Friend thinking of suicide

[MatthewMouse]

I have a friend that is thinking of suicide in the near future. This friend told me that they would never use medications/drugs but instead this friend told me they would hang them self. This friend told me of all of thier problems and this friend is planning on ending it. They told me of all of thier problems.
The friend has many physical and mental problems such as Bipolar ptsd and anxiety to name a few . They have told me that they hate being anxious all of the time, being worried that they will be in a group of people and have an anxiety attack. This friend has also been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder and cuts.
Financial issues, family issues, mental health issues, pysically issues, they feel as if people are talking about them and when stressed they hear voices.
I am very concerned about thier desire to act on suicide. This friend has been in and out of mental hospitals and thier sick of it.

My friend is also scared of hurting the ones they love so they told me they'd leave a heart felt suicide note.

The song that comes to mind is "how to save a life" by the Fray. I would try to help this friend.

Thank you and sorry about any grammar or spelling mistakes. I'm simply trying to save this person. The friend I's under 40 years old and they have alot of support but my friend feels trapped. We had a long talk but the friend is set on suicude. How do you change thier mind when they are set on it?

 

[herbavore]

I do not know if you can change this person's mind and so you will have to try to let go of that idea so that you are not consumed by the guilt of "failing" to save his or her life should suicide actually occur. It sounds like your friend is truly suffering and has not found the right treatment yet. It is tragic that so many people actually die from ways of thinking that they are trapped by. By "ways of thinking" I do not in any way mean to trivialize your friend's situation as simply thoughts that he or she can walk away from easily. But anxiety is a construct in the mind and the mind is changeable just as the physical brain is.

You might try getting the book Radical Acceptance by Tara Brach. Often an idea can save you, as implausible as that may seem. When I was young I manufactured endless self-doubt and saw no way out. I, too, contemplated suicide and made several attempts. Hospitals did nothing except keep me temporarily safe from myself. What saved me from a whole life lived in that horrible trap inside was first an exposure to something larger than myself (a way out of the ego) and then a glimpse of the deep peace that is possible with acceptance. Our cultures train us to be in a constant state of yearning and dissatisfaction.

What your friend needs is hope and faith that there is more to life than what she/he can currently imagine. Perhaps the best thing to do is simply to accept your friend's feelings without trying to talk him/her out of suicide and instead simply providing love and encouragement for other ways of living. I really believe that no human being wants to die. But we can become so myopic in our pain that we need our current circumstances to die in order to be set free.