My friend whom I chat with online when she is dealing with her PTSD has been very depressed the past two days. She says she hasn't eaten or drank very much (hardly anything) and is not sleeping. This is evident in her behavior as she is clearly very low, irritable and feeling entirely overwhelmed/exhausted.
She asked tonight to promise her that if she messages me before she decides to commit suicide, I will not try to stop her or message anyone else to stop her. I did not immediately respond because that is not easy to hear. I finally said that I cannot lie to you, I would try to stop you because I care. I reiterated that while I understand her pain, she is a good person and many of us care about her quite a bit. She said that she will make sure a message gets to me afterwards.
This is not the first time she has talked about suicide, and it's always in the abstract (never any clear plans and she herself admits that thinking about this gives her some power of her situation) and she's made it clear this isn't something she's doing soon, just if (or in her words "when") things don't get any better in a couple more months.
How are you supposed to respond to someone who is depressed and talking of suicide, and also how do you hear that and not lose your own mind in the process?
She asked tonight to promise her that if she messages me before she decides to commit suicide, I will not try to stop her or message anyone else to stop her. I did not immediately respond because that is not easy to hear. I finally said that I cannot lie to you, I would try to stop you because I care. I reiterated that while I understand her pain, she is a good person and many of us care about her quite a bit. She said that she will make sure a message gets to me afterwards.
This is not the first time she has talked about suicide, and it's always in the abstract (never any clear plans and she herself admits that thinking about this gives her some power of her situation) and she's made it clear this isn't something she's doing soon, just if (or in her words "when") things don't get any better in a couple more months.
How are you supposed to respond to someone who is depressed and talking of suicide, and also how do you hear that and not lose your own mind in the process?