Hard to explain problem with my OCD and depression

Its very hard for me to explain, but I will try to.
So, I am obsesing about the fact that people that are being transported to a mental hospital are being transported restrained (either tied by their hands and feet to the gurney, or in handcuffs). Its a common procedure that happens pretty much everywhere, if you go to a psychiatrist or ER (or A&E) and they think you need to be hospitalised, you will be taken there restrained even if you are not agresive and you are willing to go voluntarily.

Depending on the country or state, you may be trnsported without restraints if you are not considered a danger to yourself (although generaly they will tie you up just to make sure), however one thing is sure: if you go to a psychiatrist with suicidal thoughts, when you are being transported you will definitely be tied up. Same happens if you call emergency service from home if you feel suicidal, or you go to A&E yourself. It doesnt matter that you did not try anything and that you were willing to go voluntarily, they will tie you up just to make sure that you are not agresive.

I personally think its horrible that they do that and that if you have a psychological problem and you want help then this is how you are treated. I dont feel suicidal now, but I did in the past from being depresed, and to think that this is how I would be treated if I go to get help seems horible to me (fortunately I never told anyone and it passed). Ive seen doctors, nurses, cops, even patients defending it, its clear that I am too sensitive and unable to see how restraining is done for safety, and its my fault for not understanding.And I am ok with that.

I just cant stop obsesing about it because it bothers me so much, and if you type on google feeling suicidal or geting help for suicide, everything that you read is so encouraging for you to go get help, and not to be afraid, and there are articles that are taking you thru what will happen and so on. But one thing is missing: no one tells you that you are most likely going to be tied up. There are articles that tel you to call emergency services and they will take you to get help (without mentioning that you will be either handcuffed or tied to the gurney as its common procedure), there are even articles describing every single thing that will happen from when you go to an emergency room, to what will happen when you get to the hospital (except that the transportation method is always not mentioned).

I guess they arent mentioning the fact that you will be tied up so they wont scare people, but I cant understand how they can be so encouraging knowing how horrible it will be for you when you get put in handcuffs like a criminal for wanting help.
As I said, I understand that its my fault for not being able to understand them, when people that studied psychology for decades defend it, then clearly I am an idiot.
But the problem is that I cant stop obsesing about it, its been like that for 5 years and I dont know what to do anymore. Sometimes it stops for a few weeks, just to start again.
What can I do to stop thinking about it? I think its horrible, but there is nothing I can do, I just want to stop obsesing and move on with my life. Its been like that before i as born and they know better, so i should just stop obsesing and accept I am wrong. But my OCD wont let me...

I dont want to go to a psychiatrist, knowing that if I were to go with suicidal thoughts being depresed, there would be a very real chance I would end up tied up. I know nothing will happen if I go with OCD, but I dont want any help from those people because I think they are horrible.
So what can I do to stop these thoughts and this anxiety? Can anybody help?

Hello SmokeyXXL: Welcome to PsychCentral! PC is a great place to find support as well as to obtain mental health related information. There are many knowledgeable & caring members here. The more you post, & reply to other members' posts, the more you'll gain from the time you spend here.

I don't know where you live. But, as far as people being tied up goes, this really varies, I would guess, particularly from country to country. At least where I live, it is unlikely a person would be tied up in any of the situations you describe, unless it was felt they really were a danger to themselves or others. If a person were to be picked up by law enforcement, they may be handcuffed. But this is often simply because police procedures require it. It is true, however, that the police should really pretty-much always be the option of last resort when trying to get help for a person who is suicidal. The police are trained to deal with criminals, not the mentally ill.

As far as what you can do regarding your obsessive thoughts, my experience has been that trying to force oneself not to have particular thoughts just tends to make them worse. I try to allow unwanted thoughts to come forth. I smile to them & breathe into them, then I allow them to fade away at their own pace. Sometimes I will place my hand over my heart as a sign of compassion for them. Your thoughts have no power over you other than what you give to them. This practice is not a quick fix. But, over time, it does tend to result in unwanted thoughts becoming weaker & less frequent. I wish you well...

Restraints are used as a last resort where I live even when calling emergency services. Unfortunately I have been inpatient several times but upon admission, the use of restraints policy was given to me.

Fortunately restraints have never been used on me. However an ER doctor locked me in an ER room once. It was not a huge deal but he should have told me.
Thinking of you *hugs*


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I've never had restraints used and I've been involuntarily hospitalized more than once.

