never tell your doctor you are suicidal, correct or false?

[SufferingInDenmark]

i live in denmark and my doctor is a selfish money hungry piece of shit who prioritizes money over people's health.
i just don't see any good coming from me telling her i might be suicidal.
she would probably force me into some fucking program or some shit... yeah man, come to think about it.
i will definetely never tell her.
that's not to say you shouldn't tho.
to each their own.

no "program" could ever fix all my disabilities.
so tired of people saying "get help". wrecklessly they use that phrase, for ANYTHING!

news flash, you jerk. no shrink is gonna bring back an amputee's leg or cure their epilepsy or ressurect their parents.

i often wondered what would happen if i call into a suicide hotline, i always imagine it's just for people whose lives truly aren't fully ruined yet.
for people with fixable problems.

if someone with no legs and arms say they are suicidal, someone will say "get help".
hahahahaha from who??? who can grow their fucking legs back you jerk.

"ohh but they can help them cope with their circumstance better".

nah man... you haven't lived that life. might seem easy for you.

disclaimer: i'm just ranting and not giving advice. if you feel like it might help you to go to a therapist, then please go.
even if you feel like it will not help, then just give it a try.

(i did...)

 

[wiggy]

I guess it depends. If you're having suicidal impulses but you want to live, it could be a good idea to tell someone - although you should understand that coercive measures might be used against you, and the outcome may orbmay not be in your favor.

I think a lot of people on this forum are committed to suicide on a sturdier level than just having impulses, though. If you are clear headed, I think no good can come out of sharing your intentions with anyone

 

[sancta-simplicitas]

Never tell someone who has a legal requirement to report your plans. Psyche wards are not good and healthy places, you risk coming out in a worse condition than you came in in. If you want help, tell someone you trust. A friend, family member, partner, peer support etc. In my country it's also safe telling priests, they're the only licensed occupation that is excepted from the law that requires them to report suicidal plans.

 

[bret217]

Hmm, well I feel torn both ways on this topic.

I have been hospitalized for the last 4 months or so and am finally home again. I was forced into inpatient; which is absolutely terrible. I only earned myself more time trying to CTB while in program. Even talk about it set me back which is why I just stopped talking about things. Eventually I got out and have lost all faith in the mental health system from my experience. If there are people who matter in your life that you think can help - I'd start there.

ahh, what do I know... I went from answering the suicide hotline to isolating.

 

[Ashes of a Dreamer]

You're completelly right. Health professionals, excluded those who practice euthanasia and assisted suicide, follow the suicide prevention approach, doing whatever they can to assure that the patient continues alive - it doesn't matter if they gave up or not. Lay people, included the ones from hotlines, will only listen to you and maybe indicate a way of coping. So, in the end, you conclude that there are problems without solution, and the only person who really knows what you went and go through is yourself; hence, the decision is in your hands, you choose if you want to continue or stop, as there isn't a way to really prohibit someone from killing themselves, exception made for patients who are supervised 24/7 in a closed environment - psych ward, for example.

 

[plan c]

I'm sorry for your awful experience with your doctor. I relate deeply to your frustration over an out-of-touch mental health system that fails to justify your right to convey a large portion of your emotions.

From my experience with several doctors, it really depends. The difficult thing is they don't always treat your suicidal ideations with the right attitude. By saying "treat" I mean justifying your emotions and guiding your ideations to the right choices to make, not simply trying to snuff them out of existence. Also, there's still the diversity in their knowledge / ability to handle them correctly... well things can get complicated. Sadly there's not too many place to talk about ctb and expect an educated response. That's what sasu is for afterall.

 

[HereWeGo!]

I told both my therapist and doctor about having suicidal thoughts. It didn't happen anything. But I didn't admit that I have plans and that I'm also done some half-assed attempts I didn't follow thru.

