rn? or should i lie? and if so should i say i'm not suicidal at all, or say the state i would like to be in which is that i wanna ctb and have a vague plan, and a date but it's flexible? like if i have a chance at getting help (and can believe at least for a while that it'll do something, and conveniently forget how i of all people do not deserve help by any stretch of the imagination) i feel like being as honest as possible would be conducive to that, but again.. i do not wanna get sectioned. or kept under watch at all, really.

something something i'm in a bad place rn, not mentally i just live in the uk

 

[vitbar]

I'm also in the UK. I was totally honest and didn't get sectioned, but our situations are different.
I was clear I have a plan / plans researched in detail. Even explained them. I told them that a natural death was unlikely. That when depressed I think about it constantly and that the thoughts were getting more oppressive and malevolent. Difference is I never felt like the act was very soon. Just looming on the horizon.

Generally they will avoid sectioning you so long as they don't feel you are an immediate risk.

 

[gardenfairy]

this hugely depends on your doctor and how seriously they take certain thoughts and answers. this is not a fool-proof method so please do not take it as such! i'm going from what i've picked up on through 10ish years of mental health care in the uk.

in my experience, without an active plan you're pretty much safe. in my area and i'm assuming most others, inpatient care is stretched extremely thin, they won't lock you up unless they truly believe that you are going to seriously hurt yourself in the near future (they quite literally asked my cousin after a ctb attempt if he remained actively suicidal, and sent him home when the answer was no) thoughts without action are in my experience pretty safe to share with professionals. unfortunately i can't speculate on how they would treat a vague plan, so i'm hoping someone else can fill in for me on that. personally though? it can't hurt to be as honest about your feelings as you can - just be smart about it, mention that you feel that without any help your problems will get worse and could lead to a plan, i think this should be safe to share as it doesn't insinuate actively having a plan that you wish to act on. i believe that previous attempts increase your 'risk-factor' for lack of a better term but again, you won't be sectioned unless you're a danger to yourself in the near future and a past attempt or past almost attempt doesn't necessarily mean that you're going to try again tomorrow.

again, this is not foolproof or a definitive method, just my own experience over the years. gauge how the doctor is reacting/speaking and you should be fine, i can't see them sectioning you without an active plan like i said. it's totally normal to be nervous, they will ask some difficult questions, but i think that it's important not to panic and/or straight up lie when these questions come up if you want the appropriate care for how you're feeling.

 

[NoHorizon]

You're extremely unlikely to get sectioned unless you're assessed as being an immediate threat to your own life.

I've told my doctor I have constant suicidal thoughts and, because of the supplier getting busted, it's on my medical records that I have SN in my home. I was clear that I don't have a date and they were happy enough to not even consider admitting me.

 

[viljalauss]

thank you all for your help <33 i've had the appointment; i was able to tell them i had a plan/methods researched, and how often i was thinking about suicide; i held back on telling them i was thinking about doing it in very near future, or at risk of doing so impulsively - partly because of caution against implying immediate risk, and also partly just based on their reaction. they were still concerned, but just talked to the welfare officer at my college and said the mental health team will be in contact in the next week.

i'm not really at risk of doing it impulsively anymore (now that i have a thesis in place and so am not guaranteed to fail my degree till exams come :') which 1) is nice 2) means the level of care i now have access to through what i said to them should actually be fitting. again, thank you all for your help.

 

[gardenfairy]

thank you all for your help <33 i've had the appointment; i was able to tell them i had a plan/methods researched, and how often i was thinking about suicide; i held back on telling them i was thinking about doing it in very near future, or at risk of doing so impulsively - partly because of caution against implying immediate risk, and also partly just based on their reaction. they were still concerned, but just talked to the welfare officer at my college and said the mental health team will be in contact in the next week.

i'm not really at risk of doing it impulsively anymore (now that i have a thesis in place and so am not guaranteed to fail my degree till exams come :') which 1) is nice 2) means the level of care i now have access to through what i said to them should actually be fitting. again, thank you all for your help.

glad to hear it went well :] you were in my thoughts yesterday

 

[WAITING TO DIE]

I don't trust any Doctor or therapist anymore after being sectioned because I spoke of being actively suicidal.

 

[Suicidebydeath]

I think it's unlikely to be sectioned unless you attempt and survive. I read somewhere that under the recent rewrite they can only keep you in hospital for so long if they can treat you. It might be situational too.