Did it help telling your psychologist you have suicidal thoughts?

[Caspers]

I was just wondering what people's experiences have been with telling medical professionals you have suicidal thoughts? This can range from mentioning you wish you weren't on this planet to outright saying you had a plan. I'd like to hear how it worked out for you if you're up for sharing.

 

[Hirokami]

It helped in a sense that I finally had a place where I could express some of my thoughts. Though, I felt the only reason why I didn't get sectioned is because I emphasized I didn't have a plan to end my life but rather I just had ideation.

The advice my therapist gave me, though, is that I should distract myself whenever I have those thoughts. It kind of helps, though there are days where I am unable to do anything due to how bad my depression gets.

 

[Sherri]

Yes I did to all of them. Only one could do something for me.

 

[t-rex]

I can't say it really has. It hasn't hurt, either. I just feel like the multiple therapists I've told about these thoughts don't know what to say about it, other than "distract, distract." It seems distraction is no match for my thoughts. Whatever soul-sickness is causing them isn't solved by distraction.

As for psychiatrists, he is finally recommending me for ECT. I think the suicidal thoughts finally got his attention.

 

[combatcuteness]

My previous psychiatrist was a bad clique come true. First time I came out about it she said it was because i wasn't getting good treatment. Later I would mention once during each session saying treatment wasn't helping and she'll coldly say if you feel you need more help you can always go to er.

Unfortunately I had to learn professionals are not immune to stigma. In fact their expertise might make them overconfident.

 

[InezSerrano]

Yes I did to all of them. Only one could do something for me.

How did you find the one that could?

 

[Slaanesh]

Kind of, I mean going to a psychiatrist helped me finally get a diagnosis so that's alright.

You're likely to go through a number of them, before you have one that suits you.

 

[Myono93]

I was thrown in a hospital cell for being too honest with a psychiatrist. I think I said I wanted to blow my brains out or something like that. I was in college at the time and police/EMTs showed up at my dorm and dragged me away. It kind of ruined my life. Never got an education. The school wouldn't refund me the money and banned me from campus. I was a legal liability to everyone at that point. It took me a while to pay that debt and the debt from the hospitalization. I've never trusted the mental health industry again after that.

A lot of this was me being a stupid kid and not knowing how the world worked. When someone says to you that it's safe to be free and open with them they may not actually mean it. Most people do their job for the money. I was dumber than average to say the least.

 

[PDAnnie2610]

My previous psychiatrist was a bad clique come true. First time I came out about it she said it was because i wasn't getting good treatment. Later I would mention once during each session saying treatment wasn't helping and she'll coldly say if you feel you need more help you can always go to er.

Unfortunately I had to learn professionals are not immune to stigma. In fact their expertise might make them overconfident.

Agreed.

 

[InezSerrano]

I was thrown in a hospital cell for being too honest with a psychiatrist. I think I said I wanted to blow my brains out or something like that. I was in college at the time and police/EMTs showed up at my dorm and dragged me away. It kind of ruined my life. Never got an education. The school wouldn't refund me the money and banned me from campus. I was a legal liability to everyone at that point. It took me a while to pay that debt and the debt from the hospitalization. I've never trusted the mental health industry again after that.

A lot of this was me being a stupid kid and not knowing how the world worked. When someone says to you that it's safe to be free and open with them they may not actually mean it. Most people do their job for the money. I was dumber than average to say the least.

This is why if you are going to pursue mental help, it's very important to figure out where the line is. For me, it's always been an actual plan to commit an action, not just thoughts, but I've had little to no experience with school counselors/therapists.

 

[Remember-Me-Not]

I never got the chance to talk to my therapist about my suicidal thoughts. I only had access to a college counseling center, and I knew they had different guidelines from off-campus counselors. When I say different guidelines, I mean they have a higher threshold of "this person is a danger to themselves" because there's probably a huge liability thing if the student does end up killing themselves.

 

[Feeding Pigeons]

It helped in a sense that I finally had a place where I could express some of my thoughts. Though, I felt the only reason why I didn't get sectioned is because I emphasized I didn't have a plan to end my life but rather I just had ideation.

The advice my therapist gave me, though, is that I should distract myself whenever I have those thoughts. It kind of helps, though there are days where I am unable to do anything due to how bad my depression gets.

I love that we have JoJo fans on this forum. I don't agree with that advice though. Constantly running away from your mind is not a good thing. The advice I always got was to be "mindful", which is to say acknowledge the feelings and just let them flow, don't push them away, don't give in to them, just kind of be aware and neutral about them. I want to believe that you can practice some sort of mentality that would alleviate depression? I think theres some sort of legitimacy to it but its just a drop in the bucket if your environment is awful and you have no resources. You can't do anything about reality inevitably slamming into your face.

 

[motel rooms]

The advice my therapist gave me, though, is that I should distract myself whenever I have those thoughts.

 

[Zzzzz]

Yes and I've never found it fruitful.

 

[TheHelpfulGiant]

Although those in the mental health industry often seem to have little anecdotal experience and a warped view on suicides as somehow your future self is missing out on the stuff that will either never happen or won't cure your unbearable mental state; my personal experience was reletively beneficial as I told my psychiatrist all about how I hung myself and what happened. I frequently reminded him of the euphoric effect and how it seems to have been a turning point. I was put on moderate risk of suicide and high risk of self harm. My medications were taken more seriously and my dosages increased. He did suggest 24hr hospitalised care but I declined due to agoraphobia.
Overall, my situation wasn't made worse by communicating, though I may have done it in a rather rational manner.

 

[Bedrock48]

Yeah, I told my therapist I had a plan but chickened out saying what I would be using. She went through questions trying to guess (naming like rope, pills etc) but didn't figure it out. I think I've found it helpful being more honest with her. She saw me more regularly around that time and checked up on me which made me feel less alone at least.

 

[ormaybeyoucouldchill]

I told my therapist and my psychiatrist. I think being as honest as possible helps.

That being said, after hearing some of the horror stories of people getting sectioned, I would be very careful about the information you give.

 

[fatefulstillness]

I wasn't very lucky with therapists. When it came to the topic of suicide, they were all either dismissive, too uncomfortable or afraid to do or say anything, or simply irrational. I got the message, though: they couldn't provide the space I was looking for. They also could've been a lot nicer and honest about it.