Something I don't understand: On websites about suicide and informational videos, there is always a message akin to If you are suicidal or considering suicide, IMMEDIATELY call 1-800-SUICIDE!
If someone is so gone she is going to attempt suicide, then she isn't going to call for help. Why would she? She wants to die, and doesn't want anyone to get in her way.
I guess this might be based on the assumption that suicidal people don't really want to die; I don't think that assumption is true, or didn't seem to me at least in my suicidal days. If I had seen that number on the Internet, I wouldn't have called it.
There needs to be a different approach to this, but I can't say what it is. Perhaps education about depression, SI, and suicidal thoughts provided in public education? Don't think it'd do much, but it might relieve some stigma...
Suicidal urges are not alway in the company of a true desire to die. Often the person in question can feel things "i feel like i want to die, like i would be better off dead" but at the same time know that suicide isn't the best solution to problems. As someone who has worked on a helpline and received suicidal callers, and as someone who has had suicidal thoughts myself (although i must admit i've never called a suicide helpline myself) i know how important and useful it can be to reach out to someone.
ReplyDeleteThose helplines also take a lot of calls from concerned friends and family, and people dealing with the effects of a "successful" suicide.
Finally it can get the message across to people thinking of suicide that they are not alone, even just that knowledge can do great good.
~Shiv
An interesting angle there I suppose they try to catch you when you are thinking about suicide when its enough to do some reasearch but before you have made a firm decision. But I think the same can be applied to crisis plans why make a crisis plan because the time when it should be implemented is the time you are not going to tell anyone. Hannah X
ReplyDeleteI called a suicide hotline. I'd just cut myself and I wanted to talk to some one. When they found out that I had hurt myself, they traced my call and the police showed up. I was "302ed" after being sewn up. I won't call again because the trust is gone.
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