I am not OOP, that is u/Spirited-Trash-1538, posted to r/LegalAdviceUK and r/autismUK

Original title: "I hiding from my social worker and am afraid I could be sectioned" (spelling mistake corrected and a more universal term used)

TRIGGER WARNING: Mental Illness and Institutionisation with bittersweet hopeful ending

Original post (8 September 2026)

I am in a grey area of adult social care. I have a degree and past employment, but I have lifelong depression. So I have a social worker who checks on me once a week to ensure I am keeping on top of chores and paperwork.

In recent months, I lost my job due to lateness. So I'm struggling to handle Universal Credit and PIP assessments when my depression has thrown my motivation down the drain. My social worker is trying her best, but she can only do so much in the few hours she has with me. The council is being slow to update my adult care plan to get additional support.

So, it's led up to now. My depression got so bad that I rotted in bed for four/five days straight. When my social worker came down to check on me, she picked up on my dry throat, and I was forced to admit I hadn't drunk water in 96 hours.

She said she feared for my safety, and she would have to make some calls to some "higher-ups". I got worried by the word 'safety' and asked if that meant a potential sectioning. She was honest with me and said there might be a likelihood, but she would need to call for a welfare check.

I told her that the brightness and loudness of a mental ward would be traumatising for an autistic person and could do more harm than good. But she said it was out of her hands, as she was trying to talk to someone on the phone. Since she wasn't listening to me, I grabbed my wallet and rushed out of my flat.

I've been sitting in an internet cafe for the last few hours. I have felt my phone buzzing with a lot of messages and calls, but I've been too nervous to read them, putting it on silent. I don't know if I can go home as the authorities might be waiting for me there. At the same time, if I remain in hiding, I could become a missing person, and it would escalate way further.

What am I supposed to do? Could I just stay with a family member until this blows over?

Edit: I had a drink in the cafe and now I'm sitting on a bench because the cafe is closed down now.

Edit 2: I've been sitting here for a while, and I noticed a police car pass by a few times. They've defintively eying me up. I'm guessing I'm getting picked up...

RELEVANT COMMENTS

wheelartist First things first OP, you need an advocate. You should have local provision depending on where you are. Get one, let them handle social services and paperwork.

Secondly, before sectioning for self neglect, what should come first is a safeguarding. That means you should get appropriate support put in place. Your social worker has failed to do her job with aclarity.

Sectioning typically requires two psychiatrists, one of which has to have section 12 training, plus an AMHP to agree that you are suffering from a mental health issue, the nature and degree of which requires you be detained in hospital for assessment and/or treatment, and that you are either a danger to yourself or others. While self neglect can sometimes meet the latter criteria, the fact is it's more likely that the MHT will consider this a lack of support.

Quick-Glove1967 Hi there, crisis CSA and student MH nurse here, I’m very familiar with people in your predicament. Whatever you do, don’t avoid her because she can contact the police and they may feel they need to place you on a section 135/136.

First Update (3 days later, September 11, 2026)

I haven't been able to update in a few days, as I got my phone taken away, but here are now.

Long story short, I did get sectioned.

I got picked up by the police and driven to A&E to get treated for my dehydration. While there, they conducted a mental health assessment on me. I knew it was coming, so in the hours beforehand, I did a deep dive on the laws around sectioning. I thought if I came off "rational" and "academic", I could prove that I was sane.

With the assessors, I brought up the articles and how I got legal advice from Reddit. I swear the air shifted as soon as I said 'Reddit' and the metaphorical tin hat formed on my head. No matter how much I explained myself, I feel like they weren't listening and just kept asking me to repeat myself.

By the time I recalled the advice to get an advocate, I had talked myself into a corner. My social worker could only do damage control by the time I called her in. I got labelled 'paranoid' and 'uncooperative '. The assessors didn't want me returning to my flat in case it retriggered my rut.

I had to spend three days in the mental ward. A nurse would be staring over me every time I was given food and water to ensure I finished it. I felt like I was a bloody toddler. At the very least, I was allowed to stay in my room so I didn't need to interact with any patient yelling their head off.

