Help for the suicidal

I contacted the Samaritans in Australia, to find out if their policies were the same as ours in the U.K; I have received their reply, an extract of which follows:-
[Hi Michel,

The Samaritans as an international organisation was started in England as you probably already know. It now has a presence in 53 countries around the world. As far as I know its polices are similar in most paces. The main difference seeming to be the name. Obviously because of the Christian overtones of the word Samaritans we do not use that name universally. We are a non-religious organisation however it was the English media who originally dubbed us The Samaritans. From your list of policies of the English run Samaritans the differences I see to how we do it in Perth, are that in Perth we are very definitely suicide specific. We promote ourselves as being there for the suicidal and disparing. We generally speak to people about how they feel in regard to other issues in their lives in as much as they affect the persons suicidal ideation. All other polices seem to match those you have mentioned.]

I thought this might be of interest to members of the forum; I don't believe that public awareness of the availability of help given by the Samaritans can ever be over publicised. Maybe you know someone...............

OH, The Good Samaritans. Yes they are a good bunch And to me they seemed pretty religious.
They also help out poor people who can't buy food or clothes. God bless them

ahhhhhhhhhhh they aren't the "good" samaritans. Damn that story from the Bible. Sorry it just irritates me when anyone calls them that.

So for those of you who have read up on it or know somebody well who thought of it....what is it like.....I mean is there a paradign that can be drawn that would explain the theory of self destruction to those, like me, who have never thought of it before?

Something else is destroying you but you dont feel like everyone else gets exactly how much it hurts you. You self harm or kill yourself to show others just how much you have hurt and how much you needed some help.

Also it can be because they just feel like there is no way out or they can't bear pain anymore so it is the nicer option.

Fluffy said:

Something else is destroying you but you dont feel like everyone else gets exactly how much it hurts you. You self harm or kill yourself to show others just how much you have hurt and how much you needed some help.

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Self harming (cutting, etc.) is quite different from the urge to kill oneself. Most cutters don't do it as a means to show others how much they've hurt. They do it as a means of being able to control the pain they feel because one cannot control emotional pain, so they make sure they can control their own physical pain. And in most cases, finally having this control over your own self (which those who self harm usually feel they lack) calms them in ways a relaxing bath or something like that would calm other people.

robtex said:

So for those of you who have read up on it or know somebody well who thought of it....what is it like.....I mean is there a paradign that can be drawn that would explain the theory of self destruction to those, like me, who have never thought of it before?

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Confession: I used to be suicidal. So I totally empathize with others who struggle with such feelings. For me, I wanted to be dead just to be free of pain---physical and emotional. Death seemed like the only option for relief. And I think that is true for most who have such thoughts and feelings. Also, it is an expression of hating oneself so much, that one feels one simply doesn't deserve to be alive. It sounds awful, I know. But, as a sufferer of depression, I know firsthand that suicidal thoughts/actions are almost a given with this disorder. While I no longer desire to take my own life, I do have from time to time, very severe bouts of depression when I wonder what the point of living is---when everything just seems so bleak, and so futile.

SoulTYPE01 said:

OH, The Good Samaritans. Yes they are a good bunch And to me they seemed pretty religious.
They also help out poor people who can't buy food or clothes. God bless them

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Hey Soul, quote:-[The main difference seeming to be the name. Obviously because of the Christian overtones of the word Samaritans we do not use that name universally.]
(from the Australian Centre)

The Samaritans are forbidden to touch the subject of religion unless the person to whom they are talking bring it up.
There has always been a problem, in England, with the misunderstanding that the organisation is in any way connected with Religion. The reason for that being that it would deter some callers from getting in touch .

Strangelly enough, the movement was started here in England, in 1953 . to further clarify the point, I am quoting:-
[font=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]The Samaritans are a charity, founded in 1953, which exists to provide confidential emotional support to any person, who is suicidal or despairing; and to increase public awareness of issues around suicide and depression.[/font]

[font=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]Trained volunteers provide this service 24 hours every day. It is free. You are guaranteed absolute confidentiality and that you will not be judged.[/font]

[font=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]Samaritan volunteers are not professional counselors or psychotherapists. They are caring volunteers who have been trained in the art of listening and empathy.[/font]

