Bullying Suicidal People

If your primary goal in dealing with someone suicidal is preventing them from committing suicide, you will most likely do more harm than good. Religious people often attempt to guilt trip or frighten the person into avoiding suicide. This just makes them more miserable than ever. Sometimes religious people use force. This just convinces the depressed person the world is a bullying uncaring place. Some try to browbeat the terminally ill into enduring unendurable suffering. This is unconscionable meddling. Instead, explain that suicide is usually a permanent solution to a temporary problem. Point out the ways in which the situation could change all by itself or with a little help from the outside. Don’t tell them to buck up and stop making a mountain out of a molehill. Let them do most of the talking. Don’t bully them, arrogantly assuming you know more about their situation, just how it feels and the best course than they do.

~ Roedy (1948-02-04 age:70)