People who threaten suicide.

@Wellard Said

Are you on crack? of course you can kill yourself by using puppies and rainbows! Smother yourself with the puppy and you also could go up in a plane and jump out to try and catch a rainbow,miss it and then splat!!

@sister_of_mercy Said

Of course, silly of me to forget about that old chestnut.

To get back onto serious territory I think that we can never really know what's going on inside somebody's head so it's always best to try and make sure we've done all we can for anyone who may give the slightest impression that they want to end their life.

@jmo Said

Pah, If I started hallucinating and seeing Rainbows then I think I would off myself. No way I'm spending the rest of my days in a mental institute. Next thing you know I'll be riding Unicorns!

@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?

@Wellard Said

I see what you mean but I always think if someone is going to do it they they are going to do it regardless.

EDIT* Is the reason for you wanting to help the other person genuine or is it to maybe ease your mind and perhaps not feel as guilty if they did do themselves in?.

Apologies about the sloppy writing but you know what I mean

@sister_of_mercy Said

Not necessarily true of everyone though. If that is the case then what would be the point in having The Samaritans helpline?

Suicidal thinking can arise from many things but predominantly it's a case of being trapped in faulty negative thinking processes. If you can attempt to alter these then there is some chance of getting better and beginning to think rationally. However it is often a lengthy process so yeah in that respect some might off themselves before they get to that part.

As far as the edit goes, I would say both for your own conscience and so you know you have helped someone in genuine human compassion. To be quite honest it shouldn't matter what your intentions are with something like that, as long as you actually try and help them then that's the main thing. Perhaps I am a little naive in thinking that, but I will freely admit it.

@SnowComa Said

It's something that should be taken completely seriously. Every psychology textbook I've ever read, every psychologist I've ever spoken to, and my own personal experience all point to "people who threaten suicide are just doing it for the attention" being a flat-out myth. For a lot of people, it's a cry for help. It's their way of begging someone, or anyone, to say they care about them and that they're wanted.

The reason people think it's an attention grab is because there are a lot of people that talk about it, and then never do it. What these people don't realize is that when you're finally staring down the barrel of that gun, it's a whole other world. You have to be low to pull that trigger... almost to the point where nothing in the world could ever lift you up again, and when you're actually faced with the cold reality of death, you realize that maybe life is worth hanging onto after all.

I've been on both sides of this. I've known people that have killed themselves (some without ever saying a word about it and some who never talked about anything but suicide) and I've seriously considered the option myself (although there's only one person in the world that I would ever talk about it with). Every circumstance should be taken seriously. It never hurts to let someone know that there is a light at the end of whatever black tunnel they're walking through.

@grasshopper Said

But some pathetic people threaten it to get people to do what they want. Like, "if you don't have sex with me, I'm gonna kill myself"

Fine, do it then!

@Fortuna Said

I don't know anyone who would threaten to commit suicide over THAT. Good Lord! Those people seriously need help.

@Wellard Said

I remember hearing about some kid hanging themselves last year because someone stole their cell phone or ipod.Give me a moment and I will try and find the news story.

@Fortuna Said

That may not be all there is to it. The kid could have been bullied at school and at home. Maybe he/she was afraid of his/her parents.