Skip to main content
Illustration of people sitting and standing

New here?

Chat with other people who 'Get it'

with health professionals in the background to make sure everything is safe and supportive.

Register

Have an account?
Login

cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Our stories

Rosie1961
Contributor

Suicide prevention

THE SILENT ONES

 

 

I have had bipolar disorder for 20 years and it is part of my illness that I become depressed - and seriously suicidal – with terrible frequency.   As all too many people unfortunately know, it is truly awful to be depressed.  For me it is as if the very cells of my body are weighing me down and all the “will power” brain chemicals have vanished overnight.  I think of nothing but suicide, day in and day out, for months on end.

 

I was committed once, 13 years ago, and I live in fear of a recurrence.  From the health care “professionals” who invaded my home to take me away, to the heartless nurses, the dismissive doctors and the aggressive fellow patients, it was a nightmare.  Possibly things have improved but I was so traumatised by my experience that I still live in fear of a repeat.

 

It is therefore impossible for me to cry out for help in my depression.  This is because everyone who could help – my GP, my psychiatrist, the Mental Health Line, Lifeline, Beyond Blue etc. is mandated to report seriously suicidal people to the authorities so that they can, if deemed necessary, be forcibly taken into care.  Given my overriding fear of this, I suffer in silence.

 

This need for silence is, in my view, tragic and I don’t believe I can be alone.  The suicide statistics are frightening and it is my understanding is that an appalling number of the dead (apparently 70%-80%) never even tried to access a mental health service before they died.  How many of these people, like me, were forced into silence by a wish to remain outside a system that has the power to commit?

 

Are those responsible aware of this gaping hole in our suicide prevention services?  Are they giving urgent thought to how it might be remedied?  It seems to me we need a suicide prevention policy which targets what I call “the silent ones” - the large proportion of the statistics who are suffering – and in many cases dying - in silence.

 

My idea to address this is to establish a 1800 mental health counselling line which, by legislation, is almost truly anonymous and confidential.   A number where the specially trained health care professionals staffing it are not permitted to take action to have a caller committed unless they believe they may be a danger to others - and must instead try to persuade the caller to seek help.  If such a telephone service could be established then people like me could call to talk and to listen without fear of committal.

 

It would take a fair bit of political courage to establish such a telephone line because it could, of course, be argued that it was in some way “allowing” suicide or condoning leaving the mentally ill unattended in the community.  But heroin injecting rooms provide an interesting comparison – as a society we do not condone heroin use but harm minimisation steps are taken.  I am suggesting something which could be seen as analogous and when one bears in mind that you would be targeting the proportion of the statistics who are presently dying (and suicide has recently overtaken heart disease as Australia’s biggest killer in certain age groups) then, on balance, it does not seem such a bad choice.  And perhaps there is a better answer - one which doesn't so radically change the way we treat the mentally ill.  The above suggestion is only my off the cuff idea.  Don't we have policy experts who could and should be addressing the terrible problem of helping “the silent ones” avoid that so final of solutions - death.

22 REPLIES 22
Former-Member
Not applicable

Re: Suicide prevention

Hi @Rosie1961
Welcome to the forums, i'm glad you have come here. Suicide/suicidal ideation seems to be something that is so common, but feared so greatly as you've suggested, i guess because it has irreversible consequences.
I'm sorry that you live in silence facing this, its a heavy burden.
I like your concept of a line that you could call and say oopenly what you need to say without fear of those reprisals!
Welcome again to the forums, i hope that you find some support here, and thank you for such a thoughtful post,
take care!

Re: Suicide prevention

Thanks.  I will be interested to see how many people agree with what I say.  I can't believe my experiences and reactions can be that unusual.

 

Former-Member
Not applicable

Re: Suicide prevention

from the large number of similar experiences that i've read about from members here on the forums, your experiences are definitely not unusual (in my own opinion!) @Rosie1961 .

Re: Suicide prevention

@Rosie1961
I have had bipolar for well in excess of 20 years. I wonder how many fully trained health workers would want to carry the guilt in knowing that an anonymous person is in imminent danger of suicide and will die.

These workers would be placed in a job where their risk of developing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder would be exceedingly high - as high as and in all probability higher than that of the various emergecy services workers. That is too much to ask any person to do.

I have been involuntarily hospitalised on multiple occasions for a very severe form of bipolar so I do understand what you are talking about. Why bother talking to anyone if they are prevented from taking any action.

I do hope you find the courage:

to accept that you have an illness that can be treated
to ask for help from mandated workers when you need it and
to accept your bipolar so that you can help yourself.

Bipolar is not a death sentence.

Re: Suicide prevention

Thanks so much for your comment.  I agree it would be a very difficult job and maybe you are right that it would be so difficult as to make my idea impractical.

I talk to people all the time for various reasons but I make my own decisions.  If losing my sense of control is the price, I stay quiet.  There is plenty of point in just talking - for me anyway - I find it cathartic etc etc.

I don't think it's a question of courage.  For me its a question of common sense - I refuse to trust people who in my experience don't deserve it.  I think I do accept my bipolar - what I don't accept is that the mentall health system as it presently stands has much to offer by way of help.

I hope the above doesn't sound too argumentative.  I really appreciate you responding to my post.  All the best.

Re: Suicide prevention

@Rosie1961
I'm pleased you can appreciate the other side of your proposal. I'm glad those mandated workers did what was necessary to keep me safe from myself.

I never want to see the inside (as a patient) of a psych ward ever again but I fervently hope that someone somewhere cares enough to help me when I can no longer help myself.

Take care.

Re: Suicide prevention

Thank you

Re: Suicide prevention

One way you can continue making your own decisions @Rosie1961 is to have an Advanced Health Directive im place. You might be interested in this option.
You'll find the information on good old Google.

Re: Suicide prevention

Thanks again.  I have looked at these and have also laid as many plans etc. as I can think of.  I have a few close friends to whom I have given permission to try and have me locked up if they think it necessary - as I said before I don't trust the staff at the local Mental Health but I do trust these friends.  

Illustration of people sitting and standing

New here?

Chat with other people who 'Get it'

with health professionals in the background to make sure everything is safe and supportive.

Register

Have an account?
Login

For urgent assistance