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I have a friend who is depressed and I think suicidal. This person has no family and few close friends. I'm not sure how to help bc I know if I alerted any authorities/drs they might end up putting the person in a hospital and tbh, it'd make their lives worse bc they couldn't work and would possibly lose their job and definitely get behind on their bills plus this person has pets and literally no family or nearby friends to care for them.
Just being able to talk to someone about it is a great help. Just to "be there" for the friend. Feeling so alone is a big part of the depression. If you can be a good listener to this friend, that will go a long way in helping them. I don't think there's much else you yourself can do....it is good of you to be worried about them.
Take action - if you do nothing and they do commit suicide then it will help you in the aftermath that you tried to help.
You are not a professional psychiatrist nor psychologist/therapist. But the help you can offer is to tell him/her to go to a psychiatrist to get treatment for the acute symptoms and go to a psychologist/therapist long term to fix, or at least ameliorate, the deeper issues that is leading to this. If necessary, offer to drive them there etc. Of course you can be a shoulder to cry on but you are not qualified to fix this - send them to someone who can.
If they refuse to listen - you still tried to do the correct thing
Take action - if you do nothing and they do commit suicide then it will help you that you tried to help.
You are not a professional psychiatrist nor psychologist/therapist. But the help you can offer is to tell him/her to go to a psychiatrist to get treatment for the acute symptoms and go to a psychologist/therapist long term to fix, or at least ameliorate, the deeper issues that is leading to this. If necessary, offer to drive them there etc . of course you can be a shoulder to cry on but you are not qualified to fix this - send them to someone who can.
if they refuse to listen - you still tried to do the correct thing
I know how the system works bc my mom has been suicidal and had numerous attempts my whole life. If I alert someone, the person will likely end up in the hospital and even if they get help, the effects will be a huge burden. I'd be more likely if they had some kind of support nearby but they don't. Being hospitalized for a month or more would cause drastic financial, professional and housing problems, not to mention losing the pets which are the only positive thing in their lives.
I know how the system works bc my mom has been suicidal and had numerous attempts my whole life. If I alert someone, the person will likely end up in the hospital and even if they get help, the effects will be a huge burden. I'd be more likely if they had some kind of support nearby but they don't. Being hospitalized for a month or more would cause drastic financial, professional and housing problems, not to mention losing the pets which are the only positive thing in their lives.
We are not talking about calling the police and saying "my friend is suicidal" - or making an emergency 911 call. I am talking about urging your friend to voluntarily get professional help.
Involuntary psychiatric hospitalization is very rare for someone who is depressed and seeking a psychiatrist for help with the depression.
We are not talking about calling the police and saying "my friend is suicidal" - or making an emergency 911 call. I am talking about urging your friend to voluntarily get professional help.
Involuntary psychiatric hospitalization is very rare for someone who is depressed and seeking a psychiatrist for help with the depression.
If a person mentioned suicide and has any type of plans, they are 100% getting hospitalized. If they just thought about it, probably not.
Make a verbal contract with your friend and state that if they feel severely depressed or suicidal to call a local crisis hotline, or call you and you will call the crisis hotline. you can leave a pamphlet with a list of crisis hotline numbers or places online to reach out to.
I worked on a suicide crisis hotline for 7 years and asking people to make a verbal contract not to hurt themselves but call us or a trusted friend was very effective.
I have a friend who is depressed and I think suicidal. This person has no family and few close friends. I'm not sure how to help bc I know if I alerted any authorities/drs they might end up putting the person in a hospital and tbh, it'd make their lives worse bc they couldn't work and would possibly lose their job and definitely get behind on their bills plus this person has pets and literally no family or nearby friends to care for them.
It sounds like you're concerned enough to the point you believe they may be suicidal-- if your worried about their job, be reassured a person won't be fired for being hospitalized. Second, even if they were what would you feel worse about-- if they lost their job or lost their life? I would be proactive asap so you don't regret later..
Tell him/her that you are very concerned about them and would like to know if - and how - you can help. Let them know you care about them and you want them to stick around, and remind them that their pets need them and would end up in an overcrowded shelter and be put down without him/her. Years ago, had a friend/co-worker who was going through some major health and financial issues and he ended up renting a hotel room and overdosing. It was shocking to pretty much everyone who knew him. I still wonder if the outcome could have been prevented if one of us had just been more blunt and tried to get him to really talk. But then, none of us had any idea he was planning to do this.
Tell them that they can get help on their terms by telling someone in authority only what they need to know, which is that your friend is having a very hard time coping and needs some help. They can go as far as to say they don't want to lose their job (which, frankly, if they're worried about that they're not as suicidal as to need hospitalization) and no one to mind their pets. Pets keep people alive, even suicidal people, so that would be taken into account.
Sometimes it takes looking outside themselves so you might ask them to get help for you because you're losing sleep worrying or that you simply can't watch them go on suffering through their life like this. People are afraid of treatment and medication and stigma and loss of control, but as other posters have said, which is worse? And if they approach the right people the right way, they could get some support and possibly meds and not have to feel like that any more. Tell them if they can lift that depression for even a second, they might see a way clear to sorting out a lot of other things making them unhappy.
If there's a suicide hotline in your area, they can talk about all these things (or you can) without fear of anything happening and maybe the person can put them (or you) onto some resources or ideas that we don't have here. Maybe they could just answer you question better than we all can.
People are afraid of being "crazy," and afraid of being locked up, but you don't sound 100% sure if the person is suicidal, so maybe they could talk to someone and not mention it and find out they're not in as impossible a state as they think they are.
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