My friend is considering suicide

[Admiral Crunch]

Alright, a friend of mine has been through some pretty rough shit for the past year and a half. She's been bullied
relentlesly by almost everyone besides myself and two other people, her parents done seem to give a damn about her and her older sister was killed six months ago
in a car accident.

I've always done my best to help her get past this sort of thing but I doubt she could take much
more of it. About ten minutes ago, she told me she wants to kill herself. I strongly believe
suicide is a terrible solution to anything, no matter what it is killing yourself won't fix
shit. Since she has a history of self inflicted wounds, I'm scared she might actually do it.

I need some help on getting her to rethink this, I don't plan on just letting her die.

 

[Lionsfan]

If she's thinking about doing it like today then call the police/hospital/somebody right away so she can get help.

If she's just saying it as an option in the future, then tell somebody else (a professional/parent/boss) asap who can get her help.

Seriously, suicidal thoughts aren't something that just advice from strangers can help with, no matter who or where you're getting it from.

Please note: We are not professionals, counselors, doctors, mental therapists, or social workers. If you feel that you need help and not just advice, you should contact a professional to get that help. You can find a ever-expanding listing of contact information to get help below.[footnote]from the Forum Guidelines, so look there for the list[/footnote]

I would hate for you to have your friend commit suicide, this is something that professionals can handle a lot better than we can

 

[artanis_neravar]

Alright, a friend of mine has been through some pretty rough shit for the past year and a half. She's been bullied
relentlesly by almost everyone besides myself and two other people, her parents done seem to give a damn about her and her older sister was killed six months ago
in a car accident.

I've always done my best to help her get past this sort of thing but I doubt she could take much
more of it. About ten minutes ago, she told me she wants to kill herself. I strongly believe
suicide is a terrible solution to anything, no matter what it is killing yourself won't fix
shit. Since she has a history of self inflicted wounds, I'm scared she might actually do it.

I need some help on getting her to rethink this, I don't plan on just letting her die.

Tell your parents, your teachers, your doctor, anyone and everyone in a position of authority you can. Let them help you. Tell your friend how much she means to you and make sure she knows that you will miss her. Try your best to make her realize that suicide will affect more people then just herself.

All of that being said, if she really wants to commit suicide there may be nothing you can do to stop her.

EDIT: She may hate you for telling, but trust me, it is better knowing she is alive and hating you, then to know that you might have been able to prevent her death but still did nothing

 

[cookyy2k]

I need some help on getting her to rethink this, I don't plan on just letting her die.

Ok, sit her down and tell her you're worried and what to help.

Use this: http://depression.about.com/od/suicideprevent/a/suicidesafetyplan.htm and make one.

They really really help in my experience, I've sat a few people down and told them I'm worried and made one with them, one was after I had to call the police to their house after getting a "goobye" email, they needed medical treatment fast or would have suceeded, the next day we made one together and she hasn't attempted or even expressed desire to comit suicide since so I'd say they work.

I'm by no means a profesional, I'm just sharing what has worked for me in your situation before.

Tell your parents, your teachers, your doctor, anyone and everyone in a position of authority you can. Let them help you. Tell your friend how much she means to you and make sure she knows that you will miss her. Try your best to make her realize that suicide will affect more people then just herself.

All of that being said, if she really wants to commit suicide there may be nothing you can do to stop her.

People can feel accused if they have a lot of people in authority trying to talk to them, especially since it's almost always down to them. A lot of people such as teachers will just dismiss it as "oh she's fine, you're just making a fuss out of nothing", sad but true.

Also saying you'll miss her etc isn't giving her anything other than more guilt than she'll already have, you can't show this is affecting you or she'll feel guilty and so worse about the whole thing.

Unfortunatly I agree with the last point, there is nothing you can do if she's fully decided, the suicide plan (link above) is trying to help people who arn't fully suicidal but who may turn to suicide, if it's decided in her mind it wont do anything.

 

[artanis_neravar]

People can feel accused if they have a lot of people in authority trying to talk to them, especially since it's almost always down to them. A lot of people such as teachers will just dismiss it as "oh she's fine, you're just making a fuss out of nothing", sad but true.

Exactly why I suggested telling multiple people, once you tell someone who intends to do something about it you can stop

Also saying you'll miss her etc isn't giving her anything other than more guilt than she'll already have, you can't show this is affecting you or she'll feel guilty and so worse about the whole thing.

I've done it and it worked, granted I didn't just say that I would miss them,I helped them understand that they are in fact loved, and that by ending they own life they are just allowing the people that drove them to contemplate suicide to win. Committing suicide gives them power, it's exerting power over yourself, its them exerting their power over you.

I should have been more clear in my response I apologize

 

[Break]

People can feel accused if they have a lot of people in authority trying to talk to them, especially since it's almost always down to them. A lot of people such as teachers will just dismiss it as "oh she's fine, you're just making a fuss out of nothing", sad but true.

Exactly why I suggested telling multiple people, once you tell someone who intends to do something about it you can stop

Hoo. OK. Being angry or sarcastic about it won't help anyone, so I'll just say it straight. Panicking and telling as many people "in a position of authority" as you can about your friend without her permission is not a good idea. I cannot emphasise enough how much I advise against doing this. To do so will be to betray her trust when she's at her most vulnerable. Suicidal feelings aren't something you can talk about with anyone unless you strongly feel like you can trust them - to prove her wrong at such a point of crisis will make her feel even more isolated and helpless than before. It's one of the worst possible things you could do. Even if it did result in getting her some kind of help, she's almost certainly not going to talk to you about it again, if she feels you can't respect basic confidentiality, which will make any future warning signs harder to catch, and make her more reluctant to talk to people in general, including people who can help her - and when basically all psychological help for these kinds of issues is predicated on her being able and willing to talk about her feelings... You could easily end up making the situation worse.

It's not essentially bad advice, but it's completely something to talk about and consider with her. Don't panic. Talk to her. Seek advice without breaking confidentiality, and urge her to get the help she needs. Above all else, make sure she understands that she's not alone.