Since were all talking about Suicide.... What should you do if you or someone you know is considering suicide? Call a suicide crisis hotline, 911, your doctor, the coroner or go to the nearest emergency room immediately. Do not play arm chair psychiatrist and try to convince the person that their problems arent that bad or that suicide is a selfish action. You can make them more suicidal by doing this. The person needs to be evaluated by a trained professional and offered an individualized treatment plan. Because I know there are people that wont listen and will play arm chair psychiatrist, I want to share the most important thing I ever learned about treating the suicidal individual in crisis, and depressed individuals in general for that matter. Its a concept called Suicidal Ambivalence and it involves 2 steps. In the first step, you acknowledge that the individual has a desire to die and that their reasoning for desiring to die is valid. Discounting their feelings, telling them their problems arent really that bad only makes them feel more isolated and alone and increases their suicidality. The second step is to have the individual acknowledge that while they wish dead, they havent acted on that desire yet which suggests that at the same time, there is something in their life worth living for. It may be difficult for them to accept this at first and find a reason but everybody has at least one. NEVER tell someone if you were going to do it you would have done it already. That can be viewed as a challenge and lead to an impulsive action by the suicidal individual. The simple action of identifying a single reason to live while still holding on to the desire to die is enough to keep that person alive until you can get them professional help. Its just enough to snap them out of the hopeless/helpless ruminations that they are trapped in. I repeat, do not attempt to talk a suicidal person down in a crisis situation if you do not have appropriate training to do so. Call a professional. What I have written above is available online and not intended to be used as training for suicide crisis intervention. I am sharing it to counter what I often hear the general public tell family members who are suffering from depression. Remember, depression and suicidal thinking are medical problems that require medical treatment. Yes prayers and support are important but people at risk for self harm need to be treated by trained professionals.
Posted on: Tue, 12 Aug 2014 19:23:16 +0000
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