How would you talk someone out of suicide?

[18]

Title.

I just make people who make even offhand comments about killing themselves promise me this: that right before they actually do the deed, if they end up that unhappy, they'll contact me in a way that I can talk back to them. Like a phone call or something. Right before, with the pills or knife in their hand.

I don't have a concrete idea of what I'd actually say. I'd just tell them I love them and sympathize while trying to surreptiously alert their family or emergency services.

I don't believe in the emotional blackmail ('How will your family feel?') or platitudes like 'suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem' that people use to guilt suicidal folk into staying alive. I think that all they need to be told at that point is that yes, that problems are big, but in spite of it all, you care for them. I also don't like how everyone simply rules mental illness and depression as the cause of suicide now so that they can stay guilt-free. You have to wonder what drove them to depression in the first place. Maybe we're not as saintly as we like to pretend.

 

[Duster]

Call the police and the family to get help before they actually commit it.

 

[18]

Call the police and the family to get help before they actually commit it.

In many cases, they don't make a public, "Okay guys, get the cameras ready, I'm gonna do it!" announcement beforehand.

 

[Mercedes-Benz]

Well, first, what I would do is ask them the events in which lead to them feeling this way. Next, try to see any similarities to the situations they have and boil the issues down to one big problem.

All I could do if I were to have a friend with these thoughts is chime in to try and comfort them, relating to their issues and give some advice on how to make yourself feel good. Aside from the "platitudes", guilt tripping into staying alive only makes matters worse. As you have stated above, you have to show them you care and make sure you help them out as much as you can, even though they might not even want your help.

As a person who has had similar experiences, I can say, with full confidence, that I have driven off depression to the degree of not feeling suicidal. Through believing in myself, I figured out that the source of my depression was caused by self-confidence. It was up to me to change that, so I started drawing and expressing myself. I still have much to learn, but even learning can take away depression and you can not only learn a skill set, but also discover who you truly are.

It's not a matter of saying, "it'll get better." It's about saying, "You can make it better." - B. Alejandro

 

[Marc]

The right approach depends on the person, but if they call you right before they're about to do the deed, trying to convince them somehow that life is worth living is something I'd do. If the person has problems to share, we could talk it over and advice can be given. After that, they'd need to get professional help because people like us aren't trained for these situations and they're better off in a professional's hands. I mean, you wouldn't want something else to go wrong that you can't handle and actually fail.

 

[Whovian#1]

I'm just going to let third eye blind do it for me, as I cannot fully answer the question myself

 

[Leaandro15]

I will call them and tell him/her that I love them and they are important to me people and their dumb ideas of lowering people's self esteem. I used to get bullied a lot in Middle School idk why it was probably because I was ugly and had no sense of style many kids were always wearing cool shoes and clothes while I was wearing ugly drags and some ugly shoes and since we were all growing up people always talked bad about me also look at me I never one but suicide it was pointless although I did suffer from depression because I didn't have no friends also I didn't want my parents to see me suffering just because I had no friends and got picked on I kept it too myself ,but this one time I remember some kid almost killed me for covering up my hoodie when I wore a sweater in 6th grade idk I didn't even know the kid and yet he did this to me and this was really embarrassing since everyone saw in class and yet again I never suicided because I believe people were mean and nobody cared about me and yet I still made it alive my friends moved I almost all year I hanged out by myself it was really hard sometimes I would even stand when people played tether ball so they wouldn't see I was a loner like I was I didn't bother anyone nor hated anyone idk why people were so mean to me in 6th grade hopefully you read my story and realize how important suicide is because it depends on the person themselves and no tears please .

 

[GamerDudeXXX]

If the person was a close friend or relative to me, I'd freak out and knock them out with the nearest object before they do anything stupid, because I suck at talking and I panic easy. Then I would tie them up so they don't try anything when they wake up. When they do wake up, I'd give them the talk about how much I care about them and what they mean to me.

 

[18]

If the person was a close friend or relative to me, I'd freak out and knock them out with the nearest object before they do anything stupid, because I suck at talking and I panic easy. Then I would tie them up so they don't try anything when they wake up. When they do wake up, I'd give them the talk about how much I care about them and what they mean to me.

Which is why you almost gave them brain damage and when they woke up, they found out you had tied them up?

 

[GamerDudeXXX]

Which is why you almost gave them brain damage and when they woke up, they found out you had tied them up?

Hopefully brain damage and they lose memory of the previous events.