Suicide Prevention
 

Just wondering since this is a very talkative place and I have a feeling more than one of you hav egone through this . . . What would you guys/gals do if a friend of yours told you that they wanted to kill themselves?

I have absolutely no clue and I had a friend on the phone earlier who is going through some really bad stuff ranging from cancer, money issues, and now a totaled car with little chance of getting insurance for a new one. Not to mention some of the usual parent/child issues, but she called me today crying and saying she might not see me again and started to cut herself with me on the phone listening. I managed to keep her on the line for a while, and it seems like the cuts weren't bad enough to make it permanent, but I can see this happening again in the future. I just dunno if I can handle it again. So, what I am asking is if anyone has gone through this or knows anything about it, what did (would) you do in this situation?

I am desperate here, I don't want to lose a friend. Thanks for listening...

Wow. uhm, what age are we talking here?

That's a really difficult situation. I'm sorry you have to deal with that, I have no idea how I would handle it..

I was totally distracted by the dancing banana.

sorry, the banana just show you what kinda personality I really am and now I have to deal with something completely opposite and foreign to me . . . . .



and we are talking the mid-20's age range.

I really don't know what to do then. I guess I would try to find some sort of suicide hot-line #, because I'm sure they could point you in the right direction.

Regardless, suicide is NOT something to fuck around with. Imagine how you would feel if she killed herself and you didn't do anything. I would get on that right away if I were you.

Good luck.

She needs professional help and if you can convince her of that then try that. If you know she is going to kill herself and she's serious, call the cops. It's not going to make her life any better but it may keep her from being dead.

Call me heartless, but it pisses me off when people say things like that. Honestly, I haven't heard of many cases in which people who really committed suicide told people they were going to do it beforehand. I mean, in order to tell someone you are going to kill yourself, you have to really want them to feel sorry for you. Why else would you tell them? I think it's selfish and pathetic. It's difficult for me to pity people like that. People that tell you things like that are looking for a power trip. They want to force you to a point of desperation.

In my opinion, suicide is a cheap escape from life's tribulations. It's like cutting in line.

I went through this with a friend in high school. On several occasions, we would be talking through AIM and he would say things like "I just want to end it all." To which I would reply with the obligatory, "Chad, don't talk like that. I really care about you... blah blah blah blah." It was useless. Because he would just say things like "Never mind. What do you care?" It went on and on and on. I always wonder how he would have responded if I had told him to go ahead and do it. But then if he really had killed himself, wouldn't I feel like shit?

I'm not saying your friend doesn't have issues. Obviously she does. But it is wrong of her to make those problems become yours. Why tell a friend you're thinking about suicide? I still don't get it. It almost seems egotistic.

Since she has put you in this awkward position... you obviously feel the need to do something to prevent her possible death. I'm sure she knows this too. So instead of alerting someone she is close to, like a parent (since there are obviously issues there), I would visit http://www.hopeline.com or call 1-800-SUICIDE and ask how you can directly get her professional help. She needs to learn how to cope. Then if she's not willing to accept help... that's not your problem. I have found that spoken reassurance is absolutely useless. There's really nothing more you can do... other than hire someone to watch her 24/7. (That could become quite expensive.)

haha. cozmic has to be the dumbest piece of shit on the boards! REAL smart babble right there!

yeah, suicide hotlines REALLY work. a friend of mine called a few of them a couple years back, and get this..they actually hung up on him because "he didnt know what he wanted". lmfao!! yea, they REALLY give a shit! so go ahead, call them. they know oh so much about your friends and their problems!

of course they're looking for attention. The person is incredibly depressed. Any kind of positive attitudes toward their life, no matter how they respond, helps them. If you feed them negative feelings then they feel justified and feed upon their pain. They're looking for justification for how they're feeling or an argument for why everything sucks and will be better.

Show them as much love and positive attitude as you can, try to get them to get help. If all else fails, like whoever said...call the cops. At least they won't be dead that way.

My mom told my alcoholic dad she wanted a divorce several years ago, he got drunk and slit his whole arm open. When the ambulance finally came, he was in the bathroom with the door locked screaming about how he wanted to die, they busted the door down and when he resisted being taken, the one girl punched him and knocked him out, then they dragged him into the ambulance...haha, sorry...so basically, you gotta do whatever it takes.

haha. right on phorians. cozmic is obviously a severely fucked over cunt who doesnt understand jack shit about anything!

then again, who didnt know this from the start? lmao. what an ugly ignorant cunt. hehe...

undone, ladies and gentlemen. coming to the defense of fucking morons, and she loves to do...being a fucking moron herself..of course. lets have a round of applause for the ignorant ugly cunt!
and watch and she dazzles us with more vital information!

moron :rolleyes:

