segment from This American Life about suicide

[dreadpirateroberts69]

Say Anything - This American Life

Does talking about it really help?

www.thisamericanlife.org

Act 1: How To Write a Note involves a man, Jake, making a tape of a conversation he had with a friend, Brian, after Brian tried to kill himself. Although Jake said that he initially made the tape to try and "snap Brian out if it", it's mostly just Jake listening to Brian tell his story. I listened to this episode for the first time a few years ago and just remember really feeling for/identifying with Brian, and even more so now. He did end up killing himself a couple years after the tape was made. I really appreciate the lack of judgement and preachyness from Jake, and he seemed to have pure, albeit naive, intentions in making the tape, thinking it could help "save" Brian. He talks about how he wanted to share the tape after Brian's death to help give him a voice again which I thought was super cool. It's just a very genuine conversation about life and death between friends, definitely worth a listen. Would love to hear what you guys think. (Jake does use the song Jumper by Third Eye Blind at one point in the tape, which I thought was pretty corny)

 

[eternalpeace]

Say Anything - This American Life

Does talking about it really help?

www.thisamericanlife.org

Act 1: How To Write a Note involves a man, Jake, making a tape of a conversation he had with a friend, Brian, after Brian tried to kill himself. Although Jake said that he initially made the tape to try and "snap Brian out if it", it's mostly just Jake listening to Brian tell his story. I listened to this episode for the first time a few years ago and just remember really feeling for/identifying with Brian, and even more so now. He did end up killing himself a couple years after the tape was made. I really appreciate the lack of judgement and preachyness from Jake, and he seemed to have pure, albeit naive, intentions in making the tape, thinking it could help "save" Brian. He talks about how he wanted to share the tape after Brian's death to help give him a voice again which I thought was super cool. It's just a very genuine conversation about life and death between friends, definitely worth a listen. Would love to hear what you guys think. (Jake does use the song Jumper by Third Eye Blind at one point in the tape, which I thought was pretty corny)

Thanks for sharing that. (I agree the Third Eye Blind song was a bit much). I also appreciated how the interviewer just asked open ended questions to see what was in Jake's mind, as opposed to interrogating him about the morality of suicide, etc.

 

[dreadpirateroberts69]

Thanks for sharing that. (I agree the Third Eye Blind song was a bit much). I also appreciated how the interviewer just asked open ended questions to see what was in Jake's mind, as opposed to interrogating him about the morality of suicide, etc.

Yes exactly!! I love how Jake handled their conversation. If only every non-suicidal person could have such a simple, open discussion with their suicidal friends about this subject without judgement or freaking out. It would help bridge the gap between us which would ultimately help us. Like so many have been commenting about that NYT article. All we want is to be listened to, empathized with, and not treated like monsters for the way we feel.

 

[D&D]

Thank you so much for posting this. I did not know there is such a resources until now.

 

[eternalpeace]

Yes exactly!! I love how Jake handled their conversation. If only every non-suicidal person could have such a simple, open discussion with their suicidal friends about this subject without judgement or freaking out. It would help bridge the gap between us which would ultimately help us. Like so many have been commenting about that NYT article. All we want is to be listened to, empathized with, and not treated like monsters for the way we feel.

That's exactly why I went looking for a forum like SS. I wasn't seeking advice on methods, or any sort of encouragement. I was looking for a place where I could finally be heard. I had had countless discussions with clinicians and even friends over the course of years, and while many people were well-intentioned, everyone fired off the usual platitudes ("there is always hope", "you don't REALLY want to die", "permanent solution/temporary problem", "you just need to think more positively", "it's selfish/cowardly", etc). All I wanted was for someone, anyone, to hear me without flippantly disregarding my desire for death. I wanted to feel like a real human who is suffering, as opposed to a selfish coward or attention seeker, even for one millisecond.

 

[Ligottian]

Thanks for posting this! It wasn't until they got to the part about the expensive ambulance ride that I realized I had heard this before, at least ten years ago. Forget where I found it online.