Can't deal with suicidals

[Defiant1]

i can see your point of veiw on this, BUT; usually when someone wants to end their life, it's because life has just gotten to be too much for them. do some of the people who want to commit suicide bring it on themselves? yes, but for everyone of those patients; there is at least one patient who does not bring it on themselves, like a kid in middle school who has been picked on his whole life, has people telling him he is worthless, and his parents either aren't there or don't care, he may feel like the people are right and decide that everyone else would be better off without him. other times it can be brought on by another event, such as by the death of a classmate; or can be brought on by feelings of guilt. for that i have the perfect example; on march 8, 2005 a 19 year old male and his 16 year old girlfreind were killed in a car crash, the following 4 days became a living hell for the classmates of the girl that died. i was and still am one of her classmates. then on October 15th of 2005, i got into a car accident, i had stopped at a stop sign just long enough that a semi hit in front of the driver's side wheel of my car; after the accident, i had trouble going to school because one of my teacher's was the stepfather of my classmate, and also i wondered what made me stop at that stop sign. there were times i thought about suicide, but i always remember that i swore on her grave that i would be an EMT to repay her for all she had done for me. so next time, just take a step back and think why the patient wanted to end their life, and maybe you will understand.

[Ace844]

i can see your point of veiw on this, BUT; usually when someone wants to end their life, it's because life has just gotten to be too much for them. do some of the people who want to commit suicide bring it on themselves? yes, but for everyone of those patients; there is at least one patient who does not bring it on themselves, like a kid in middle school who has been picked on his whole life, has people telling him he is worthless, and his parents either aren't there or don't care, he may feel like the people are right and decide that everyone else would be better off without him. other times it can be brought on by another event, such as by the death of a classmate; or can be brought on by feelings of guilt. for that i have the perfect example; on march 8, 2005 a 19 year old male and his 16 year old girlfreind were killed in a car crash, the following 4 days became a living hell for the classmates of the girl that died. i was and still am one of her classmates. then on October 15th of 2005, i got into a car accident, i had stopped at a stop sign just long enough that a semi hit in front of the driver's side wheel of my car; after the accident, i had trouble going to school because one of my teacher's was the stepfather of my classmate, and also i wondered what made me stop at that stop sign. there were times i thought about suicide, but i always remember that i swore on her grave that i would be an EMT to repay her for all she had done for me. so next time, just take a step back and think why the patient wanted to end their life, and maybe you will understand.

In short, seek professional psych attention/help...

[Ridryder 911]

Ditto.. this profession is too stressful for unstable people. This profession has lead some very stable and damn good Paramedics to their grave. What we see and deal wiht occasionally, as well as trying to be "emotionally ready" for teh "big one" can lead to major problems.

Please seek professional help before contiuing...

Be safe & good luck,

R/R 911

[rcmedic]

Category 1- are the ones who are not really wanting to die...just want the attention from ex g/f, b/f, spouse, mother, father, etc.,Not really taking or doing enough of anything to really kill themselves.

I have nothing but seething hatred for people that are in Catagory 1. *growls* I remember a couple years back some idiot 'camgirl' dragged her webcam into the bathroom and then ate a bunch of pills while her webcam captured every moment. Then when the university EMS folks showed up, she claimed that it wasn't a suicide attempt at all. (Like we're all idiots.)

I wanted to stuff her webcam in her nose.

[itku2er]

Suicide is a very touchy issue with me... I am a very strong willed independant person who believes that no matter how bad life is as long as you have breath in your body there is always a way out. Fight till you fall then get up dust off and Fight like hell til you find a way to make it better..... there is always one there somewhere sometimes you just have to look for it.....But four years ago suicide hit me like a ton of bricks....my dad killed himself....out of the blue no warning signs not even a kiss my ass world nothing...he just did it....and to this day i still wonder why?.....i just dont understand the concept of it...but anyway when I have a "potiental suicidal" patient..... I do the only thing i can do....and that is listen to them let them tell their stories if they are alert enough ...but i never judge them...sometimes i just have to keep quiet cause i do realize that not everyone in this world has the strength or will that i do...my closing feeling on this.... if they want to do it they will do it....if not they will do the attention getting thing til one of two things happen.....1. they get over whatever makes them think that life isnt worth living.....or 2. they accidently get it right....thanks for listening guys...