I've never heard of this

Hi Smokey. Put your fears to rest because they are completely unfounded. I'm in a position to know, as I've worked in psych facilities and in jails. I've observed people being transported by police. If you are under arrest for unlawful behavior, there's a good chance that police will cuff you. Outside of that, it would be unusual for restraints to be used.

First if all, the law says that healthcare personnel must use only the absolute minimum amount if restraint needed to keep you from harming yourself, or others. No one will assume that you are dangerous just because you are having a psychological crisis. Suicidal thinking, by itself, in the absence of a well thought out plan and expressions of strong intent to follow through, is not automatically thought to make you dangerous.

Even when it is feared that you may harm yourself, the first thing that is tried is to keep you under direct observation. Even inside jails, this is the main response - to have the person sleep where they are under direct observation by staff. (Not inside a jail cell, for instance, but out in the open.)

Personnel in an ambulance, or in an emergency room, do have restraints that can be applied to wrists and ankles, but they are usually used for people who are very confused and highly agitated - to the point that they are trying to pull out I/V lines and pull off oxygen masks. First, staff will see if offerring you verbal assurance is able to calm you down.

A friend of mine worked in a facility where he sometimes transported psych patients from the local hospital to the main state psychiatric hospital. Typically, they would travel in a regular automobile. One staff member would drive, and a second staff member would sit in the back seat with the patient. No restraints would be used (other than regular car seat belts.) If the person being transported would become assaultive toward these staff persons, they had the option of stopping and calling police to take over.

Cops don't particularly like to transport persons they deem to have a medical problem. They prefer to have paramedics do that. Paramedics will use restraints only as a last resort.

There are medical risks that come with restraints. First of all, being in restraints can cause a person's heart rate and blood pressure to go up. Healthcare personnel want to avoid that. Also, a restrained person who begins vomitting is at higher risk for inhaling the vomit, which is awfully dangerous.

Restraints are being used less than they used to be. In hospitals, patients who would have been restrained in the past, now, are more likely to have a staff person assigned to sit with them and hold their hands and speak reassuringly to them.

The guidelines for use of restraints do not vary from county to county as you are imagining. Guidelines are provided by sources that have national standing. "Standards of care" (including those pertaining to the appropriate use of restraints) tend to be pretty uniform throughout the country.

If a psychiatrist in an office thinks you should go to an ER or psych facility, first the pdoc will see if you can reasonably be encouraged to take yourself there, or call a family member to take you.

Men in white coats putting you in a straight jacket and/or tying you to a gurney is mostly something we now mainly see in old movies. I know of a situation where a patient was put in a straight jacket and taken from the hospital ER to the state psych hospital. That was after this person belligerantly punched an ER doctor in the face. That's the kind of provocation that gets a person tied up . . . and rightfully so.

Saying you are having suicidal thoughts absolutely does not automatically get you tied up.

I have seen doctors and cops literally saying they tie people up and defending it. Even a hospital Q&A saying that patients being brought in handcuffs is common practice and done for the safety of the officer.
Even two psychiatrists that were complaining that this is how the procedure is being done and they were hesitant to hospitalize people because of that.
And a ton more, From New York, Colorado, Texas, Indiana and many others.

This is an incredibly common thing to happen and it's widespread in both US and Europe. Maybe a few states are not as strict, but clearly the majority are. You saying that it doesn't vary from one to the other is wrong.
Maybe it's not done in yours and you are clueless, or maybe you are lying to make me feel better.
It is an incredibly common procedure, and nothing about it is my imagination. Not when I see many reliable sources defending it and saying it's standard procedure. Oh, in Washington DC it's common procedure to transport people to a psychiatric hospital in chains (a chain around the wrist that you are handcuffed to and shackels).

Which state are you from? Why are you lying to me?

You can believe that, if you want.

Are we all lying then? Was I imagining that restraints were never used on me the countless times I was involuntarily admitted?

I would post links, but I am not allowed until I reach 10 posts.
Just type into google: "when policy is harmful suicide" and click on the result that says "When Policy Is Harmful: Should Psychiatric Patients Be ..."
It is usually the first result, but depends on the browser.

You have a choice. You can believe what you are reading or you can believe the numerous people here who have actually lived through it. I don't need to look it up because I know what I have experienced and I'm not obsessing about it. I may have a mental illness, but there is nothing wrong with my memory.