What happens when you openly admit you're suicidal?

[PreCambrianBliss]

I want to actually talk to someone about suicide before I commit to it. If you openly confess to a therapist or someone similar that you have imminent plans to kys or are legitimately considering it, will you be involuntarily committed to a psych ward against your will or do they only strongly encourage you to get hospitalized? If you DO end up in a psych ward, will they keep you there forever if you remain suicidal or do they eventually give you your freedom back? Looking for actual info/experience because this isn't exactly the type of question you'll get straight answers for unless it's firsthand

Essentially I just want to be able to discuss suicide without the conversation being immediately shut down when I say I'm potentially suicidal. Is that in ANY way possible?

 

[HaveToEndIt]

There's a difference between having suicidal thoughts and actually planning to commit suicide.
If you are actively planning to commit suicide and speak openly you will be hospitalized against your will, and I know that from first hand experience.

Not doing that mistake again.

 

[PreCambrianBliss]

If you are actively planning to commit suicide and speak openly you will be hospitalized against your will, and I know that from first hand experience.

Then I hope you don't mind me asking some questions

How did they justify forcing your hospitalization if suicide isn't illegal? Did you discuss that with them? What would have happened or did happen if you physically resisted or tried to leave?

Once you were hospitalized, did you talk with people about your plans or about depression/suicidal ideation?

How long did it take for you to get released, and under what conditions did that happen? Did you have to show them you were feeling better or did they eventually just let you go?

 

[HaveToEndIt]

Then I hope you don't mind me asking some questions

How did they justify forcing your hospitalization if suicide isn't illegal? Did you discuss that with them? What would have happened or did happen if you physically resisted or tried to leave?

Once you were hospitalized, did you talk with people about your plans or about depression/suicidal ideation?

How long did it take for you to get released, and under what conditions did that happen? Did you have to show them you were feeling better or did they eventually just let you go?

And I have no problem answering them for you :)

Suicide is not illegal per se but if you're considered dangerous to other or to yourself by self harm, the law allows for forced hospitalization.

When I was hospitalized I managed to convince them that I was confused and wasn't really determined to CTB, I got released after a week.

I highly recommend not talking about your plans and of course, don't mention the site. They can use your comments against you.

 

[whywere]

1) Get strange looks and people moving away from me. 2) Having the local cops called on me, so wonderful! NOT! 3) Having the cops take me to the hospital, for a lock up against my wishes 4) Going to court and fighting like hell, so I do not get a long-term commitment in a state-run mental health site.

Walter

 

[bluebus]

nothing good usually

 

[jacrispy]

Then I hope you don't mind me asking some questions

How did they justify forcing your hospitalization if suicide isn't illegal? Did you discuss that with them? What would have happened or did happen if you physically resisted or tried to leave?

Once you were hospitalized, did you talk with people about your plans or about depression/suicidal ideation?

How long did it take for you to get released, and under what conditions did that happen? Did you have to show them you were feeling better or did they eventually just let you go?

I went through the same thing as @HaveToEndIt.
once you are under a 302 or 5150 hold, it becomes involuntary. you will be stripped of your belongings and placed in the ER where a security guard will watch you. you can't even use the restroom without someone being there. they justify your hospitalization because you are a danger to yourself or others. if you try to leave, the security team will physically restrain you, and since you don't have your belongings it's not like you can get in your car or drive away.
if you do get admitted and speak about your plans to a psychiatrist they will keep you longer since you have an active plan to end your life. you'll be pumped full of meds until they find something that "works for you." most people are there for 3-5 days, unless you have an attempt. I did. cut my throat open with a knife. was there for 28 days and was only allowed to leave when my father took medical leave from work to sit home and watch me every moment of the day. my honest advice to you is not to trust mental health professionals. they do not care about you or your well-being. you will feel worse coming out than when you went in.

1) Get strange looks and people moving away from me. 2) Having the local cops called on me, so wonderful! NOT! 3) Having the cops take me to the hospital, for a lock up against my wishes 4) Going to court and fighting like hell, so I do not get a long-term commitment in a state-run mental health site.

Walter

thank god you got out of that. state facilities are worse than prison.

