Posted by daisym on August 29, 2004, at 16:18:26
In reply to Re: suicide discussion, posted by Shadowplayers721 on August 29, 2004, at 14:30:40
This is such a prickly subject...I think everyone wants to be supportive and yet there are concerns about saying the wrong thing at the wrong time, not saying the right thing at the right time and/or not responding at all. How will it be interpreted? Or misinterpreted?
I remember a few threads on psychology about talking to your therapist about suicide. Both sides of the issue were discussed...why talking about it is good, when a therapist might overreact to it, etc. For me, it was a good reminder that my therapist is a professional who "should" know what to say or do. That I could get support here on Babble, but when things were really bleak, I needed to talk to him too. I did and it helped immensely. Not only that, but he extracted a promise of at least a phone call if I got even a little bit serious. That doesn't seem like much, but it made it more OK to reach out somehow, and lessened the chance of an impulse act.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that we should gently encourage people to keep seeking support irl, as well as offer support here. We won't probably won't be able to talk them out of it, but we can affirm that we've been there, we know that pain, that intense isolation that blacks out all hope of it ever getting better. It is OK to say how much you hurt, to try to grapple with the conflicting emotions and responsibilities of life.
I think you are absolutely right. Sometimes you just want to say, "this sucks" and have someone say "yes, it does."
poster:daisym
thread:383678
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20040820/msgs/383752.html