Discussion have you ever told a therapist about your suicidal ideation?

[su1c1dal-dungeon]

hi. this is my first post here as an official member but ive been lurking for quite a while.
im wondering if yall who have seeked therapy ever mentioned your suicidal thoughts to your therapist. i always bite my tongue but it makes me wonder if being in therapy but not talking about suicide makes it all worthless. ive just always been terrified to say the wrong thing and tbh even saying suicide in therapy is probably enough for them to 5150 you.

 

[LaVieEnRose]

Yes. Let's just say it didn't end well.

If you do mention suicidal thoughts just strongly emphasize you don't have any immediate plans. They care about liability more than anything else so that should placate them.They can't read your mind so all they have to go off off is what the clients explicitly say. They don't really ever stop to think about the implications of having such an oppressive threat of hospitalization loom over every session but there are you go that, as you alluded to.

 

[Ligand]

I only went once but I did not mention it. It didn't matter because the dude for sure knew I did not want to live. He used the word suicide like 5 times over the course of an hour but I never took the bait.

At the end of the session he basically told me my life sounded so bad that he didn't know if he could help me. I respected his honesty haha

 

[snowcloud9]

My therapist didn't know about my suicidal thoughts until the university notified her that I had attempted to jump off a building. After that I couldn't continue seeing her anymore without feeling uncomfortable. We used to have a good relationship where I talked about my anxiety, my philosophy, my friends, and my life goals. But after that, she would always look at me with something akin to sadness and pity. It ruined things for me.

 

[d3j3ct3dl0s3r05]

Yeah but I make it a point to emphasise the point that "it's all the past and not relevant anymore" (even though it is) just to avoid being treated like a criminal in the shite public mental health system lol

 

[Lulzacruel]

If you do mention suicidal thoughts just strongly emphasize you don't have any immediate plans.

at the very least when i practiced in canada as a hotline worker this is 100% true

we only disclose shit to twelve if they either come to us and we cant prove to the judge that confidentiality>warrant or if you have IMMEDIATE plans to kill or kill yourself. we MUST disclose child abuse of a minor or after a warrant or else we could get 90 days for contempt and our license being taken

same with italy but minors have less protection from abuse claims as we will be fined 516/103 FUCKING euros (516 for high level officials like police and 103 for people like me in call centres) if we refuse to report per time

italy also has less protection over anonymity of those calling (i.e there is no way for us to delete information even if our client requests so unless it is under GDPR if they used our computer tools or accessed our website)

only talk to your therapist about the truth if you accept the risk

 

[ChronicallyCynical]

My therapist didn't know about my suicidal thoughts until the university notified her that I had attempted to jump off a building. After that I couldn't continue seeing her anymore without feeling uncomfortable. We used to have a good relationship where I talked about my anxiety, my philosophy, my friends, and my life goals. But after that, she would always look at me with something akin to sadness and pity. It ruined things for me.

That honestly sucks. Yeah, it's natural to feel bad for someone you think is somehow more unfortunate for their way of thinking than you, but it still sucks that she would treat it like that, especially given I'm pretty sure a mental health professional of all people should know people don't really like pity.

 

[LaVieEnRose]

only talk to your therapist about the truth if you accept the risk

But there shouldn't be any real of being hospitalized if you do adequate damage control.

 

[Lulzacruel]

But there shouldn't be any real of being hospitalized if you do adequate damage control.

when i say that you should accept the risk it means that you also accept that you might accidentally reveal your lies somewhere in the convo

 

[vitbar]

I told my doctor, a few different people assessing me, people on helplines, and both the therapists I've had. I went into a lot of detail too about the planning and exact thoughts.

I was clear I didn't feel like I was in immediate danger, but that my journey would end in suicide and that it was getting closer.

 

[uniqueusername987]

I've mentioned it. Nothing has ever happened as long as I don't say I have intent. (I've always wondered why they bother asking about intent, why would I tell you if I have intent?) I've told therapists about details of plans before. They just ask if I'm safe and I say yes.

 

[lillmonix3]

No. The last time I talked to a psychotherapist was after I left the mental hospital.

She said that she was never able to figure me out, said that I am very mysterious and they would be interested in working with me again.

Sometimes they even brought many doctors from different departments (children's, adult) so that they also tried to talk to me.They also could not understand what I was hiding .

And I hid from them the fact that I was engaged in self-harm and had plans for suicide.

In general, it was interesting to watch how they try to formulate questions in different ways in order to find out the truth.