 

[Stormy Raine]

So I'll share a few things with you. There's passive suicidal thought and active suicidal thoughts. If you tell someone I want to kill my self and my plan is to shoot my self and end it all. They will quickly ask, "Do you have a gun?" If you respond "yes, I have a loaded gun downstairs..you WILL be admitted to emergency psych and have a hold on you, the hold depends on your progress and how you answer certain questions and it's the same format everyday. The minimal is 72 hrs in the US. Now if you say I want to shoot myself and end it all that's ok when they say do you have a gun and you say no and I don't have any means to get a gun. Then they will talk to you until you have calmed down and they feel you are safe and will give you referrals to follow up on. That's the easiest way I can explain it. Sometimes people will say, "I want to kill myself but I'll never do it because I have 3 children that need me." That's ok because you don't have a plan and you have given reasons that you aren't "active." Overall it really matters what kind of help you are looking for? Do you want to talk it out? Do you want medication? Do you really want to die? Think about what you want and I can help you. I won't tell you what I do but trust me I know exactly what you need to say depending on your answer you choose.

There's a difference between having suicidal thoughts and actually planning to commit suicide.
If you are actively planning to commit suicide and speak openly you will be hospitalized against your will, and I know that from first hand experience.

Not doing that mistake again.

I won't ever admit I'm active again even if I am! Those holds are horrible are traumatizing! I'll never understand why they feel those holds are helpful??

 

[Black Rose Bunny]

if you have a plan they'll hospitalize you, if it's not to a professional they will likely assume you're crazy and you just feel that way because of your brain chemicals are not right. or they will think u want attention. in my experience anyways

 

[Letmedienow]

I told a therapist that I was seeing for severe depression that I was hopeless and didn't see what the point to life was. She asked if I was suicidal and I told her that I prayed for death every night but didn't have anything planned because I didn't want to die a painful death. I also told her that I was having intrusive thoughts about driving off the side of a bridge or crashing into a wall when I was driving.

The next day I told a friend that I was considering drinking visine to end my life and she told my sister who contacted my therapist and told her. The cops came to my house and even though I told them I hadn't done anything yet, but because I had bought the visine, they forced me to go to the ER. I told every doctor I spoke with that I wanted to go home and that I didn't actually try anything. It didn't matter, I was kept there for 72 hours. They also tried to get me committed to an inpatient psych ward. I was told I could go willingly and I probably wouldn't be there that long or I could be forced to go and could be there for a month. I was scared so I agreed to go. Thankfully because I didn't have insurance the psych facility wouldn't accept me and they had to release me after 3 days.

Those three days were absolute torture. I had someone watching me at all times, even when I went to the bathroom or slept. I couldn't have my phone or any utensils to eat with. I could hear people screaming in the hallways. They didn't do ANYTHING for me mental health wise. I couldn't talk to my friend who called every day to check on me. I highly suggest being extremely careful of what you say to avoid being taken away. It only made me more suicidal and I will never be honest with anyone ever again and I'll never go back to therapy again.

 

[PreCambrianBliss]

my honest advice to you is not to trust mental health professionals. they do not care about you or your well-being.

I've been trying to give them the benefit of the doubt because it could very well be paranoia and biased info leading to my distrust of them, but I just can't find any evidence suggesting they can actually help me. All you get is the hotline and vague statements like "get the help you need" without any real details about what the process looks like.

Also if professionals are legally obligated to be biased in favor of living, what's the point of discussing it with them at all? You wouldn't ask a company or brand if their products are worth buying, because of course they'll always say yes! They'll probably get fired if they even suggest otherwise.

It's just really fucking tragic and shitty that there's no one who will have an honest conversation with you. I guess that's what people mean when they say they're hopeless or feel alone, it goes so much deeper than people realize.

 

[Stormy Raine]

I told a therapist that I was seeing for severe depression that I was hopeless and didn't see what the point to life was. She asked if I was suicidal and I told her that I prayed for death every night but didn't have anything planned because I didn't want to die a painful death. I also told her that I was having intrusive thoughts about driving off the side of a bridge or crashing into a wall when I was driving.

The next day I told a friend that I was considering drinking visine to end my life and she told my sister who contacted my therapist and told her. The cops came to my house and even though I told them I hadn't done anything yet, but because I had bought the visine, they forced me to go to the ER. I told every doctor I spoke with that I wanted to go home and that I didn't actually try anything. It didn't matter, I was kept there for 72 hours. They also tried to get me committed to an inpatient psych ward. I was told I could go willingly and I probably wouldn't be there that long or I could be forced to go and could be there for a month. I was scared so I agreed to go. Thankfully because I didn't have insurance the psych facility wouldn't accept me and they had to release me after 3 days.

