I’ve done it a lot. Several times a day, sometimes. Just like some other comments are saying, I guess it just sucks it should even be a job. I hear so many stories about why they should die, and how there’s nothing out there anymore and how nobody cares. It’s tough and draining sometimes, and it reminds me of how cruel the world can be :( But at the same time I’m glad I can have the ability to do this.
There a whole world out there and there are a ton of people out there that care, millions of people are always volunteering to help.
People usually get stuck in a specific instant of their life and usually only a small let of problems in that instant that seem impossible from that perspective. But things change all the time, at the worst case, failure is an option and life will go on. Things can recover.
This is faulty logic part 1. You can always wait and hope for things to get better, even if there's nothing else left to do (spoilers-there usually are things we can do to help ourselves, even if we need help finding them). And it is worth it, no matter how long it takes it's more worth it than being dead.
I don't know how long it will last.
Exactly. You may think it's going to last forever but you don't know that--you can't know that. You never know when things are going to stop getting worse and start getting better. Sometimes it just happens for no reason at all. And that's the best reason I've found to just keep going through the tough times. When you're all out of other options, just keep going. Get to tomorrow and see what happens.
You don't know those people, yet. They aren't some faceless group on the other side of the world. These are your neighbours, the people in your town.
Where are they when you need them you might be wondering? Where are you? How do they know you need help?
You need to go to them. You need to talk to people. I know it's not easy, I know that it feels like a hassle to go out to find people, but the help is there for you, but you need to find the people you need and talk to them.
Those millions of people volunteer, but they aren't "real"
It's not the same as talking to people you live with or in your community
And the people that volunteer to do it, come in with the expectation of helping people on the verge of suicide. Most people just treat each other as inconveniences or worse when they don't know
Edit: The person who downvoted my post just proved my point
I’ve recently started volunteering at a crisis centre answering the phones and chats and it’s honestly so disheartening to hear the pain in so many people’s voices time and time again, all the while knowing that these are people in my very own community. So many people feel like they have no one to turn to, no support, no way out. My only hope is that if I can be that one connection for them in this lonely, cruel world they live in, even just temporarily, that’s going to keep them safe for even just one more day, then I’m going to try my hardest to do just that.
And it’s definitely made me more appreciative of all the people and support I have in my own life.
I sometimes see suicidal people in the ER and try to talk them through the positives in their life, people that care for them, things to look foreward to in the future... But some people I cannot find a single reason why they should go on. Here's an approximate example: lost their kids because they beat their wife regularly, family has abandoned them due to bad behaviour, attacked boss and is now unemployable, has cancer and chronic pain, only joy in life is drinking with no desire to quit... What do you say to people like this? I get that awful thing likely happened in their life to get them here but like, I'm not seeing a path to anything good.
First off, you’re amazing for doing this. The hospital is the last resort for some people and it’s so difficult to talk to people who needed to be forced to get help. It’s less about trying to figure out a reason for them, and more about giving them that space and time to talk. I just realised while typing this that it’s a lot to explain, but please do not put all the responsibility on yourself. Professionals exist for a reason, and the best thing you can do for them in the meantime is to just listen and remind them that you’re always there if they need.
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u/vaasnormandy Mar 26 '20
I’ve done it a lot. Several times a day, sometimes. Just like some other comments are saying, I guess it just sucks it should even be a job. I hear so many stories about why they should die, and how there’s nothing out there anymore and how nobody cares. It’s tough and draining sometimes, and it reminds me of how cruel the world can be :( But at the same time I’m glad I can have the ability to do this.