When you care for someone with a serious mental health illness preventing this happening is part of your life whenever their mood is low.
Keeping them away from the medication they are on becomes a cat and mouse game as their illness can place destructive thoughts in their head that grow in power. Keeping medicines safe within a lock box and ensuring they take their medicines each day is vital so you watch them take each one so you know they're not stocking them to take all at once.
This week I learned a new lesson in being a carer in having the key to the lock box with all your other keys isn't enough, you need to hide it somewhere safe.
When I discovered that Mrs Alienbutt had taken my keys out of my jeans pocket while I slept my first response was anger, it's a natural reaction. I was bloody mad with her.
In truth I was mad with myself for not thinking she'd do this and in fact it wasn't her that did it but her illness.
Mrs Alienbutt can be two different people, she's my Mrs and then at time her illness takes over and she does daft things to take away the feeling she has as she fights to survive her illness.
Rides in ambulances with the lights flashing can seem exciting but the hours in Accident and Emergency arn't but it gives you time to talk as her befuddled brain comes back to some semblance of working.
It seemed she had taken the keys because she couldn't sleep, to get one of her sleeping tablets but once confronted with the unlocked box of tablets she found herself like a kid in a sweetshop unable to stop herself.
All's well as she's home and safe and I've learned a new lesson in looking after her but the underlying problem of her illness is still here so it's time to kick up a fuss and demand she gets more help so I've got an appoinment with our doctor for today and with his help that is what we're going to do.
So the point of this post is to warn you that mental illness is a sneaky bastard that is always looking to get around the protections you put in place. Don't get mad or blame yourself when things like this happen but learn the lesson and get back to looking after your loved one.