Actually, we do. If you're not willing to talk, we try and make people communicate as much as possible, but if they're being surly and nasty and the volunteer feels they can't be of help to them, we end the call.

thank you.

refresh my memory on how i proved that hotlines are bullshit please. Oh, unless you think there's benefit to sitting on the phone for long periods of time with someone who is verbally abusive (much like yourself) or who refuses to talk, tying up the phonelines for other callers trying to get through.

whats that? more idiocy babble? more ego talk? good for you. you know it all, fool!

i'm sorry a hotline hasn't been able to help you with your problems. Maybe we all just need more training just to deal with your special and incredibly facinating case.

haha, stupid cunt. too bad you were far too stupid to read anything that was typed above your posts. ugly ignorant dumbfuck. hahaha

you're stupidity facinates me! but not surprising, after all..you belong here on netphoria with these morons. keep up the good work, ugly cunt!

I get the sense that Apart is the only person on here with more pent-up anger than me.

Are you really as pissed off as you seem or is it all just schtick.

Oh yeah on the topic, I don't think there's any statistical accuracy to the statement that someone who talks abou killing themself will not do it.

You have to look more at the person.

My mom threatened to commit suicide after losing going blind in her left eye two years ago. She eventually had a nervous breakdown and spent six months in the care of others. All the while saying she was gonna kill herself.

No one took it that seriously (we were scared don't get me wrong) but not because she talked about it. It was more that she is kind of a weak-willed person. Not one to take initiative. The doctors said the only way someone with her personality would committ suicide was overdosing on pills because other methods (gun, slit wrist, etc.) requires more physical drive than she had.

And she never oded on pills so life is better these days. Kind of.

until now you showed only mild stupidity, and were simply known as just another ugly bitch here.

but now that you've proven yourself royally stupid and ignorant, you are worthy of one thread of sad..yet truthful insults from me. congratulations. :)

So those suicidine hotlines must really work though
Since Apart is still here...

By talking to you the way she did and threatening suicide, she's crying for help. I doubt she's actually going to carry through with killing herself, but you don't want to deal with the chance of that happening. Do what you can to make her feel better and get help immediately.

I went through this with a friend a few weeks ago.

well, you ought to think what every other depressed dumbfuck here does about me. hope that i really do have that pent up anger so you can feel better about yourself in comparison. it's much easier to think of me that way, isint it? heh. go ahead and join the club.

ohhh an ugly blamo cunt. how adorable. still getting fucked over? lol

*high five*

Exactly.

Generally the most common thing heard regarding someone who has committed suicide is "I had no clue, never saw it coming." By telling you she is thinking about committing suicide, she is reaching out to you and seeking help. The best thing is probably to try and convince her to see a psychiatrist.

Has she ever been depressed before? Is she a "cutter" or was that time on the phone the first time she has done that? (If she is a "cutter", cutting oneself usually has nothing to do with suicide/there is no intent for it to lead to suicide.)

Threats of suicide don't come out of nowhere...something has been going on with her and it has been going on for awhile.

I don't go to Siva you dumbfuck.

I feel sorry for you.
I really do.

wow, you must care then! fuckin loser. heh.

whatever helps your ego!

I don't believe I am ignorant of the suicidal mind. I spent many of my adolescent years becoming personally acquainted with it. I form my opinions from experience. And I did not suggest that someone who is suicidal should not talk with anyone. I was referring to the manner in which his friend has burdened him with her possible suicide. She should be directed to confide in a professional counselor/psychiatrist... someone who is trained to deal with an issue that sensitive in nature. If you were to counsel a suicidal friend alone without involving a professional and she killed herself, you would have to feel rather nescient.

And I suppose I tend to ground my feelings from an existentialist's point of view... I feel that we are responsibile for the consequences of our own actions. If someone wishes to end their life that badly... that is their wish. It seems rather selfish that, in most cases, our only reason for interjection is to prevent our own loss and sadness.

Also, I don't believe someone is ignorant simply because they have feelings that conflict with the views of others... yet that tends to be a belief that has always been rampantly common on netphoria...

(By the way, I have taken several psychology courses while in college. I performed quite well in them.) :)

Thank You
 

Thank You so much all who responded to the original subject. Your posts are geratly appreciated and exactly what I was hopin for, especially from people that actually work(ed) in a situation like that.

A little update : things are slightly better. The wrist wounds weren't that bad and are healing and she has some family support, mostly her little sister. But the bad news is that her pet died earlier today :( throw some more needles on that camel's back already!!! Jeez! Her only in-house companion is now gone so it won't be easier, but at least she is somewhat stable at the moment and I think I am making a difference, but I think I will still call one of those hotlines for any additional advice.


Again, I thank those of you who offered up some great advice, I really needed it.