Tired of calling helplines

[Tsohumgi]

I would usually call a helpline as a responsible adult in a suicidal state. I just want to carry out my plan.

 

[WornOutLife]

I had a terrible experience calling these helplines, you can check my thread if you feel like!
They just don't work. At least for me.

 

[nicelookinhills]

I feel like what they can say is very limited.

 

[Ghost2211]

This group is better than any helpline.

 

[WornOutLife]

This group is better than any helpline.

I second this so much! You've really helped me out LOTS!

 

[the_final_countdown]

Well, sometimes hotlines can only do so much.

If there were a set of words you could listen to that would transform your brain and your life such that you could bear the suffering you're going through, they would be miracle workers.

But they're not. They're just humans. They can help bring a new perspective on the suffering. They can listen. But at the end of the day they don't have magical powers. They can't reach out their hands and cure the blind, transform the mind. They can only listen and talk.

Obviously some hotline workers are better than others but I don't think they should bear the burden for not being able to fix suffering as it exists in the world.

They try.

 

[nicelookinhills]

Well, sometimes hotlines can only do so much.

If there were a set of words you could listen to that would transform your brain and your life such that you could bear the suffering you're going through, they would be miracle workers.

But they're not. They're just humans. They can help bring a new perspective on the suffering. They can listen. But at the end of the day they don't have magical powers. They can't reach out their hands and cure the blind, transform the mind. They can only listen and talk.

Obviously some hotline workers are better than others but I don't think they should bear the burden for not being able to fix suffering as it exists in the world.

They try.

i think it was more about help lines as a whole being ineffective rather than specific workers. but i get where your coming from with help lines being limited

 

[Tsohumgi]

It will just really hurt to die. I don't like pain.

 

[NodusTollens]

—hugs— OP, it sounds like you're experiencing an awful lot of pain & I wish I had more to say or there was something I could do to help you feel better. So I just wanted to reach out to you & say you're not alone. Helplines aren't always the most helpful, though SS is here to offer support if you need it.

Sending positive vibes your way.

 

[pole]

as a person who briefly worked at a crisis hotline, I'm not sure if it's as supportive as it should be. I personally felt like I was being restricted from what I truly wanted to say. they tell you how to behave, what to say, and it just felt forced to me.

i guess it's different for everyone. some people need a ear and shoulder to lean on, someone to listen to what their going through and hope they understand. i just don't expect much good to come out of it in the long run.

 

[Intotheflames]

as a person who briefly worked at a crisis hotline, I'm not sure if it's as supportive as it should be. I personally felt like I was being restricted from what I truly wanted to say. they tell you how to behave, what to say, and it just felt forced to me.

Same here. Volunteered in suicide hotlines, online help sites, and hospital settings. They had specific guidances on what to say and how to respond, all technical and calculated. These experiences made me more cynical than I already was.

 

[pole]

Same here. Volunteered in suicide hotlines, online help sites, and hospital settings. They had specific guidances on what to say and how to respond, all technical and calculated. These experiences made me more cynical than I already was.

yeah exactly. I personally withdrew from it just because I wasn't able to empathize and help people the way I wanted to. It felt superficial and fake to me.

as a person who was on both sides, outside of method talk and such, you can personally argue that SS is a lot more beneficial than a hotline.

i respect the approach of hotlines for wanting to intervene and help. i just personally believe the execution of such approaches and goals is carried out in the wrong way.

 

[NodusTollens]

yeah exactly. I personally withdrew from it just because I wasn't able to empathize and help people the way I wanted to. It felt superficial and fake to me.

as a person who was on both sides, outside of method talk and such, you can personally argue that SS is a lot more beneficial than a hotline.

i respect the approach of hotlines for wanting to intervene and help. i just personally believe the execution of such approaches and goals is carried out in the wrong way.

Same. I volunteered with a helpline & eventually left bc it conflicted with me morally. My location didn't use a script, however, they had a communication model we had to follow.

Build Rapport > Empathize with Struggles > Highlight / Identify solutions > safety plan / offer resources

 

[Weary Soul]

I think help lines are well-intentioned (or at least I would hope so) and they may well help some. But I feel there are far better ways that people might be helped and society is sadly lacking in even trying to implement changes that would truly help. IMO, society is so slow to change commonly held beliefs, and this is killing people.

Fun (or actually Frightening) Fact: Ted Bundy volunteered on a suicide hotline. This was how Ann Rule, one of the people who wrote a biography on him, met him. Her book was titled "The Stranger Beside Me."

 

[Wrennie]

Helplines are terrible... I genuinely believe the people that work for them know next to nothing about mental illness (much like staff at a psych ward).

I once tried to call a suicide hotline and nobody answered lol. At least then I didn't have to listen to any of their crummy advice.

I wish I had alternative options I could provide to you that were helpful to me, but I just can't think of any. Depression is isolating because so few people understand.