[font=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]You can talk to a trained Samaritan volunteer by e-mail. This is a free service. The Samaritans answer e-mail daily. E-mail messages are answered by trained volunteers, all of whom use the pseudonym “Jo”. In 2002 alone, Samaritan volunteers responded to e-mail from more than 100,000 persons.[/font]

[font=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]You can visit a Samaritans branch in person where one is available, or call phone numbers worldwide, most of which are toll-free. The Samaritans maintain a website listing centers and telephone helplines around the world. As of this writing, 50 countries were listed, and the website is available in 15 languages.
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[font=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]The email address for the Samaritans in the U.K is [email protected]; there is of course no reason why that email address should not be used by people living outside the U.K.
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yes, that is what they say MICH

SoulTYPE01 said:

yes, that is what they say MICH

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Soul;

I was a voliunteer in the U.K for two years; the training takes eight weeks. Believe me; Ok, maybe it is different in Australia, but Religion is NOT on the agenda.

This isn't a debates section so I won't debate your topic anymore.

Self harming (cutting, etc.) is quite different from the urge to kill oneself. Most cutters don't do it as a means to show others how much they've hurt. They do it as a means of being able to control the pain they feel because one cannot control emotional pain, so they make sure they can control their own physical pain. And in most cases, finally having this control over your own self (which those who self harm usually feel they lack) calms them in ways a relaxing bath or something like that would calm other people.

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What you describe is something which I do believe exists but I think is felt by only a minority of people. The majority of people self harm for what has derogativly been defined as "attention". I remember when I self harmed, I tried to convince myself that I was doing it because I was trying to calm myself down or channel the pain or whatever but I know deep down inside that was just a load of rubbish I was using to stop myself from thinking I was just an attention seeker. I grew up in a culture in which this was seen as a very bad thing so I had reason to want to distance myself from being described as one. I know so many people who cut though and they do go out of there way to make sure that other people know about it. I don't see this as a bad thing but many people do. I know perhaps one person who self harms uncontrollably and I only think this because their condition is of a magnitude which is much worse than anything I have ever seen.

Maybe Im being too overly negative though but, as I say, I'm speaking completly from personal experience so I could totally understand if someone self harmed because they wanted someone else to notice yet they wanted to feel like they were doing it for some other reason.

A statistic say that girls hurt themselves in a slow method, allowing time for someone to come and find them.

SoulTYPE01 said:

A statistic say that girls hurt themselves in a slow method, allowing time for someone to come and find them.

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source?

Well if you be patient Rob I will provide it lol. I can't be arsed now finding it.

A statistic say that girls hurt themselves in a slow method, allowing time for someone to come and find them.

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There are too many other factors that could affect such a thing to simply place a division line across the genders. I'd say that if there is such a correlation it is likely to be a very bad one or it is just coincidental. I'd be interested to know the theories which whoever researched this statistic came up with in order to explain why girls are more likely to want to self as a cry for help than boys.

Quote [ A statistic say that girls hurt themselves in a slow method, allowing time for someone to come and find them.]

I'm going to quote Winston Churchill again here :- "There are lies, damned lies and statistics"

I would like to take the opportunity to 'clear up' an apparent misunderstanding; I told someone that, in most cases, a person who is very depressed is less likely to comit suicide than someone who has been very low, and is getting to feel better.

I know this sounds wrong, but there is a reason; the person at the depth of depression usually has no energy, no direction and no ability to carry out any plan. It is only when they begin to feel better, and have an 'off' day that there is a danger.

michel said:

I would like to take the opportunity to 'clear up' an apparent misunderstanding; I told someone that, in most cases, a person who is very depressed is less likely to comit suicide than someone who has been very low, and is getting to feel better.

I know this sounds wrong, but there is a reason; the person at the depth of depression usually has no energy, no direction and no ability to carry out any plan. It is only when they begin to feel better, and have an 'off' day that there is a danger.

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I'm curious, Michel, about this----have there been studies done on this? My own personal experiences do not fit with this, though it might be true for some people.

robtex said:

So for those of you who have read up on it or know somebody well who thought of it....what is it like.....I mean is there a paradign that can be drawn that would explain the theory of self destruction to those, like me, who have never thought of it before?

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It was the coldest, saddest, scariest experience I’ve ever felt in my life. Words can not describe the way I felt. I can however look back on it today and recognize I’m a better person because of the experience. Might sound strange but it’s true. :jam: