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aBLEACHyindividual

Member
Sep 5, 2020
70
Under NYS law, health professionals so I think like doctors psychiatrists therapists etc have to tell someone's family that they are feeling suicidal once they admit, and if they even admit that they are feeling homicidal will probably throw them in jail which I am afraid of because I want to keep my gun rights and I have heard of cops straight up killing people especially blacks after calling emergency hotlines for mental help. Does anyone have experience with this, be honest with me is it worth reaching out and telling the truth of how you feel or is it better to just take it to the grave?
 
Q

Quiet Desperation

Lonely wanderer
Dec 7, 2020
204
Not a professional so take with several grains of salt.

Not familiar with NY law in particular, but yes generally speaking in the US therapists have a duty to report if they suspect someone poses a risk of imminent harm to themselves or others. You can do therapy without being committed so long as you understand the line to walk.

The common assessment approach is something along the lines of: do you sometimes feel like you would be better off dead? have you been (= big risk factor) / are you currently (= imminent) suicidal? do you have a concrete plan (= red alert)? If you answer yes to all of those you will probably be referred. If you just say you're depressed and talk about why that generally should not be sufficient by itself to commit you. 25% of American adults are on some kind of psychotropic drug so it's pretty common. It is worth trying imho but finding a good therapist who clicks with you and has something helpful to say about your particular situation can require some shopping around. If you're unlucky like me you may encounter some total quacks.

I'm sure it varies between states but if you do get committed you are usually going to be referred to a psych ward in a hospital not a jail. If you get committed you will most likely lose your firearm rights at least for a time but until then it's unlikely unless you express an imminent threat to harm yourself or others so I wouldn't let this stand in the way of asking for help. Read up on your state laws to know more.

Your fear about police violence is understandable, they have done some heinous shit for sure. Some things to think about are how the call gets placed to them and how things go down at the scene. If anywhere along the line a weapon is mentioned, or behavior they have trouble understanding, or they expect some kind of problem, the risk for a problem goes way up because a lot of cops are not trained well. If it's just a wellness check and you are rational and compliant the risk will be lower. Can never be 100% sure you won't get a bad cop but those things would lower the chances of violence imho.

Hope you find someone who can help.
 
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N

noaccount

Enlightened
Oct 26, 2019
1,099
So if you're a minor they might tell your family, if you're an adult they'd just call 911...
It's *theoretically* supposed to be based on present expressed INTENT to kill self or others, so some mandated reporters (doctors, psychs, social workers) will be more cool about this and as long as you say you "don't have a plan" (just ideation) you'll be fine. Others have taken much smaller things and spun them as "proof" a person is suicidal/homicidal, it depends on the individual unfortunately.
There are a couple "warmlines," out of Colorado, Massachusetts, etc, that do not practice "active rescue" (ie calling fucking 911 on people) and for some added privacy *67 before dialing blocks your caller ID - which does NOT work when calling national suicide hotline, btw.
 

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