Discussion Why does society care more about treating suicidal people like criminals rather than reforming the mental health system?

[d3j3ct3dl0s3r05]

When you initially try to reach out for support, you get stuck on a waiting list for God knows how long and where I am at least, you only get 10 subsidised psych visits per year (which is better than most places I'll admit but not great when you're severely mentally ill). Society claims to want to "help" suicidal people but how?

They point us to highly dismissive suicide hotlines which just send police and ambulances over if you say anything. Psych wards are prisons and only cause more trauma to already broken people, and on top of that, we have to deal with being ostracised by society if we're not overly positive about life. I find that most anti-suicide/pro-life resources are of no use to people living with chronic suicidal ideation and you only ever hear the voices of those with short-term suicidal ideation represented, which is all good, but what about us? Do we not matter too? Or is it better to just ignore those who are living proof that the system is fundamentally broken.

You can't even talk about your issues without having to censor yourself all the time otherwise you'll find yourself restrained, searched and thrown into a prison/ward for an indefinite period of time with no possessions and nothing to do except wallow in your own depression, only to come out more fucked up than before.

I'm just sick of it all.

 

[The Burning Fool]

In this cruel world, you often only get those rights that people in a similar situation have fought for. I blame Abrahamic religions for a large amount of the torture inflicted on members of societies that have been influenced by them throughout history. There's no question about how unjust humanity is; I feel you.

 

[lack]

during my second time of being handcuffed and brought to hospital against my will for merely expressing I was suicidal, I realised then that i would never receive the help from the system that I feel like I so desperately want and need. compassion. It started off that I wanted to be treated compassionately while I tried to receive help for recovery.. being put into hospitalization so many times over the last 20 years for different mental illness related things, it was one of the things that I think wore me down the most.

It's so fucking unfair that we're treated this way. honestly,.. I hope this is the dark ages for mental health. like, of course there are the actual dark ages where mental health wasn't even considered to be, like, a thing... but I just feel like one day society could look back on the treatment of people today and be appalled that this is the normal way to treat such a vulnerable part of the population..

 

[HappyForever?]

Because it's easy and it can get the suicide numbers down. They don't care about actually helping people, they only care about numbers.

 

[Louise Payne]

When you initially try to reach out for support, you get stuck on a waiting list for God knows how long and where I am at least, you only get 10 subsidised psych visits per year (which is better than most places I'll admit but not great when you're severely mentally ill). Society claims to want to "help" suicidal people but how?

They point us to highly dismissive suicide hotlines which just send police and ambulances over if you say anything. Psych wards are prisons and only cause more trauma to already broken people, and on top of that, we have to deal with being ostracised by society if we're not overly positive about life. I find that most anti-suicide/pro-life resources are of no use to people living with chronic suicidal ideation and you only ever hear the voices of those with short-term suicidal ideation represented, which is all good, but what about us? Do we not matter too? Or is it better to just ignore those who are living proof that the system is fundamentally broken.

You can't even talk about your issues without having to censor yourself all the time otherwise you'll find yourself restrained, searched and thrown into a prison/ward for an indefinite period of time with no possessions and nothing to do except wallow in your own depression, only to come out more fucked up than before.

I'm just sick of it all.

Yes. I just posted the same. And they say that we are the "insane" ones? There is even a law in my country about it. How nuts is that?
.
.
Makes me feel like .... where do we have to go for help .... without getting locked up?
By the way... mental health services are not cheap in my country.
I found out from a friend who is a psychiatrist at the government hospital that we do have some resources that are funded by the government so I will probably explore more. If there is help for sufferers in my country, I will share in the Recovery section.

 

[HighFlight]

The system is based on a lack of knowledge in mental health. And it's easier to just let it continue then to actually find solutions and fix the problem. Additionally, getting people who really understand mental health issues into positions to guide policy decisions will be difficult.

 

[su1c1dal-dungeon]

its too much effort, time, and money to truly change the system. and honestly, where would you even start? the governments want money, the workers at the hospitals want money, it all comes down to that. if theyre getting paid by doing the bare minimum and getting away with it,, why change it?
thats truly how the system works. its sad.