 

[SSamGarrison]

Yes. I was desperate to tell someone and tired of lying all the time (my day to day statements ripped people off to my thoughts). He told my parents without informing me he would, and I was quite angry for a while. Nothing else really came of it, but my parents were super upset. Everyone overreacts to suicidal thoughts, perhaps understandably, but still quite frustrating. The internet is the only place I can really say what I mean without worrying people I care about

 

[waRmblanket]

yes, but personally i didn't tell the entire truth.

i've told my therapist i am suicidal, she knew about that and often times asked me to rate my suicidal ideation. whenever i did, i told her lower than reality. i also never told her i had a plan, i told her i love my family too much to do anything. while yes i do love my family so much to not want to ctb, i know i'm in too much pain to stay.

 

[rosa.rosa]

I've told my therapist, people at the suicide helpline, and my family.

I always said that I had no plans of actually doing it, but that was mainly so they wouldn't contact my family or authorities. My family knows about my suicidal ideation, but only because my mom walked in on me when I was attempting. I broke down and told her everything: my self-harm, dysphoria, and previous attempts. My dad walked into my room the next day, grabbed my arm, and just told me to stop, as in being suicidal.

 

[ayaneechan]

Yes, last time i did was the 4th September, i told it to my psychiatrist. Its somehow strange that i not end up in a psych ward again doing this, i could understand he was scared after i told it.
I think he even knows i not have the resources now for actually CTB, or to explain better to be almost sure the attempt works. Attempting and failing again is not an option for me

 

[sserafim]

Nope cuz I don't want to get sent to the psych ward and forcibly put on meds. I'll gladly keep my thoughts to myself, thanks. Honestly I haven't told anyone about my ideation, I just post about it on here. I don't trust people…my thoughts are mainly passive tho, I don't have an active or actionable plan yet. It's more of me just wishing I could die in my sleep

 

[Lookingtoflyfree]

I was thinking how much I mask in my therapy appointments - I'm on here during the week, and during the daytime sort of be productive looking for work. But while ideation hasn't come up in the sessions, here she is trying to help me live my life, and it's helpful on some level - and I'm in the back of my mind going 'I may not be here in 6 months'. I'm kind of trapped now because the therapy is keeping me functional enough to do my plan, but I think in the last month I'll just cancel and tell her I've moved, and she'll never hear about the ending. I wouldn't tell her as I think it would end up on meds on the ward and I don't need that. I'll keep planning and that gives me a way forward more than therapy. I should not be here any more.

 

[divinemistress36]

I just tell her all the time I wish I was dead but I don't have a plan..As long as you don't say you have a plan they won't lock you away

 

[UKscotty]

Depends why you are telling them.

If you really want to CTB it's a very bad idea.

If you don't actually want to CTB and you want to get well, it might help but it will come with risk of being interviewed or locked up for a few days.

 

[Venessolotic]

I've never informed a psychiatrist of my suicidal ideation and I never will. Psychiatrists cause nothing but trouble and I've always strived to avoid them.

 

[Smith Winston]

hi. this is my first post here as an official member but ive been lurking for quite a while.
im wondering if yall who have seeked therapy ever mentioned your suicidal thoughts to your therapist. i always bite my tongue but it makes me wonder if being in therapy but not talking about suicide makes it all worthless. ive just always been terrified to say the wrong thing and tbh even saying suicide in therapy is probably enough for them to 5150 you.

This depends on where you live.
This forum is international by nature, so for many people, where they live, suicide is not a criminal offence.
You might not necessarily be 'sectioned' just for saying that you have thoughts of suicide.
A great many people actively think about suicide every day although they may never actually go through with it.
Where it perhaps crosses the line is where a therapist is told that the person with suicidal thoughts is considering harming others or property.
That is something that might trigger a response.

 

[stuckinthemud]

Yes…well psychologist I have from mental health team. They are understanding, and aware of the thoughts and suffering I'm in. They have never tried to section me. I've told them I've attempted in the past too.

Unless you disclose a solid plan, date etc then they won't do anything-this is in the UK anyway.
Loads of people battle suicidal thoughts daily.

 

[hopelessgirl]

I told my psychiatrist about my method but that I'm not actively suicidal anymore. But that last part feels like it's changing again and my head is fantasizing about an upcoming date.

 

[CPY]

Yes actually I've disclosed suicidal thoughts to my past therapist and psychiatrist when it was really bad and SI kicked in but just because I knew laws here are very strict and it's almost impossible to be committed for just suicidal ideation.

My past therapist even said choosing suicide is part of my freedoms but advised against it