Posted by Dinah on July 15, 2002, at 4:38:32
In reply to Best Friend wants to commit Suicide, posted by afatchic on July 15, 2002, at 0:42:14
You asked what she was asking you to do. For what it's worth, I think she was asking you to do too much. I think it's asking too much of another person (especially a nonprofessional) to ask them to be responsible for your own life. And you are not a professional. There is a limit to what you can do.
Did she ask you to keep her call in confidence? If so, she was again asking too much. You shouldn't be left with that burden. You did the best you knew how by calling a professional. But ultimately she is responsible for her own life. No one can "stop" someone else from harming themselves or taking their life.
That's just my own opinion. Others may have different opinions. And I can't say that I have ever been on either side of that call. But my therapist has made it clear to me, especially when he first met me, before he realized that my occasional suicidal ideation was more obsession than threat, that the responsibility for my life ultimately lay with me.
poster:Dinah
thread:623
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20020702/msgs/624.html