Rebecca J HousePolice to Paranoia: My true story of when I was sectioned under the Mental Health Act as a serving Police Officer

I connected with Rebecca recently because of our author journeys and with us both serving as a police officers.What I can say having now read Rebecca's book is that Rebecca House is no ordinary human being!She is tenacious, motivated, determined and she wasn't going to let her spiral into depression and psychosis defeat her or kill her. Working in a highly a traumatic environment and frequently dealing with death and the worst things life can throw at people in the role of a frontline police officer, Rebecca faces multiple complex factors across several areas of her life which cause her to lose herself and her mind [including the medication administered by the medical profession, which makes matters worse]This is her dramatic true story of how she finds herself on a slope towards self destruction; she ends up being sectioned by her own colleagues & seems without hope BUT … can she turn it all around ? This is a MUST read book for everyone who knows how important mental health is and for those looking for hope and a way through and out, whether in policing or in any walk of life.It is harrowing and.shocking but also inspirational & thought provoking. So many things resonated with my own experiences of falling into my own hole in 2020 and against all odds being able to turn things around. This book is brilliantly written and you will not be able to put it down once you have started. It is gripping and will inspire you! Thank you Rebecca for being willing to speak candidly and openly about your journey to help others and give hope.

This book is truly inspirational and deffo worth the read. Rebecca House really has written from the heart and has been so honest about her experiences within a mental health hospital. This book gives people hope that things really can get better. Everybody should read this book to highlight the issues that surround mental health and how everybody really can make a difference. A must read!!! Well done Beck!! You are an inspiration to many!!

Mental health does not spare the professional, wealthy or seemingly functioning members of society. This book is painfully honest, humble and inspiring. If you, or anyone you know has suffered or suffers from mental health issues, you really need to read this book. It's also a must read for health professionals on how NOT to do things. From a place where it seems there is no return, it shows how with support, determination and belief, life can...and will get better.

After hearing about Becks from a family member I was excited to read this book about Becks story and the heartbreaking events that lead her to the work she does today.It’s honest, raw and really thought provoking. Mental health is so complex and it just goes to show that literally anyone can experience struggles in their life at some point.Having previously worked in a mental health environment it’s interesting to see the account from the other side (although I never ever behaved in the way some of the staff did to Becks 😞). It angered me so much to see the treatment she endured and reflecting back on my time working in that environment you can see how it happens and it’s not acceptable!I highly recommended for everyone to read this book, it really does make you think and makes you feel. In fact it makes you want to help and make a stand. More needs to be done for treatment, understanding and knowledge of mental health struggles and hopefully with the help from people like Becks, this can be achieved.

U received this book on a Friday tea time and had finished by the Sunday, absolutely gripping read and having worked with vulnerable adults to think that this still happens is awful, and the fact that Rebecca has written her account and it definitely opens your eyes to the fact that mental health is still and always will be a problem subject …well done Rebecca and I’m so sorry this happened to you xxx

I read this over a couple of days. The description of the author wanting to end her life, not because she wanted to die, but to end her mental torture, was chilling. This was not least because of how much it sounded when I was first unwell at university.As an AMHP, I'm horrified to hear what happened on the ward. It goes against every ounce of my training around the Mental Health Act and its accompanying Code of Practice. The only comfort I can give myself, is that this was many years ago, and I want to truly believe none of my current colleagues would ever engage in such awful actions.As an AMHP as well though, I do have some niggles. s.136 is a police power to move someone to a place of safety and for further assessment. It confers no power on relation to any decision made about admission to hospital for treatment, and treatment normally isn't permitted under s.136, unless you're using another framework, such as the MCA. Also, you can be detained and have capacity. Hence, I found page 11, a little misleading. The account of police removing the author from her home is also quite confusing. Only in very few circumstances, can police use s.136 in the home address, and if this is what they were using, why on earth was the author taken into custody?! If they were using a different framework, ie. arrest, then what on earth were the police basing this on?! Maybe things were different them years ago, but the latest full draft of the Mental Health Act, still used today, is the 1983 version. Likewise, I am not sure who the author's Nearest Relative would have been during her admission, but the law has always given the Nearest Relative the power to order discharge, whereas this account appears to suggest this option wasn't put to her parents. It is also curious that tribunals were never mentioned. These rights should have been repeated to the author on a regular basis and given to her in writing. Again, this was also in the law in 1983, as was that s.2 is UP TO 28 days, not automatically 28 days.

We all face struggles every day and this book is a real account of how those struggles can escalate and the true grit of a young girl in her fight to get her life and career back. Beck gives an honest account of her vulnerability and gives hope to anyone who is or has struggled. Thank you Beck - you are an inspiration and you give me hope of what we can get through with the right help. 🙏🙏🙏