Those three days were absolute torture. I had someone watching me at all times, even when I went to the bathroom or slept. I couldn't have my phone or any utensils to eat with. I could hear people screaming in the hallways. They didn't do ANYTHING for me mental health wise. I couldn't talk to my friend who called every day to check on me. I highly suggest being extremely careful of what you say to avoid being taken away. It only made me more suicidal and I will never be honest with anyone ever again and I'll never go back to therapy again.

That sounds awful and I definitely can relate. If you didn't have that visine you could have talked your way out of it. I planned to go by insulin and I told a friend who told my daughter to take it from me. Well they called the police and I knew I had to go but I honestly wasn't going to use it that day but another day. I had a 72 hold but the hospital day don't count so it was 4 days. When I left my house it was 4 police cars outside and I was so angry and embarrassed! I figured I'd be honest since I was there and told the doctor I hate this life and if I hate waking up and take sleeping pills on the days I don't work. He admitted me to another hospital for 72 hours and suggested ECT. I took the psych meds for 3 days just to comply but never took them again. I know my issues and no medication will fix them, the only hope I have is erasing my memory. So I'm just waiting to die naturally but the active thoughts are still there but I don't have any insulin available so I'm safe for now

 

[jacrispy]

I've been trying to give them the benefit of the doubt because it could very well be paranoia and biased info leading to my distrust of them, but I just can't find any evidence suggesting they can actually help me. All you get is the hotline and vague statements like "get the help you need" without any real details about what the process looks like.

Also if professionals are legally obligated to be biased in favor of living, what's the point of discussing it with them at all? You wouldn't ask a company or brand if their products are worth buying, because of course they'll always say yes! They'll probably get fired if they even suggest otherwise.

if I felt it would be beneficial to you, I wouldn't lie to you about how negative the experience was. everyone here is saying the same thing, perhaps to a lesser or even worse degree. the "help you need" will be sitting in a hospital with horrible food, being pumped full of meds, and getting maybe 5 minutes with a psychiatrist per day. the rest of it is spent meandering the halls, sitting in a day room with one TV, surrounded by others who may have violent tendencies. you cannot be open about suicidal thoughts with therapists or mental health professionals. it is their job to keep you alive. you are a liability.

 

[Letmedienow]

I know my issues and no medication will fix them, the only hope I have is erasing my memory

I feel the EXACT same way. No medicine can help and I don't just want to be numb to life to survive it. I'm so sorry you had to go through what you experienced. It's so demoralizing and It really changes you

 

[Stormy Raine]

I feel the EXACT same way. No medicine can help and I don't just want to be numb to life to survive it. I'm so sorry you had to go through what you experienced. It's so demoralizing and It really changes you

I remember being on so much medication and didn't realize it until a friend came and told me someone close to her had died. My friend was crying so hard and I was sitting there frozen in time and couldn't get a tear to drop. I was so embarrassed and told her I was so over-medicated and I'm sorry I couldn't cry with her and walked away. I know it sounds terrible but I just couldn't find the strength to care. It was awful

 

[tora]

if you say you have active plans then they'll more than likely hospitalize you since that means you're a danger to yourself and therapists legally have to report people who say they're going to kill themselves. but if you say you have suicidal thoughts but no plans to act on them, they'll have no reason to section you.
and whether or not you'll be kept in the hospital for a long time totally depends on whether you're voluntarily hospitalized or not, and also based on your progress in the hospital. even if you don't want to go to the psych ward, I would highly recommend signing the paperwork saying you're there voluntarily. if you're there involuntarily, that means they are allowed to keep you as long as they want, plus it will be on your record and you'll no longer be able to buy a gun (depending on what country you live in). when you're in the hospital, if you're trying to get out quickly you'll have to act as though you're feeling better to get out as quickly as possible. after my two suicide attempts I was only in the hospital for a week each time because I convinced the staff I was doing better.

 

[Letmedienow]

I remember being on so much medication and didn't realize it until a friend came and told me someone close to her had died. My friend was crying so hard and I was sitting there frozen in time and couldn't get a tear to drop. I was so embarrassed and told her I was so over-medicated and I'm sorry I couldn't cry with her and walked away. I know it sounds terrible but I just couldn't find the strength to care. It was awful

I completely understand that feeling. It's so scary knowing you want to feel MORE but you literally just can't. I don't want to be a zombie robot.

 

[Ambivalent1]

Ostracized by people without power and put away by people with power. Bad move. The suicidal walk a lonely road outside of this safe haven.

