Are suicide helplines helpful?

[Whitebigwall]

Do you feel suicide and general helplines helpful?

 

[Sinai Silence]

Not for me no, it will be different with each helpline though. It might be different for you though so I won't tell you not to.

Every experience I've had has included super long wait times and people who are generally unhelpful on the other end.

Always run the caution that they will put you in a mental ward or call the police if they feel its necessary.

 

[Deleted member 17949]

They can be, but I have not had good experiences with them. Felt ignored for the entire call and gave up and went to try partial in the end.

 

[WillOxyWork]

I've always been too afraid to call on the chance they call the cops and try to institutionalize me.

I know some people have had positive experiences.

 

[Wisdom3_1-9]

I have never had the experience personally. Every comment I have ever heard from someone regarding the helplines has been negative, which is why I've never called myself.

 

[BRAINWORMS]

When I called, the person on the other end did their best to calm me down, but it definitely felt like they weren't trained well enough. Lots of awkward silence and generic platitudes. Bless their heart for trying though. I think the text line is much better.

 

[Lorntroubles]

If you want to be heard and have an actual person on the other line listen to you, it can help.

But usually their advice sucks great big culo. They are there to try and de-escalate very tense situations but they definitely are not life coaches and go by a horrible script.

 

[VoidGirl]

They are very useful if empty platitudes and canned scripts are something that helps you.

In reality suicide prevention hotlines are mostly useful in the cases where the intent is very impulsive and caused by instant emotions in reaction to something negative happening to someone. They will have very little to no effect on someone who has been suicidal for a long time who has rationally decided it is their choice.

 

[EmbraceOfTheVoid]

I've never considered calling one because they can't fix the problems that make me want to commit suicide in the first place. Their job is to "prevent" you from killing yourself and they will call the cops on you who will promptly imprison you so you can be subjected to torture and cruelty. I don't see how this can be helpful to anyone that is genuinely suicidal.

They are very useful if empty platitudes and canned scripts are something that helps you.

In reality suicide prevention hotlines are mostly useful in the cases where the intent is very impulsive and caused by instant emotions in reaction to something negative happening to someone. They will have very little to no effect on someone who has been suicidal for a long time who has rationally decided it is their choice.

The void is here. Sorry I had to do it.

 

[VoidGirl]

The void is here. Sorry I had to do it.

Hahahahaha that is hilarious. Such Serendipity

 

[CursedForDisaster]

I've never called so no

 

[Werewolf]

Well I'm sure they can however I believe it's tailored more towards those that are faced with sudden suicidal impulses rather than those who are genuinely committed.
I've had my share of conversations with these help groups over the years and really it's just a person on the other end agreeing with you and telling you it will be ok.

 

[iDieUDie80]

Assuming you reside in the U.S., calling the national hotline will transfer you to your nearest crisis center (likely on the county level), so it's unsurprising that people will have all sorts of different experiences.

I took a chance and called them once and got through to someone almost immediately. We talked for probably more than an hour, I felt like she really listened and was helpful and respectful. They will not contact authorities unless you are of imminent danger (i.e., actively harming yourself). They followed up with me too after I admitted into inpatient. Again, I can only speak to my own experience, but mine was positive.

 

[TAW122]

I have never called and never will. The risk is too great especially in the US where they can trace your phone call if they believe you to be in imminent danger (according to their own discretion). Based on what I've read and the procedures and protocols they go through, I'd conclude that in general, no it's not helpful. Especially for people who have made up their minds and have thought-out their bus (death) thoroughly. If anything, a hotline would interfere and ruin said plan, which defeats the purpose of making a rational, well-thought out choice to CTB.

 

[Folie]

It helped me the one time I was closest to ctb'ing!

 

[pole]

if i'm being honest, personally working with one has opened my eyes.

alot of it is truly trained responses and its moreso fixated on an approach to de-escalate crisis situations, rather than hear someone out and feel validated and feel as if your feeling heard and cared for. i've been restricted and prevented from speaking the way i'd like to speak because it doesnt conform to their approaches.

so if you need someone to genuinly talk to, understand your ideation and validate your problems, and trust they won't simply question you about your suicidal ideation and focus in on stopping you from doing it and neglect everything else thats going on with you, hotlines MAY NOT BE for you. thats just my opinion.

from working with the bigger one and also being a person whos contacted a helpline before, i get why people feel so negative about them. it just doesn't feel real and "enough" unfortunately.

 

[KleinerWolf]

if i'm being honest, personally working with one has opened my eyes.

alot of it is truly trained responses and its moreso fixated on an approach to de-escalate crisis situations, rather than hear someone out and feel validated and feel as if your feeling heard and cared for. i've been restricted and prevented from speaking the way i'd like to speak because it doesnt conform to their approaches.

so if you need someone to genuinly talk to, understand your ideation and validate your problems, and trust they won't simply question you about your suicidal ideation and focus in on stopping you from doing it and neglect everything else thats going on with you, hotlines MAY NOT BE for you. thats just my opinion.

from working with the bigger one and also being a person whos contacted a helpline before, i get why people feel so negative about them. it just doesn't feel real and "enough" unfortunately.

True.
Suicide helplines tend to appear impersonal to me,
but I still call them when I'm struggling.
As Hasssuuuuu mentioned, they focus on de-escalation and ensuring you are safe in the time being.
I consider them not completely useless.

