@iamthewalrus Said
My psychology professor put up a question today asking us whether or not we believed that people who threatened suicide are likely to actually do it. Most people in our class said no. They didnt believe that people who threaten suicide truly mean to do it; the general consensus was that these people are purely attention seekers with no means of following through.
My professor had a different opinion though. She believed that those people are extremely desperate, and that if they're willing as to go as far as threatening something that big, they're willing to actually do it.
What do you think? Has anyone ever had any experience with this? Would you actually tell the authorities, or someone else in charge if someone you knew threatened suicide? What if you knew this was a person who made threats all the time and wasnt taken seriously...what would you do?
I can tell you from personal experience that many people who eventually carry out a suicide do give hints to people that they are considering it - including talking about it as an option.
People who commit suicide do so because living is too painful. Getting up in the morning and breathing in and out, and thinking, is too painful.
People who make threats all the time need to be helped. Just considering suicide in conversation with someone else as an option generally means you are in a pretty bad place emotionally.
I believe many people dismiss threats or signs of suicide because they don't believe that person's problems are genuine enough. They will often think "but she has such a great job/a great family/a great life."
In my experience, it is people who threaten suicide, and then suddenly become happy and carefree who you need to watch out for the most. Suicidal people who finally decide on a method and place/time can appear almost cured of depression to others. It is often because they have found a solution to end their pain that they seem so okay.