 

[S like Siren]

Correct.
Absolutly don't tell them,they are only good at prescribing poisoning strong psy drugs like candies,fucked up your life worst than before,stole with your consent a lot of your money that they are gonna use to go in vacation at maldives...and have the audacity to say and think they did their job.
Of course not every psy doctor is like this but good luck in finding a really good one

 

[sadalways]

I plan on telling my doctor about it and see what she says, because i was told that in EU atleast they cannot lock you up without your permission. I've never even mentioned being depressed to my psych, so i'm curious as to where it goes.

 

[Yume Nikki]

no point in telling because they will always threaten hospitalization even if you say you don't want to go there. they will do it by force. it's like punishing you by putting you into mental prison for feeling suicidal in the first place. ive had people threaten to call the police on me whenever i expressed my urges to ctb.

i went into an IOP program for my depression and the doctors felt almost robotic. like it was the same shit i encountered except online instead of a hospital. it was boring there too.

 

[HereWeGo!]

I plan on telling my doctor about it and see what she says, because i was told that in EU atleast they cannot lock you up without your permission. I've never even mentioned being depressed to my psych, so i'm curious as to where it goes.

I'm pretty sure they can lock you in if they consider you are in the risk of hurting yourself or others. In Sweden (which is also in the EU) they will lock you in if they think they need to.

 

[Rymrgand]

I have two things to say about this discussion:

First, I completely understand why OP is ranting. I have also thought about the "get help" sentence. That only works if you have money or a support network, and/or your life is not completely ruined. I don't have enough money to pay good professionals, friends or family, so the only thing left to me is to rot.

Second, while I understand that a lot of us had bad experiences with psychiatrists and therapists, some of the comments from this thread are poor advice. Asking for professional help, if you can afford it, is a valid option, and it has helped a lot of people. And unless you find a really bad professional, they won't force you into a hospital even if you tell them that you are suicidal (of course, there's a big difference between "I sometimes think I would be better dead" and "I have bought SN a couple of days ago"). If you show that you are cooperative and that you don't have plans to do it soon, it's really unlikely that they will force you into one. After all, there's literally not enough space in the hospitals for all the suicidal patients they have.

All my psychiatrists and therapists knew I was suicidal, and only one mentioned hospitalization as an option. I accepted, but she wouldn't have insisted if I didn't want to.

I plan on telling my doctor about it and see what she says, because i was told that in EU atleast they cannot lock you up without your permission. I've never even mentioned being depressed to my psych, so i'm curious as to where it goes.

They can definitely do it if they think it's necessary. At least in Spain, they need to ask a judge first, but the judge would accept, so it doesn't matter too much. In any case, they won't lock you if you are not too pushy, as I said.

 

[SVEN]

I wouldn't tell them, however that doesn't mean you shouldn't. Just be aware that once that is on your medical record it stays there. It can affect future insurance, credit card approval, employment etc.
No health professional who hopes to continue in their profession can put your interests above their professional and ethical guidelines. So, once they have been informed by you of your thoughts that cat is out of the bag, never to return.

 

[divinemistress36]

I made that mistake and got sent to the psychward and talked into electroshock therapy and got a bunch of memory loss . Careful what you tell a doctor

 

[dontwakemeup]

There are 2 ways in which you can say this. 1. Hey Dr, I have a loaded gum in my basement and I often think about shooting myself in the head and committing suicide. You can guarantee the conversation will lead to a mandatory involuntarily vacation to psych. 2. Hey Dr sometimes life gets difficult and I wish I could sleep and never wake up again. I often find myself sleeping a lot, and I noticed, I don't enjoy the things I use to do. Now, that option is better because you don't have a plan and no active method.

it basically comes down to do you want help or not? If you want help then say it, just be mindful how you say it that's all.

 

[sancta-simplicitas]

I plan on telling my doctor about it and see what she says, because i was told that in EU atleast they cannot lock you up without your permission. I've never even mentioned being depressed to my psych, so i'm curious as to where it goes.

I live in Sweden and they definitely can, in practice they don't even need an actual, valid reason since the authorities tend to believe ehatever shit they make up about someone. Often times, even if you're there voluntarily you're locked in against your will, which is illegal.

 

[rainwillneverstop]

Depends.

