Harm OCD Intrusive Thoughts Hospitalization

If I confess thoughts of hurting myself or others to my spouse, therapist, or PDoc will they, do they have to, automatically hospitalize me? These thoughts pass but can be intense.

Please do not quote me but it is my understanding that you have to be an actual danger to others or yourself. Like you've made a plan to harm others or yourself and you plan on acting on it.

I personally have told my T I wish to harm myself. She asked if I had a plan I said no it's just a thought and she was like well what can we do to change that thinking and we moved on from there. BUT I am in Indiana and maybe that varies state to state.

I'm not competent to comment with regard to the question of involuntary commitment either in general or where you live. So I'll defer with regard to that. You might consider contacting your local NAMI office & see what guidance they might be able to provide. Here's a link to the NAMI website where you can search for your local office:

Home | NAMI: National Alliance on Mental Illness

Of course the greater question here, perhaps, is... if you're experiencing intense thoughts of hurting yourself or others, what are you doing about that? These kinds of thoughts require attention, in my opinion. And even if you feel you have them under control, they're still distressing to live with. And they can lead to unexpected consequences.

I've made 2 major attempts on my life (& been involuntarily committed as a result.) And in both cases if you had asked me the day before if I was in danger, I'd have said no. But in each case, I got up in the morning, decided I'd had it & I was going to do something about it... & so I did. I think it's important to share what you are going though with someone... throw open the doors & windows & let the light shine in. Keeping all of this bottled up inside is a prescription for ongoing desperation & anxiety, from my perspective. So I hope that, in some way, you can find a way to reach out in real life for the help you need. My best wishes to you...

....if you had asked me the day before if I was in danger, I'd have said no. But in each case, I got up in the morning, decided I'd had it & I was going to do something about it... & so I did.....

Thanks, Skeezyk, for sharing this. This is my experience. Always a plan in place. Couldn't understand why professionals thought there was a line between desire & plan. Usually have a plan for everything even organizing my day. Why wouldn't I for that.

Feeling dangerous, can’t stop. Spouse keeps pushing me / “shoulding” me I can’t stand it, want to hurt her and me, but I won’t. I am also mixed manic Bipolar Disorder 1. Should I call PDoc, therapist?

I can only speak for myself in that, when I have intrusive thoughts/violent thoughts; I think it best to report them to a medical professional if they are available.


I have reported violent/kill thoughts to professionals and at support groups and I haven't been hospitalized yet. Ultimately, I would imagine, it's at the discretion of the medical professional as to what constitutes a clear and present danger to self or others. This is not to say I wasn't very very afraid and uncomfortable doing so.


However, the logic, for me, is that, I'd rather be put away, hospitalized, whatever, etc... If I was a danger, rather than be a danger. Unfortunately, this leaves quite a bit of, 'what if', to deal with.

The, 'what if', is two-fold. "What if I do hurt some one, or some one I love or care about." The other what if is, "what if they do commit me, etc.. etc.." Unfortunately, it is the uncertainty that is so distressing. And fortunately I know a big part of dealing with obsessions is that it is the uncertainty that must be accepted and lived with.


And, the hopeful part of me says, perfection and absolute certainty is not necessary for the universe to function. The universe is sort of imperfectly perfect. The universe is not a think, it's not a mental construct. It is continuous. It can't be organized into straight lines. It exists with most likely many more unknowns than knowns. etc.. etc..


I remember when I first was most afflicted by the changes brought about by fear/panic/ocd/etc.. I went to the lake with some new friends and we were sitting by the water. I was watching the tiny ripples in the water. They were so small and so numerous and it made me very uneasy, a bit fearful. I was almost as fascinated by those thousands of ripples in the water as I was of my fear of them (I've never had any fear of water. It was about the randomness.). I can look back now and see my mind just sort of being primal-ly disturbed by the unpredictable nature of the water.

Anywho, my2cents...