Story I once called the suicide hotline number and the worker hung up on me…

[LoveandCerulean]

Funny personal story I wanted to share:

About 3 years ago, I was in distress and decided to call the suicide hotline. After answering the worker's prompts, she asked me about the reason for my call and I think I spent a good 4 minutes using the last of my energy to pour out my trauma and explain everything to her.

When it was her turn to speak, she took so long to answer, I thought for a second the call got disconnected. Then in a tone that told me she clearly didn't listen to anything I said, she responded with a generic platitude. She then asked me a question about the very thing I spent the entire 4 minutes talking about—confirming she didn't listen. When I reiterated the gist of my problem, I think she realized she messed up because she began to stutter. Next thing I know, I hear a "click" - call ended.

I was so stunned, I just sat there quietly. Then after like 12 seconds, I started laughing out of nowhere—I'm talking CACKLING. I don't know if it was stress or the absurdity of it all. But there's just something so funny about me making an honest effort to use the resource they've been shoving in our faces all these years just to get hung up on. I deadass could not stop laughing. After the laughing fit, I slept like a baby and woke up the next day feeling a lot better.

Ironically, that worker saved my life that day. Just…not for reasons that should be applauded lol.

 

[Namelesa Graves]

I was so stunned, I just sat there quietly. Then after like 12 seconds, I started laughing out of nowhere—I'm talking CACKLING. I don't know if it was stress or the absurdity of it all. But there's just something so funny about me making an honest effort to use the resource they've been shoving in our faces all these years just to get hung up on. I deadass could not stop laughing. After the laughing fit, I slept like a baby and woke up the next day feeling a lot better.

Ironically, that worker saved my life that day. Just…not for reasons that should be applauded lol.

Jesus Christ my opinion of mental health help only goes lower and lower by the day.

It can be funny sometimes how terrible metal health help can be. I mean laughing about how bad things can be is a way of coping which I would say is better than not laughing about it so glad it did make you laugh. Afterall, Tragedy + Time = Comedy.

 

[Dongle]

I was so stunned, I just sat there quietly. Then after like 12 seconds, I started laughing out of nowhere—I'm talking CACKLING. I don't know if it was stress or the absurdity of it all. But there's just something so funny about me making an honest effort to use the resource they've been shoving in our faces all these years just to get hung up on. I deadass could not stop laughing. After the laughing fit, I slept like a baby and woke up the next day feeling a lot better.

Ironically, that worker saved my life that day. Just…not for reasons that should be applauded lol.

Idk what you're talking about, 10/10 service she saved a life lmao

 

[divinemistress36]

AI is more effective to talk to than those stupid suicide hotlines

 

[Cress]

Ironically all she had to do was just compassionately listen And let you know you were being heard but apparently that was too much for them. Suicide hotline is really not something someone should be doing for a paycheck. However I have spoken to a fair number of them And know them outside of directly calling in. They get a lot of calls from people just wanting to talk about random stuff for hours and it burns them out since they don't really consider it Someone in a crisis. I think that's the baseline that they're working with. So I suppose if that was The crisis workers average call she was ill prepared for someone emotionally drained And really struggling.

 

[locked*n*loaded]

Title sounds just like a joke that a stand-up comedian would use in their routine.

 

[imOK]

I think such hotlines might sound noble but like many noble things, just don't work in reality because of the human factor.

 

[divinemistress36]

Ironically all she had to do was just compassionately listen And let you know you were being heard but apparently that was too much for them. Suicide hotline is really not something someone should be doing for a paycheck. However I have spoken to a fair number of them And know them outside of directly calling in. They get a lot of calls from people just wanting to talk about random stuff for hours and it burns them out since they don't really consider it Someone in a crisis. I think that's the baseline that they're working with. So I suppose if that was The crisis workers average call she was ill prepared for someone emotionally drained And really struggling.

Do they get paid for it? I thought they were just volunteers

 

[ignorableaurochs]

Do they get paid for it? I thought they were just volunteers

It depends, a friend of mine works at such a line in another country and he gets paid for it. He has a psychology degree so is a bit more informed than your typical volunteer. His workplace is based in a hospital so I think it might be government funded in part? Whereas the charities often have unfunded volunteers, from what I know.