T :angel12:

[Guest DELETED]

DELETED

[crsemt]

Before getting into EMS full-time I worked as a Facility Manager for a Mental Health facility. So, I always get Pt. care for suicides (somehow my colleges think I am an expert). Anyways, this is how I deal with them. 1. Never judge them, or draw attention to the behavior. 2. Try to talk about other things in their life that is not stressing them out. 3. Try to use as much humor as possible. I had a girl on time who was becoming a frequent flyer. I had her at least 3x as a Pt. The last time, she had been "huffing" air freshener. She was throwing all kinds of a tantrum, until I got her alone in the back of the rig and made the comment "My, your breath sure does smell pine country fresh." She then started laughing and was very co-operative the entire call. Whatever you do minimize attention to what they did and don't lecture them. If someone really wants to kill themselves they will, and you do not see the warning signs until after it has been done.

[Ridryder 911]

Do we get mad at the Diabetic with low blood glucose that gets violent, or the head bleed because they keep asking the same repetitive question and rip out their I.V.'s , or geriatric patient that accidentally over dosed on their Digoxin, because they could not remember how many pills they took?...... then, why do we criticize people with an illness so severe that cannot rationally see clear enough make rationale decisions ?

There are different suicides. Ones that are out of spite, or accidental (though they would injure, but not be fatal), and ones that are so depressed they see no other choice.

Depression is disease. EMT's have a hard time dealing with these because we cannot see or treat it. These patients do not see alight at the end of the tunnel... they don't even see the tunnel. The cloud that over hangs them makes it where they cannot see an option, they have attempted to rationale each part... albeit not appropriately. How many have you seen where, they did not truly gave some thoughts prior.

Sometimes this can be caused by chemical imbalance in the brain, electrolyte imbalances... etc. or just overwhelming situations that was too much for them to digest. Who knows when your last straw will be ?....

I used to get mad and very angered at them too, but; then after having several major critical events in my life, I have learned to develop an understanding. I now think how sad to live with the cloud of depression over them where life appears so bleak and doomed that it hurts so bad that the only option appears to remove the life. It was a shame, we in the health care field could not treat and help this person. I am sure they would had loved to be healthy, and enjoy life, like any other person...

So let us remember they are ill like other patients ...

Be safe,

R/R911

[hammerpcp]

=D>

Well said RId. those are my sentiments exactly. I don't think any one actually wants to die, they are just in so much pain that they see no other option.

However, i completly disagree with your earlier statment that:"this profession is too stressful for unstable people. This profession has lead some very stable and damn good Paramedics to their grave. What we see and deal wiht occasionally, as well as trying to be "emotionally ready" for teh "big one" can lead to major problems. "

just because trench1253 may have had suicidal or similar type feelings at one time, is not synonomous with him being an "unstable person". everyone has a story.

mental illness can be like bodily illness in that you get better. also if there was not such stigma against mental illness and people actually spoke freely about it, i think that you and alot of other people who seem to have this us (people who have not personally experienced mental illness) and them (people who have) mentality, would be surprised at how many of your friends/colleages/family have experienced bouts of depression, etc..

stats to back me up: 1 out of 100 canadians will have schizophrenia, a disease which has onset in late teens or early adulthood. 1 out of four of these people will commit suicide.

depression is second only after heart disease in reasons for visiting doctor, and will soon be the second most common reason for being unable to work . it is estimated that still the vast majority of people who experience depresion symptoms will not seek out any help, perhaps due to social stigma. this may account for why several people in this thread have mentioned that a family memeber killed themselves, adn that it was completly unexpected.

Anxiety disorders affect 5% of the household population, causing mild to severe impairment.

Suicide accounts for 24% or all deaths among 15-24 year olds and 16% among 25-44 year olds.

Suicide is one of the leading causes of death in both men and women from adolescence to middle age.

The mortality rate due to suicide among men is four times the rate among women.

20% of Canadians will personally experience a mental illness in their lifetime.

Mental illness affects people of all ages, educational and income levels, and cultures.

Approximately 8% of adults will experience major depression at some time in their lives.

info taken from:

canadian mental health association

in reference to the first post, i think that understanding is the first step in being able to deal with pt's in this situation. also it seems that pain and suffering and self destruction and therefore suicide is just part ofthe human condition, perhaps we just need to accept that as truth.

to learn more got to

[crsemt]

I think a Very good friend of mine, who is a psychiatrist put it best. I know he won't mind me quoting him. "Everybody is mentally Ill, some just hide it better".