How to Help Someone Who Has Posted a Suicide Note on a Social Network
In a number of high-profile cases from 2008 to 2010, young people posted to social networking sites like Facebook stating that they were going to commit suicide and then followed through on their threat. Many of these cases were teens who held a secret, such as being gay. Others were living in constant fear of bullies. According to the World Health Organization and 2005 data for the United States, 17.7 males and 4.5 females per 100,000 people commit suicide annually, and the trend looks to only be increasing.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
A Close Friend
-
1
Look for additional warning signs if you chat with this person often over a networking site. He may post things that don't sound right, such as consistently wondering about afterlife, death and dying when he has not brought this up in the past. He might also want to discuss how you would kill yourself or what your thoughts are on the afterlife.
-
2
Watch for signs of depression. He may be experiencing excessive worry, which causes troublesome thoughts. He could start talking about losing his job, losing his family or losing his home. If your friend starts having grand plans for the future, this could be a sign of mania. This sometimes follows an episode of depression.
-
-
3
Look for an increase in alcohol or drug use. If your friend is talking about drinking all the time, especially alone, combined with talking about death or the afterlife, she could have a serious problem and be sending out a signal for help.
What To Do
-
4
Ask your friend if he would like to get together and talk about things. Don't belittle him or joke around; he is in real pain and needs a good support person. Be there for him. Listen to him and don't judge; don't offer your opinion on suicide being right or wrong. If this is where the conversation ends up, convince him to get help and offer to go with him. Even simply having him call a suicide prevention hot line would be helpful.
-
5
Take away his access to anything harmful. This would include firearms, prescription medications, alcohol, car keys, knives and anything that he could use to kill himself.
-
6
Call the police or 911 if your close friend has posted something about committing suicide online. Don't be afraid to look silly. It is better to be a little embarrassed to find out he was joking or wanting attention than to ignore the situation and have an alternative outcome.
An Online Friend
-
7
Look for messages of warning in her postings -- discussions about afterlife, what her family would do without her and so on. She many use phrases like "I can't stop the pain," "I can't make the sadness go away," "I can't see a future without pain," "I can't get someone's attention" or "I can't sleep, eat or work." These are some signs of depression and could be a warning that this person might attempt suicide.
-
8
Offer to speak with him on the phone or through a video chat for a more personal connection. He is no doubt feeling isolated and lonely, and having a real friend to talk with might make a difference in his mood and plans.
-
9
Contact law enforcement or call 911 to help you locate this person's address if it is not readily available on his homepage. The police will be able to find him and check to see if he is all right or needs help.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
Don't give up on someone who is depressed. He needs your kindness and support now more than ever.
Try as hard as you can to get your friend into a treatment program for depression before it escalates to something more serious like a suicide attempt.
There are several hundred resources online that will help someone who is trying to help a friend with his depression. If nothing seems to be working, call the authorities, they will know what to do.
It may be hard to figure out if a friend is serious about a suicide post or "crying wolf," but it's best to take all mentions of suicide as serious.
References
- Photo Credit rain-drops on the window image by Irina Kodentseva from Fotolia.com