Thank god, my social worker negotiated with the doctors. She got me an emergency placement in a residential, and I'll be kept here as long as the staff know where I am at any time. It's two hours from my hometown, but it's better than the ward. I've got a lot more meetings and admin to work through with my care plan. I think they want to move me to residential housing for good.

RELEVANT COMMENTS

Exita Being sectioned isn’t about being ‘sane’, it’s about being a danger to yourself or others.

Trying to talk your way out of it after admitting to not even drinking for days is not going to work, because you’re simply not going to be able to explain away that level of dangerous self-neglect - no matter how well you know the law or who you’re being advised by. Bringing up Reddit and everything else probably just cemented the doctors opinion that you didn’t understand the danger you were in. Overall, it sounds like being sectioned was the best thing for you at the time. Glad that you’re now getting the care and support you need residentially.

Semi-Update - What are the exact outlines and powers Section 17 under the mental health act? (1 day later, 12 September 2026)

Since I got transferred from the psyche ward to the residential, I've been warned that I am on a "probation period". I'm not allowed to wander off without telling staff where I am. If I do wander off, I'll be recalled back to the psyche ward.

When I asked for the legal framework I am under, they mentioned Section 17 of the Mental Health Act. A few experts have tried to explain it, but when I feel hostile towards someone, my adhd makes it difficult for me to memorise their explanations.

Is anybody able to give a bite-sized overview of this framework? Any other general advice?

I feel like they're kind of treating me harshly, as I'm nowhere near the most severe patient on my own ward. A dozen comments on the legal subreddit assured me it was unlikely to get sectioned, yet I was. I'm in supported living now, but they won't still let me off the leash of sectioning.

RELEVANT COMMENTS

isaacnewtoe s17 is an authorisation of leave from hospital which means you are still subject to section 2 and they can bring you back to hospital if your consultant feels they need to. It's often given for up to 7 days at a time to tie in with weekly ward rounds but there's no strict rules around this and they can issue a new s17 without seeing you in person.

One thing I've not seen you mention is that you have the right to appeal your section within the first 14 days and your appeal will be heard within 7 days of that. Given how you feel about the situation you might as well exercise this right and you can change your mind any time.

OOP REPLY

Spirited-Trash-1538 Thank you - You're a life saviour!

OOP COMMENT

Spirited-Trash-1538 I think the Psyche ward was kind of an improvisation on their part. It was the easiest way to keep me safe in the short-term, while I was found alternative housing. I was already in the A&E when they did the assessment and basically took me next door when they deemed me "insane". And yes, my social worker said it was a miracle we found a residential place, even two hours away. [...] I've been talking to various people every day and trying to get out into Outpaint.

REPLY TO OOP'S COMMENT

SimplyCedric "Insane" is a term used in law, not medicine. It has no meaning in your situation. You are detained because you are severely mentally ill.

Final Update (11 days later, 23 September 2026)

I'm writing this up with my therapist's oversight. We agreed that my internet access will be cut off to stop my obsessive research. But I didn't want to ghost and worry everybody I contacted in the last fortnight - So I got permission to send out a round of final messages.

For this Reddit account specifically, I'm changing the password to something random and locking myself out of it. It just has bad associations for me.

My stay at the residential was coming to a week. I was doing alright. The staff were managing to get me up for lunch and dinner, even if I skipped breakfast. Alongside everything with my mental health, I was following a recovery plan for severe dehydration. I adhered to the diet because I’m not stupid enough to think I know better than nutritionists.

But where I found the plan counterproductive, almost hypocritical, was being instructed to avoid stressors. I thought I was the biggest expert on my own brain (Which I'll find out later, was not the case) I knew losing my autonomy was the biggest stressor of all. I’d had insomnia since arriving. The longest I’d slept was three hours.

I knew I was meant to report it so the doctors could make adjustments, but I refrained. My insomnia's fastest cure was getting out of this sectioning and returning to my own bed at home. If I was going to be awake anyway, I might as well use the extra hours to work on my appeal. My sectioning fell under the category of 28 days, with the 14th day as my deadline to file said appeal. I wanted to know every legal channel and have the best connections.

