Suicidality is inherently paradoxical. There's no way to rationalise and address it, any response can only ever be incidental in placing it effectively into a context.
Which could go the way of focusing on feeling states associated with the idea, and how control may be asserted over those. Which is usually a compassionate response, giving an other audience to try communicate difficult, confusing feelings and indulge them in talking about their selves and narrativising.
Or it could illicit a callous response, dismissive and belittling. Or even just transparent attempts to distract from the issue toward something that can be addressed practically, something that has a rational cause-effect relationship.
Life being too painful to live through would make life redundant in the first instance, so it can't be life that's being considered really but some experience that is other from it.
But then what constitutes life experience is not ones perceived experience of life...
One time my therapist asked me what I would say to my friend if they were suicidal to help them, as an exercise to practice compassionate self-talk. I didn't have a satisfying answer and it's stumped me ever since...
Which could go the way of focusing on feeling states associated with the idea, and how control may be asserted over those. Which is usually a compassionate response, giving an other audience to try communicate difficult, confusing feelings and indulge them in talking about their selves and narrativising.
Or it could illicit a callous response, dismissive and belittling. Or even just transparent attempts to distract from the issue toward something that can be addressed practically, something that has a rational cause-effect relationship.
Life being too painful to live through would make life redundant in the first instance, so it can't be life that's being considered really but some experience that is other from it.
But then what constitutes life experience is not ones perceived experience of life...
One time my therapist asked me what I would say to my friend if they were suicidal to help them, as an exercise to practice compassionate self-talk. I didn't have a satisfying answer and it's stumped me ever since...