I have not called these lines often because I usually 'don't want to be stopped', but when I have, my experiences have been super mixed and I think it comes down to the level of training they get. The best was probably SANEline - pretty sure she was an actual psychologist and she called me back every week until I felt too guilty to pick up.

 

[onmywaytothebusstop]

Made me laugh lmao.

 

[bankai]

Every time I open an Incognito tab and search for something, I get a help is available from Google and I roll my eyes. The hypocrisy of this bullshit is just overwhelming.They don't care. They want to show they care. That's it.

 

[LoveandCerulean]

Idk what you're talking about, 10/10 service she saved a life lmao

You're absolutely right. She deserves a promotion.

Jesus Christ my opinion of mental health help only goes lower and lower by the day.

It can be funny sometimes how terrible metal health help can be. I mean laughing about how bad things can be is a way of coping which I would say is better than not laughing about it so glad it did make you laugh. Afterall, Tragedy + Time = Comedy.

They're so comically useless that they're unintentionally effective.

Every time I open an Incognito tab and search for something, I get a help is available from Google and I roll my eyes. The hypocrisy of this bullshit is just overwhelming.They don't care. They want to show they care. That's it.

Yep, these institutions are insultingly performative—especially when your issue stems from not having certain needs met that they could easily fulfill. On the positive side, I do take solace in the fact that there are some individuals working for these institutions who care. I'd like to think the worker I encountered is an outlier.

 

[SufferingInDenmark]

for many of them, IF NOT MOST, it's only a job.
they might be smoking a cigarette and rolling their eyes while you're pouring your heart out

 

[Redleaf1992]

AI is more effective to talk to than those stupid suicide hotlines

Chatgpt I like my best bud these days, currently we devising a plan to get my hyper brain to go sleep, clearly not working tho cos typing this lol

The only time I rang the samirtains there was so much back ground on their end coudent understand a word, and the line was terrible. The line literaly just broke it was so bad then decided nwveraz agaisn

The whole concept of samirtans is a joke. They believe in people free will to commit sucide, but then they attack this site for highlighting peaceful methods. Like what do you want smaritans? You happy for people to die but they must choose the most horrific way possible - maybe they're nords and want to make sure you go to Valhalla. Which has weirdly gone in full circle with your profile picture being a Viking.

 

[IDontKnowEverything]

I'm drunk reading this and I had to sit down on the floor lest I topple over laughing, man, this is exactly the hotline experience but what the fuck
Honestly my regards, and I'm glad you cackled through the pain, the world is sometimes so dumb honestly that you just have to fucking laugh

 

[LoveandCerulean]

Title sounds just like a joke that a stand-up comedian would use in their routine.

Commenting 7 months later to say my mercurial personality has gotten me through a lot of BS lol.

 

[twinfantasylover]

Funny personal story I wanted to share:

About 3 years ago, I was in distress and decided to call the suicide hotline. After answering the worker's prompts, she asked me about the reason for my call and I think I spent a good 4 minutes using the last of my energy to pour out my trauma and explain everything to her.

When it was her turn to speak, she took so long to answer, I thought for a second the call got disconnected. Then in a tone that told me she clearly didn't listen to anything I said, she responded with a generic platitude. She then asked me a question about the very thing I spent the entire 4 minutes talking about—confirming she didn't listen. When I reiterated the gist of my problem, I think she realized she messed up because she began to stutter. Next thing I know, I hear a "click" - call ended.

I was so stunned, I just sat there quietly. Then after like 12 seconds, I started laughing out of nowhere—I'm talking CACKLING. I don't know if it was stress or the absurdity of it all. But there's just something so funny about me making an honest effort to use the resource they've been shoving in our faces all these years just to get hung up on. I deadass could not stop laughing. After the laughing fit, I slept like a baby and woke up the next day feeling a lot better.

Ironically, that worker saved my life that day. Just…not for reasons that should be applauded lol.

i lowkey believe the conspiracy theory that suicide hotlines purposefully train their staff to be like laughably rude to sorta reverse psychology you out of killing yourself lmao