I'm from Denmark too, so think I can speak for how it is here at least though it's the same many other places too from what I see.
If you express impulsivity, say you got a plan and most importantly a time you plan to ctb then there's a risk you'll get involuntarily sanctioned.
if you simply say you're suicidal, but nothing concrete and no plans to act on it or a specific method then you likely won't get sanctioned.
Many people have passive suicidal thoughts and the ward would be filled in no time, if they just threw everyone in who simply expressed thoughts on suicide.

 

[DarknessAtNoon]

It really depends on whether you are 100% committed to suicide or not. If there is any part of you that would be open to recieving help then telling your doctor is probably a good idea. If you are certain that you are going to kill yourself then hell no don't tell anyone and risk getting locked up.

 

[SufferingInDenmark]

It really depends on whether you are 100% committed to suicide or not. If there is any part of you that would be open to recieving help then telling your doctor is probably a good idea. If you are certain that you are going to kill yourself then hell no don't tell anyone and risk getting locked up.

right. but depending on the country, it will probably be written down and stored somewhere in your file,
and then it might be hard to get a job in the future or even get taken seriously anywhere you go,
because when they read your file, they will think: "oh look, he's crazy"

like here in denmark if you are officially diagnosed with for example ADHD, when you have to renew your driver's license,
you have to go thru extra trouble, that a "normal" person wouldn't have to go thru.

i forget the details of it, but there's a famous person here who got diagnosed with ADHD as an adult,
and she posted about it.

you apparently have to take EXTRA driving lessons or something like that.

I made that mistake and got sent to the psychward and talked into electroshock therapy and got a bunch of memory loss . Careful what you tell a doctor

damn im sorry. what country are you in?

 

[divinemistress36]

right. but depending on the country, it will probably be written down and stored somewhere in your file,
and then it might be hard to get a job in the future or even get taken seriously anywhere you go,
because when they read your file, they will think: "oh look, he's crazy"

like here in denmark if you are officially diagnosed with for example ADHD, when you have to renew your driver's license,
you have to go thru extra trouble, that a "normal" person wouldn't have to go thru.

i forget the details of it, but there's a famous person here who got diagnosed with ADHD as an adult,
and she posted about it.

you apparently have to take EXTRA driving lessons or something like that.

damn im sorry. what country are you in?

USA

 

[Asiam]

I was having three panic attacks a day. My roommate and BFF was judging me and threatening to kick me to the street because they were too intense for him (after inviting me to live here to help..)
I textes fam to call cops becaus i felt suicidal from this drama and lack if support. Cops come, i buzz them in, they insist they have to cuff me outside their car in my apartment driveway st midnight in front of my neighbors then out kd in the car and drive me to the hospital
Then they told me they're nit supposed ti but theyre gonna leave me there and i waited eight hours and left because the waiting room was freeeeeezing and wait was like 15 hours. Bussed backm

Landlord booked a lot of random inspections after the apartment suites called saying i was arrested!!!
I will never ever admit that again
Dont do it if you live in an apt in canada x_x
Phone broken typos i sorry

 

[TAW122]

Pretty much what others have said here, and I will also add that there are so many risks of telling (especially if you already TRULY made up your mind) including unwanted consequences, further trauma and other ill consequences. As someone who lives in the US, the US does NOT have free healthcare and even with insurance, you will be billed for services (including those you didn't want but are rendered regardless of whether you wanted or not (part of 'implied consent' but I digress)) and then you become financially responsible for them. Furthermore, the loss of rights as well as stigma from people who know (word gets around even beyond 'confidentiality' and people can put two and two together regardless of confidentiality (which only applies to certain people under certain circumstances - e.g. a mental health professional cannot disclose that he/she had a session with said client/patient, but said patient's peers, social circle, family, or even employer can eventually find out if one was involuntarily held, detained, or locked up for a short time, especially if they found out they cannot work). So essentially confidentiality is just a concept that is loosely applicable only in certain contexts.

In short, the answer is correct, especially if you don't want consequences beyond your control or things to become more difficult and complicated than it is. You also nailed it when it comes to the facts in your original post.