 

[venin]

I want to actually talk to someone about suicide before I commit to it. If you openly confess to a therapist or someone similar that you have imminent plans to kys or are legitimately considering it, will you be involuntarily committed to a psych ward against your will or do they only strongly encourage you to get hospitalized? If you DO end up in a psych ward, will they keep you there forever if you remain suicidal or do they eventually give you your freedom back? Looking for actual info/experience because this isn't exactly the type of question you'll get straight answers for unless it's firsthand

Essentially I just want to be able to discuss suicide without the conversation being immediately shut down when I say I'm potentially suicidal. Is that in ANY way possible?

A good therapist will not do those things

 

[BornByGhosts]

alienation at best, institutionalized at worst

 

[UKscotty]

Nothing good. I will speak as my experience here in the UK of myself and various attempts by a partner.

1. People such as family and friends will see you as a burden and a liability, they will try and distance themselves

2. Hospitals will ironically have a similar mindset, they will have someone interview you and try and get you out of there ASAP

3. If you do get therapist, they will ask you to do nonsense like keep a diary, get outside more and try and be productive

4. Never personally been sectioned as its very difficult here fortunately, but I have heard its an absolutely horrendous experience, which is why I keep quiet now days.

 

[lachrymost]

Also if professionals are legally obligated to be biased in favor of living, what's the point of discussing it with them at all? You wouldn't ask a company or brand if their products are worth buying, because of course they'll always say yes! They'll probably get fired if they even suggest otherwise.

It's just really fucking tragic and shitty that there's no one who will have an honest conversation with you. I guess that's what people mean when they say they're hopeless or feel alone, it goes so much deeper than people realize.

You are spot on with this.

This is related, but it's a bit of a digression: I was listening to a podcast about Kenneth Law and they had some moronic suicidologist on. I knew it would be stupid, but I honestly thought there would be more nuance. I didn't expect virtually everything he said to be clueless. He doesn't understand us at all and he's supposedly been listening to us for thirty years. I wondered if he would talk about reviewing online forums, since he can't trust what suicidal people say to his face, as they are not at liberty to talk freely. But no, he seemed to have zero awareness of this at all. He was against stigmatizing the suicidal, othering them, and of course the phrase "committed suicide", but he did nothing but insult us—our judgement, autonomy (of course), and even the legitimacy of our desire to die was questioned. It shook me enough that I might make a seperate post about this; I don't know. But my point is that the problem of being censored with threats of violence is so bad that the supposed experts who perpetuate it may never even recognize the way it robs us of a voice, and then claim to speak for us anyway.

I remember being on so much medication and didn't realize it until a friend came and told me someone close to her had died. My friend was crying so hard and I was sitting there frozen in time and couldn't get a tear to drop. I was so embarrassed and told her I was so over-medicated and I'm sorry I couldn't cry with her and walked away. I know it sounds terrible but I just couldn't find the strength to care. It was awful

A lot of people have a realization like this on these drugs. It's terrible what they can do to people—dehumanizing. I hope you don't feel guilty about it.

A good therapist will not do those things

Unfortunately, they are required to. Therefore, only a "bad therapist" willing to break the rules is a truly good therapist.

I often wonder how much risk a therapist is in if they don't fulfill their mandated reporting obligation. Like, who would ever know? Even if the patient had a failed attempt and decided to blame them for being negligent, who would believe them over the therapist? I guess if the patient was secretly recording it could be a problem.

 

[Ampsvx123]

Might be legal with the fair angels not so much in the mad realm of humans and shadows deep. Suicide is illegal, a grave crime. Don't fool yourself otherwise. They have an obligation to lock you up and pump with drugs depending of what you foolishly share in your foolishness.

 

[gap]

I told my therapist about it, told her that I have SN, that I have enough AMI to do it, but for now I'm trying to move on. She is very understanding, listens and doesn't actively try to change my mind. She understands that the situation is difficult, a few months ago I told her that we probably wouldn't see each other again the following week, she just asked me to hug me tightly to say goodbye. In the following days I felt better and I didn't do CBT, she was happy to see me again. There are also sympathetic psychologists.

 

[Toward Zero]

When I did it, they locked me up in a hospital. So I had to lie for 3 days, and threaten to take them to court in order for them to let me out. I will never make that mistake again.

I didn't eat properly because everything was emulsified. There was nothing to do but stare at the walls, you couldn't browse the internet or talk to anyone or really do anything.
I was seen by "Doctors" for minutes a day, and I used that time to lie. The clothes were uncomfortable and the food was disgusting, the facility was freezing cold and extremely uncomfortable. You don't even get a room to yourself and you get locked in with a roomate like a damn convict.

If anything, it solidified my convictions.
But at the time, I lied through my teeth to get out of there and away from those bastards.

Don't trust them.