Did anybody call suicide prevention hotlines?

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Particularly in the US. I'm considering calling to one of them, but for now I think it will be as little useful as regular psychologists, and I don't want to deal with it again.

I used to work at two such hotlines. They can be very helpful. The workers there are trained to listen and empathize. They may also give referrals.

Disclaimer: While the training was valuable, as it taught me how to express concern and compassion for others, I always seemed to get something wrong, so I gave it up.

Seem to be useless. Ok, will try to find something else.

How did you come to that conclusion? I said they can be helpful, that they can listen and empathize, and that they can make referrals. What more do you want?

Just don't call 911 or the police if you are suicidal, call a crisis line instead, an anonymous one if possible. Calling 911 could very well result in the police coming to your house and shooting you dead if you are in America, or at the very least dragging you to some dungeon s**t hole psych ER, which is only marginally better than a prison cell which would be the last thing you need if you are extremely depressed.

I don't know what I need, but it's for sure not listening and saying something like "It must be hard, keep on" and similar stuff.

Thank you. Yes, I know about it. However, even some hotlines can trace you (if it's not public phone) and call police, I've read some such stories.

Maybe I need to go to the doctor for antidepressants.

Then maybe you should consult a physician.

I was speaking with psychologists, but as my troubles are caused not by some chemical imbalance, but by real problems, they were unable to help me.

It took for me almost two years to ask a question about those hotlines, as even two years ag I knew I will have to do it one day. But hotlines are uselessm and it makes me even more depressed.

Few days ago I read on one forum posts of one guy - his dream was to become a moderator on some big forum. I wish every dream will be so easy to come true.

Psychologists do not prescribe drugs, that would a psychiatrist. A psychologist would be someone who you would see to work through issues unrelated to chemical imbalances. By all means see a doctor and get on some anti-depressants but ideally you should have a complete comprehensive treatment plan that includes meds, therapy, supplements, diet changes, exercise, lifestyle changes, meditation, proper sleep hygiene, an effective social/emotional support network made up from people close to you who you can reach out to, established daily routine, adequate sunlight/vitamin D etc. to maximize your chances of a successful remission of your depression.

Comprehensive treatment plans will ALWAYS beat out mono-therapy in terms of successful remission or treatment, regardless of the health condition being treated. You may have to demand that your doctor come up with such a plan as many are often too lazy, and just use monotherapy such as throwing a drug at you and kicking you out the door because its less effort for them and they get paid the same regardless. Always make sure to advocate for yourself, or bring others with you to your appointment to help advocate for you. Don't just assume that your doctor has your best interests in mind because they are a doctor.

If you find that chatting with a crisis line via text is easier than talking on the phone, which is often the case with those with autism, then the national suicide prevention lifeline in the US has a chat feature you can use. http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.or ... eChat.aspx

If you worry about having police sent to your door you can always use a VPN that has another server in the US. I find sending police to someone's door and locking them up is counterproductive to those with depression as often the emergency psychiatric ward is likely a much more depressing environment then their own residence. It ends up decreasing the chance that the suicidal person will reach out in the future and erodes trust. I think simply talking about your thoughts with someone who will listen is a much better option, talking openly without fear of being locked up will help you cope better. The more you talk about your thoughts the easier they are to cope with. Talking about suicidal thoughts with someone does not increase the likelihood that you will follow through with them, it actually does quite the opposite.

Continue to reach out, and I hope you find the help you are looking for.

I would personally call one of these hotlines if a friend or counselor wasn't available to talk to.

Sending out the police seems like a knee-jerk reaction. i.e. "We don't know what this is, so let's [shoot it / lock it up]."

I have not telephoned but I have found online help that calmed me down when I was on the edge.

https://www.imalive.org/

http://www.7cups.com/

I have reached the point of despair a few times in the past couple years and I am ..... well enough, I didn't want to die today at least.

Thanks. I use second but never heard about first one.

It wasn't a suicide prevention hotline, but I have called crisis hotlines occasionally.

They won't solve your problems - that takes months or years of work in therapy and/or making major life changes. What they are supposed to do is talk you down in a crisis so you don't do something drastic. A suicide hotline is there to keep you from killing yourself in that moment.

Keeping in mind what they're for, I'd say crisis hotlines work well. I've never been suicidal, but the times I called hotlines they stopped me from doing something self-injurious or abusive long enough for the urge to pass.

And a psychologist can be helpful for someone who has practical problems underlying their psychological issues, as long as they know how to do their job properly, and the person is willing and able to do the treatment. They can help you to clarify what needs to change in your life, come up with a plan to change it, deal with discouragement when you suffer setbacks, etc.

Hi Andreger,

I know it sounds hokey- but have you tried vitamin b12 shots? I used to suffer from bad anxiety and depression and once I started getting those shots, they started taking the edge off. Also, I was deficient in many vitamins. I took 2 forms of antidepressants and they turned me into a zombie. You get to a point of feeling good, but then you just plateau, and the withdrawal of coming off them is like trying to quit cold turkey on a cocaine addiction. I hope your situation is not too dire, if you ever need advice or just to talk and you don't want to call those hotlines you can always reach out!

How did you find out that you were vitamin-deficient?