A band-aid on a bullet wound...

[GentleJerk]

Suicide hotlines are ritually touted as an important tactic in the prevention of suicide. "A problem shared is a problem halved" is a typical sort of cookie-cutter quote often repeated. Also, drugs and therapy are blindly believed to be some sort of magical scientific solution.

Annoyingly, the world can easily ignore fundamental societal flaws and injustices that directly lead to many suicides, and the multitude of important needs of individuals can continue to be overlooked, based on the simple fact that there are hotlines for those people to call for help... Or therapy and drugs.

Want to kill yourself? Help is available. Call this number. Talk to someone. There's your solution. Problem solved, hopefully. Maybe some meds and therapy too. No need for any drastic changes. Everything is just fine.

People who are not suicidal often experience some level of depression, loneliness, or meaninglessness at some point in their lives, and might easily find relief simply by talking to someone- then armed with this experience, they believe that all of the severe, complex, and multi-factorial things that affect those who become suicidal can be remedied in the same way. Or that depression which leads to some suicides can usually be fixed with medication, like some sort of bacterial infection that can be wiped out with an antibiotic.

While suicide hotlines, therapy and medications should exist for whatever level of benefit they may provide, they are nowhere near as efficacious and helpful as people are led to believe. I think their benefit and success is greatly over-exaggerated, and their failure under-recognized. If these things are honestly expected to serve as the primary global solution to preventing suicides, that is quite frankly a joke and like putting a band-aid on a bullet wound.

 

[BeansOfRequirement]

Suicide hotlines provide me with instant joy (by laughing every time I see one posted or mentioned). So they work for me.

 

[Lost in a Dream]

And it doesn't help that many psychiatrists that prescribe medications are in it for the money more than anything (and also boosting their own self-image around their peers). If they can accidentally save a life in the process, that's bonus points for them, but when the meds fail, it's always because "YOU WEREN'T TAKING THEM!!!1" rather than because some people keep getting worse even when they're taking medications to help them feel better.

As for the suicide hotlines, I only ever called one once and right at that instant and for a few days afterwards, it really did seem like I had done a good thing for myself. It felt like I was on the right track, but less than a year later I created an account here and it's been 2 years since then. I still have glue residue around my bullet wound from all the band aids I've tried, but yet the infection still took hold a long time ago.

 

[FuneralCry]

I believe that suicide hotlines do not solve anything, it does not take away why you are suicidal in the first place. Talking does not fix problems. In many cases, there is nothing that can help and that is a fact of life. Our right to die should be respected. Many people dismiss those who want to ctb as always being irrational but wanting suicide can be perfectly rational in a world like this.

 

[avoid_slow_death]

It's mostly platitudes and poorly implemented stop gap measures. I think most people are aware on some level that the fundamental problem lies in the morally bankrupt societal values we hold so dear nowadays. But in order to change that we a would need to look deep within ourselves and make some difficult and fundamental changes and sacrifices. But most people are averse to that because "Muh freedom" and all that hollow bullshit. We sure love to complain when things affect our lives but when it comes to the pain of others we dismiss it with empty talk of "You're not trying hard enough/the right things" or "That's just the way it is". Such vapid words only let the problem grow and infect more people with its poison.

 

[saveusy2n]

We live in a society that makes money out of opressing and deluding us. They will do everything to try and make less some symptoms but they will never cure the actual problem which is Sociological. Economy in west has gone to complete shit compared to Fifties and we have become disposable waste tbh. They don't want us to kill ourself because they need us to be wageslaves and do their jobs.

The biggest reason for feeling suicidal feeling you have no freedom or power to change anything. And that's exactly because of the sociological order. Imagine you have a problem, but you literally can't do anything to solve it except using Violence, but Violence is also ofc repressed by the State. There is just no way out. Now I just hope that more and more people get suicidal and just do mass suicides, because your body is the only thing you still have freedom over. Just end it and show these cunts that they don't deserve us.

 

[little helpers]

if any time you call a suicide hotline they give you an amount of financial assistance, *that* would be a problem halved, at least in some ways.

nobody can give suicidees a magic potion. I can't send some CPTSD to them on a fucking postcard. I can't give them a wire transfer of my addiction. can't even get the person down the line to consider being a lil bit less racist. I kinda think they be imagining some "good versus evil" storylines there. we're the goddamn "villians" and for some reasons they "moved" us to now want "good" things. fucking jokes, man.

at the end of the day they better ask themselves how we deprived *so many* of a life to live, now that death becomes the only real solution.

Edit: btw that's a hella good title. "band-aid on the bullet wound". another way to put this, "bags of frozen peas for third world famine".

 

[GentleJerk]

I think most people are aware on some level that the fundamental problem lies in the morally bankrupt societal values we hold so dear nowadays.

We live in a society that makes money out of opressing and deluding us. They will do everything to try and make less some symptoms but they will never cure the actual problem which is Sociological. Economy in west has gone to complete shit compared to Fifties and we have become disposable waste tbh.

if any time you call a suicide hotline they give you an amount of financial assistance, *that* would be a problem halved, at least in some ways.

Some good points and there is very much a common thread here...

Not all, but many suicides are often the end result of ruthless economic dysfunction. Poverty, homelessness, scarcity, war, material shallowness, disregard of lives and the environment, and many other totally preventable things contribute.

I've said it before and I'll say it again- all human beings should have access to food and water, shelter, healthcare and all the basic necessities of life, completely free of cost! We have the science and technology to achieve this right now and create an abundance for all, if we simply applied it with the sole purpose of benefiting mankind instead of obscene profits for a select few.

At this point I'll refer anyone still reading to The Venus Project (TVP) and the creation of a Resource Based Economy (RBE). Everybody knows the way things are is fucked, but people don't see any possible solutions. Well there are solutions. My health problems aren't able to be fixed unfortunately- but by telling people about a RBE, if I can help in any way to achieve a better future for the planet before I ctb, that would make me feel like I've done something.

 

[Depressed Cat]

One other problem I have with these suicide prevention options is the rabid behaviour of the crazies who push for "method restriction".

Too many people dying by drinking N? Ban it! Too many people looking for SN? Ban it! Too many people dying by gunshots? Confiscate all guns! Too many people jumping off a bridge? Build a barrier! Too many people dying by consuming pesticide? Ban that pesticide!

I have news for them. Restricting access to one method merely leads the suicidal to other methods, and the overall suicide rate does not drop at all. It has been proven time and again all over the world!

By restricting access to relatively peaceful and dignified means of CTB, the crazies are deliberately pushing suicidal people to more and more dangerous, terrible and traumatic methods. Scumbags!

 

[myopybyproxy]

Suicide hotlines provide me with instant joy (by laughing every time I see one posted or mentioned). So they work for me.

I actually tried several webchats one night and they were so pathetically useless, I found it entertaining. Temporarily lifted my mood as well. Still wanted to die but was chuckling from the robotic, canned responses I received.

 

[Feeding Pigeons]

Its how willfully ignorant they are about this that used to make me furious. Theres no flex in the solutions whatsoever. Its like a flowchart of futility.

A gleeful spite is growing inside of me, I'm starting to become glad that my death will hurt people. Things in the world are going to get way worse, and so many people are going to turn their heads back and forth to look for assistance when the despair hits them, and they'll only receive the same garbage that I and many others have gotten. They won't last half as long as I did.