 

[CarbonMonoxide]

I've never considered calling one because they can't fix the problems that make me want to commit suicide in the first place. Their job is to "prevent" you from killing yourself and they will call the cops on you who will promptly imprison you so you can be subjected to torture and cruelty. I don't see how this can be helpful to anyone that is genuinely suicidal.



The void is here. Sorry I had to do it.

I agree with you on this. In my experience, non-suicidal people tend to give terrible advice regarding suicide. It's usually 'life is so great', 'think about the ones you'll leave behind' or some version of those two lines. I find coming on here to ss much more helpful than any other place I've been.

Edit: I've come to believe that nobody can help you deal with suicidal tendencies. It seems as though only you can make the final decision to either do it or live another day. This is why I've stopped seeking help irl, now it's me, myself and I.

 

[AwokenToReality]

Everytime I've considered calling one, they haven't answered (Samaritans - UK), which has ultimately made me give up on them before even getting a chance to speak to anyone. I understand a lot of people want their help and support and it's not just me calling, of course.

My first attempt was impulsive; I knew I needed to speak to someone and tried calling them, waited around 45 minutes on hold trying to connect with someone, had no answer and well, I attempted to CTB. I can't really say if they'd answered I wouldn't have attempted something, but if I'd managed to speak to someone who was able to calm me down and just listen in that moment, events could have turned out different perhaps.

 

[AnxietyAttack44]

No

 

[lifeisbutadream]

Do you feel suicide and general helplines helpful?

I think the very fact that u asked this question means u should give it a try, and if you don't have a rapport with the person on the lne hang up and call again and get someone else. I think they could be good in cerain situations, like someone said, impulsive situations, like being so depressed because your boyfriend or girlfriend left you.

 

[Bauhaus]

I feel suicide lines are just an easy way for governments to ease there conscience regarding suicidal people.
I don't believe in them, and what an awkward and impersonal way to talk about suicide to a total stranger !

 

[oasis]

Wow I didn't know that they would call the police. Let's call the police on someone who is already struggling, what could go wrong.

 

[Morphosis]

It really depends who you get and as someone else commented, whether you have a rapport with them or not. The first person I spoke to was incredible, listened to me for an hour and gave me more help in one phone call than the entire medical profession in over a year.
She organised telephone counselling for 6 sessions and unfortunately that person was completely useless. Obviously reading off a script, not listening properly and giving bullshit platitudes; sounded too young and inexperienced. Said she wanted me to be honest then when I outlined my plans for suicide, said I was scaring her and she didn't like it. In the final session, told me I needed to quit with the "poor me" attitude, I wasn't a child etc. (Is there anyone genuinely suicidal who isn't feeling a bit sorry for themselves? Surely when you're so desperate you've reached that point, it pretty much means you're about as sorry for yourself as you can get? All the kicks up the ass and empty platitudes in the world aren't going to suddenly turn things around and fill your life full of rainbows and sunshine.) I replied that I had clearly frustrated the hell out of her and she said yes you have. Wow. So much for ending on a positive note. That has really put me off ever calling them back. If I knew I could speak to the first girl or someone similar, it would be helpful but I don't want to take the chance.

 

[oasis]

> told me I needed to quit with the "poor me" attitude
Were they expecting you to say something like wow you're right, how could I not think of that? Wish there were more people like the first person you talked to on the other end of the line .

 

[KleinerWolf]

It really depends who you get and as someone else commented, whether you have a rapport with them or not. The first person I spoke to was incredible, listened to me for an hour and gave me more help in one phone call than the entire medical profession in over a year.
She organised telephone counselling for 6 sessions and unfortunately that person was completely useless. Obviously reading off a script, not listening properly and giving bullshit platitudes; sounded too young and inexperienced. Said she wanted me to be honest then when I outlined my plans for suicide, said I was scaring her and she didn't like it. In the final session, told me I needed to quit with the "poor me" attitude, I wasn't a child etc. (Is there anyone genuinely suicidal who isn't feeling a bit sorry for themselves? Surely when you're so desperate you've reached that point, it pretty much means you're about as sorry for yourself as you can get? All the kicks up the ass and empty platitudes in the world aren't going to suddenly turn things around and fill your life full of rainbows and sunshine.) I replied that I had clearly frustrated the hell out of her and she said yes you have. Wow. So much for ending on a positive note. That has really put me off ever calling them back. If I knew I could speak to the first girl or someone similar, it would be helpful but I don't want to take the chance.

I agree. you take your chances with who you get on the other side of the line.
Some people are so inexperienced. It's close to making me laugh and stop thinking about suicide altogether.

 

[Morphosis]

> told me I needed to quit with the "poor me" attitude
Were they expecting you to say something like wow you're right, how could I not think of that? Wish there were more people like the first person you talked to on the other end of the line .

Exactly! And if talking about suicide scares her, what the hell is she doing in that job??! A suicide helpline counsellor who finds talking about suicide scary and she didn't like it?? I couldn't believe what I was hearing!!

 

[KleinerWolf]

Exactly! And if talking about suicide scares her, what the hell is she doing in that job??! A suicide helpline counsellor who finds talking about suicide scary and she didn't like it?? I couldn't believe what I was hearing!!

Bizarre situations always make me laugh.

 

[oasis]

As long as you don't mention suicide it's fine. It's making people on this forum scared.

 

[Morphosis]

As long as you don't mention suicide it's fine. It's making people on this forum scared.