My daylight hours were spent ringing advocates rather than socialising. One or two staff brought up my phone use, but I assured them it was fine and began using it under the covers instead. After a while, I developed heartburn and headaches. I reasoned it was just stress and tiredness, telling myself it would be worth it.

I couldn’t really stop. I was so close to perfecting my appeal early. If I admitted how far I’d disobeyed the recovery plan, I knew I’d be recalled to the ward in a blink.

I’m beginning to wonder if irony is a actual force of nature. That night, I woke with immobilising chest pain and could barely move. I had to be rushed to A&E.

The tests showed “stress cardiomyopathy” - temporary weakening of the heart caused by acute stress. The doctors said they wouldn't expect from someone of my age, but the dehydration had laid the groundwork.

The residential staff told the doctors their suspicions, and the truth was eventually pried out of me. About the insomnia, about the report dodging. They asked if it was all out of ignorance or spite. To be honest, I didn't know at the time myself, or even now.

After I become physically stable, I was transferred back to the ward. Section 3 was invoked. This means they can keep me for up to six months if it's necessary. I almost wanted to turn mute after that announcement. At least I wasn't driving myself into a frenzy with the appeal, as it was irrelevant at this point.

When I had my first session with my new therapist, I was expecting to be numbly nodding along. But remarkably, I found someone who finally spoke my language. I decided to engage with him, as it's not like I can do anything else.

He snapped me out of my indignation with two fairly obvious points. Unless I was a shit roleplayer of Diogenes, there was no explanation for refusing to drink for four days other than being mentally ill. And there was no reason I couldn't challenge the flaws of the NHS while still accepting its free help.

After that, I was finally able to open up to him. We talked for hours and I'm feeling more optimistic then I was expecting to be. There are a few things going in my favour, or at least, they're emore complicated then they seemed:

-I was asked to write a list of my "ideal treatment" and my therapist helped me brainstorm as many ideas as possible. I must admit I took a few ideas directly from reddit... My notes are being passed onto the wider team and my therapist thinks a lot of my preferences can be turned into workable plan.

-My therapist believes he is on the spectrum as well, so he understood the sensory concerns and insisted on working on my case. He is going to ask if another autistic patient if they'll buddy up with me.

-With my sectioning, my therapist thinks there were flaws on both sides. It wasn't necessarily that I was sectioned for self-neglect, but rather because I ran away, got picked up by the police and was argumentative during the assessment. They were ensuring I didn't reject life-saving treatment. At the same time, my therapist said there were legitimate concerns he is bringing up to senior management. The ward was partially influenced by procedural limits. There is a lack of community options in our rural area, and I was too embarrassed to be released into the custody of my family at that point. The ward was used as a holding place while my social worker found a placement in adult care. I agreed that I'll let people like my social worker and independent advocate handle the admin of my case while I focus on recovery.

-We are brainstorming ways I can minimise my time in the ward. We came up with two possible solutions: I could stay with family during the daytime while I need to spend nights at the ward. Or I could apply for a transfer to another ward that is autism-centric, even if they are scarce. At the very least, I got provided headphone and tinted glasses.

-I hate "talking therapies", so I want to focus on keeping myself busy. I've signed up for art therapy, writing workshops and other general classes. My therapist said the ward has a scheme with a nearby farm where trusted patients can work with animals. I dove on that like a puma, as it will mean I don't have to talk to people.

-My counseling will be focusing on my depression, stress, insight and distrust. The ward is putting me on a few medications, including a low dosage of antipsychotics for my persistent depression and paranoid features. Having nurses check my mouth to ensure I've taken them will be fun...

-My access to addictive technology will be cut or supervised to stop my rumination. I asked if I could fetch my Nintendo Switch as a compromise, but my therapist gave me a big maybe. So I'll have to keep pushing with that one.

So yeah... Wish me luck on my recovery from miserable git to just a regular git.