 

[Scythe]

It's like the places where they have laws where you can't be a nice person and give the homeless food. They would probably save themselves some rescources if this rule is removed. But for whatever reason it is still a rule because the politicians are pieces of shit. Sure they can save a lot more money if they let us be, but they don't really like us. So they normalized getting the police to harrass us.
Anyways, that was me being sacrastic, my actual answer is well people don't talk about it. It's just us we're on our own. Everyone is talking about us but nobody wants to talk to us. Frankly, the problems we have are deeply rooted in society sometimes and it's easier for the politicians to pretend they care by making rules that "save" us.

 

[HighFlight]

Changing the original question slightly...

What would a functional mental health system look like?

 

[Ampsvx123]

The mad realm of the livings operates as it was designed to do, there is no motive to understand, in its perpetual restlessness, it will do time and time again the incomprehensible, the unwise. It needs not to be changed. All is well and fair, for serenity and wisdom and peace, have the deads.

 

[Forever Sleep]

I'm guessing it's the cheapest option. I'm curious really. What do you think would work? I've not gone that far down the therapy/ medication route. But, have you experienced help that was effective?

 

[AshClouds]

Why does society criminalize people with mental illness in general? Mental Illness is seen as some sort of character flaw, viewed as "crazy" people who pose a threat to everyone else. I mean there are a few people who do act violently, but that vast majority of us are just trying to live our lives day by day, just like everyone else

Tell people about your condition, they start making negative assumptions based on stereotypes because they have a limited view in the scope of everything.

Type in "mental illness" in a thesaurus and you'll get mostly negative terms like "crack pot", "crazy", "lunatic", "demented".
If you get put in a psyche ward by paramedics, that gets placed on your record and shows up on background checks. If you get put in a regular hospital by the same people, that doesn't get placed on your permanent record.

People in general look at individuals with psychological problems with trepidation and they rather see them removed and taken away out of sight.

 

[MyChoiceAlone]

you can't fix what you do not understand

 

[foreverfalling]

You're being made an example of so the rest of the more controllable part of the population stays in line. They don't need to fix you, they just need the majority of people to not be like you.

 

[UKscotty]

I don't blame the health staff, I have met some good ones.

The reality is that there is very very little they can do. Once someone is suicidal and crying for help, locking them up is pretty much all anyone can do.

Other than pump us with pills, tell us to get out for a walk, or write a feelings journal, not much else exists.

The mind is just not well understood, I think it unfair to blame medical and police staff, its all they can do.

I do appreciate I live in the UK where the situation is quite a lot better and my experience has been overall good.

 

[pthnrdnojvsc]

It's about control keeping an individual in the prison, a suicide prohibition state.

They are saying " this is what life is . You have to live by our standards. We get to decide when you die Not you. We get to decide what is right and wrong and true and what u can purchase, nembutal and assisted suicide we arbitrarily decided to make illegal a crime. We decided to define anyone saying they want to commit suicide as mentally ill... "

It is not objective truth that someone who says they want to commit suicide is mentally ill and needs to be locked up. That is a lie and oppression.

And all their standards and truths are just subjective ideas they invented for their false ideology. It's all fiction. Fictional ideas portrayed as objective truth.

Tell me I'm mentally ill when I challenge ur fiction. What is the objective meaning of life ? There is none. Why should I continue living since I'm going to die anyway? There is no objective reasons only ur fictional ideas u say are true to enslave everyone

You can see the insanity and illogic of their so called truths. For example even some human age 60 or older who says they are in severe pain can't purchase nembutal or assisted suicide services to escape their suffering. But any adult also who says they are suffering can't purchase nembutal or assisted suicide services : and there is no rational reason they can give to say why this is the situation . So 1 million worldwide per year have to kill themselves with risky brutal painful methods. 29 times that many attempt 29 million per year

It's about taking away an individual's choice , personal autonomy, liberty

 

[turntechGodhead]

it is so sad seeing ppl being so incapable of understanding 1 another they just drug u up on a bunch of meds that basically make u feel n act like a robot but also throw u in places that cause more harm than actual help it is rlly such a shame we cannot understand each other unless u hv been in the same position which in cases like these it barely happens

 

[NeedAnEscape]

Governments see our issues as a waste of time and money. We already feel hopeless, distrustful, and bitter. They see the mentally ill as beyond saving, and they don't sustain the resources that are necessary to support people going through crisis. The system is fundamentally broken and flawed, and nobody will listen to the wishes of suicidal people. The most they do is direct us toward insufficient resources and block off methods of escape from this world. They don't address the underlying problems behind our issues. As long as suicide numbers decrease, that is considered a 'victory.'