Help How to ask for help

[UniqueWorm]

When i try to write, talk, or even gesture anything to ask for help or explain how bad im really doing i just fully shutdown. What can i do about this?

 

[JoysoftheEmptiness]

Keep trying. I often don't know how to ask for help, but I try.

 

[-Link-]

Do you know why you're shutting down when you try to do this? What does the shutdown look like?

If you are prone to shutting down, writing will be the best approach for this.

If you know your diagnoses, you could hit Wikipedia and read up on the symptoms and take what they say and tailor it to your own experiences. You could also search around this site. Or Reddit. Read up on other people's experiences and see if that helps prompt you. Another angle you could try is ChatGPT which I've heard can be OK for this sort of thing.

 

[UniqueWorm]

Do you know why you're shutting down when you try to do this? What does the shutdown look like?

If you are prone to shutting down, writing will be the best approach for this.

If you know your diagnoses, you could hit Wikipedia and read up on the symptoms and take what they say and tailor it to your own experiences. You could also search around this site. Or Reddit. Read up on other people's experiences and see if that helps prompt you. Another angle you could try is ChatGPT which I've heard can be OK for this sort of thing.

Honestly, i dont know why i shut down. i donst feel like when i shut down due to being overstimulated or a topic related to truama coming up
when i shutdown i become more closed of with my body language and either stop moving or start tapping out rhythms. writing & speaking dont work. sometimes i can sign, but im shitty at asl and it dosnt work for very long before I shutdown further.

 

[Preh1storic_Rib]

I experience this sometimes, maybe from a different cause. These don't always work, but sometimes they do and I figure that's better than nothing.

A timed message that you've copy pasted from a vent or something made a while ago (I realize this doesn't help now if you dont have anything like that, but maybe eventually you will). My memory means I forget I set it up pretty quickly, but you could try sending it when you're really tired.

Depending on how bad it is, if I make it into a story or something I'm reading people can still express concern and once I know their general reaction that can make it easier.

Set up an aac board, your phone should work fine. I use AAC cboard (android phone, it lets you set custom images and responses), it has the connotation already of not being able to express yourself well right now if the person you're trying to get help from knows what it is. And if they don't, looking up 'aac board' can fill them in pretty quick. That way its just a button or even leaving your phone screen open in the menu.

 

[-Link-]

Honestly, i dont know why i shut down. i donst feel like when i shut down due to being overstimulated or a topic related to truama coming up
when i shutdown i become more closed of with my body language and either stop moving or start tapping out rhythms. writing & speaking dont work. sometimes i can sign, but im shitty at asl and it dosnt work for very long before I shutdown further.

Is there anybody who knows you and about your situation enough that they might be able to speak for you?

If not somebody IRL, then somebody online? Somebody who could write something for you that you could use to communicate what you want to say?

The other option that comes to mind is just communicating what you've told us here... although, you'd probably also want to tell them the seriousness of the situation, or at least imply as much. This is a suicide forum so anybody reading this here already knows it's serious, but whoever you're trying to communicate with will not have this benefit.

 

[UniqueWorm]

Is there anybody who knows you and about your situation enough that they might be able to speak for you?

If not somebody IRL, then somebody online? Somebody who could write something for you that you could use to communicate what you want to say?

The other option that comes to mind is just communicating what you've told us here... although, you'd probably also want to tell them the seriousness of the situation, or at least imply as much. This is a suicide forum so anybody reading this here already knows it's serious, but whoever you're trying to communicate with will not have this benefit.

im not supposed to have any friends or stuff online so that dosnt work, and the only person online that knows enough wouldnt be trusted by my parents because we met in residential and i would lose all contact with her. irl their isnt anyone who knows enough to help.

ive tried just saying what i say online, but i still freeze up. i think i can open up online because I know nobody will ever see me in person or

 

[sancta-simplicitas]

Have you tried writing it down on a note before? Like a script you could hand to people and/or copypaste whenever you feel like asking for help.

 

[-Link-]

im not supposed to have any friends or stuff online so that dosnt work, and the only person online that knows enough wouldnt be trusted by my parents because we met in residential and i would lose all contact with her. irl their isnt anyone who knows enough to help.

ive tried just saying what i say online, but i still freeze up. i think i can open up online because I know nobody will ever see me in person or

If this person you met in residential is already not trusted by your parents, then yeah, it would probably be best to leave that person out of it.

The next thing I'd look at is searching for outreach services in your local community: Mental health services, or any other targeted services (eg. LGBTQ) that might apply to you. A lot of these organizations or groups have websites with contact information that includes an option to email them. As these people would be acting in a professional capacity, you could communicate with them while still respecting your parents' "no friends online" wishes.

If you freeze up while trying to talk to someone, would it help if the person asked you a lot of specific questions to help unlock your mind? Almost like an interrogation but with the purpose of trying to help you get through the moment? If so, then you can tell them that. Tell them to basically treat it like they're interrogating you, if that's what it takes. (A lot of people would feel like they're being inappropriate by doing this with you, so it would be important to tell them that it's OK and that it's what you need them to do.)

 

[Eole2.0]

You can go to the emergency telling you're suicidal and talk to a psychiatrist. He/she can help you by find a daily recover unit and maybe find diagnosis