Posted by afatchic on July 15, 2002, at 0:42:14
Dear Friends,
I just got a call from a childhood friend. We've been friends since we met in elementary school. I moved away after high school but we've kept in touch and have visited each other frequently.
My friend, Anna, suffers from depression to the point that it causes severe disability. I think this is one of the main reasons we've stayed close. She depends on me because I can empathize and I am always available to listen without judgement.
Tonight she called me to say that she had been cutting herself and that she really wanted to kill herself. I got her to promise me that she wouldn't do it. She told me she wouldn't do it for my sake, she realizes the pain she would cause.
After hanging up with her, I was still worried. She had said, "Please stop me from slitting my wrist, please don't let me kill myself, even though I want to." Those words kept going through my mind. What was she asking me to do?
I called the suicide hotline in her area and discussed the problem with the person who answered. He seemed very knowledgable and even knew the director of the mental health clinic where my friend had been seen.
I gave the man my friend's name and phone number. He asked if I wanted the police sent to her house and I said, "No." I just wanted someone from mental health to call her. I really believe having the police sent to her house would have made things worse and made her feel like I had broken her confidence. It is such a tough call between helping and hurting. What will make it better, what will make it worse.
Any feedback will be appreciated.
poster:afatchic
thread:623
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20020702/msgs/623.html