Reluctant to Tell Doc About Suicidal Thoughts... (Page 1)

You should never be scared to give your doctor helpful information. If you are experiencing suicidal thoughts, something needs to be done to help.
I don't think he would send you away for thoughts. Attempts would be a different story.

In a perfect world, one shouldn't be scared to tell their doc information. However, we don't live in a perfect world. We live in a world of dog-eat-dog, where a doctor's first resposibility is to cover his own ass. We also live in a predominantly western society where the view of suicide is one-dimensional. Contrary viewpooints are immediately dismissed. Is it any wonder why one would feel suicidal being surrounded by hate, hypocrisy, and arrogance?

I think everyone experiences suicidal thoughts at some point in their lives... I know I have.
What I was saying is that you need to tell your doctor you are having *thoughts.*
Are you on medication? Some medicines can cause suicidal thoughts.
He might need to switch on you.
The world is a very terrible and scary place these days... not something I would want my daughter to experience.
But there is also a very beautiful part of this world too.

I really don't think your doctor is going to send you to a psychiatric hospital because you are having suicidal thoughts though.
Like I said, thoughts are very different from attempting suicide.
I really think everyone experiences thoughts like that sometimes.

not sure about the state of your local mental health facilities but i've been told that it is like a vacation. i wish i could just go away for a little while and get the intensive treatment i need. but i have a job and bills to worry about.. oh, and the stigma.

i sometimes tell when i'm feeling suicidal. if i'm scaring myself then i take action. but telling your dr. about thoughts wont get you committed unless you say i am going to kill myself. i've told almost every dr. that i have had, which is tons, when i have thoughts of suicide. the majority say this is normal while severely depressed. but needs to be closely monitored. i know it's hard to trust dr. i've spent many years looking for one that i can believe in. i think i found him.

i would check out mental heath facilities in your area... just in case. so you can have a choice if it comes to that. and if it does, you might find it useful and revitalizing.

again, thoughts of suicide need to be addressed and monitored closely. take care.

I would say it's ANYTHING but a vacation, I've been in them for case studies and such, the people they're certainly don't look like they're sunbathing. As far as law is concerned, your doctor legally would probably refer you to a local mental health center, and they would come assess you. This essentially puts it into their hands. So yeah, sort of saving one's ass, but also because unfortunately, as with any mental illness, it's impossible to know what someone is going to do, so you NEED to take every opportunity to make sure they're safe. Usually they won't consider it, though, unless you have a specific plan. Suicidal thoughts are actually much more common than people would think, but no one talks about it and that's the point. Thoughts like this may in fact be categorized as obsessions, unwanted thoughts that keep creeping in your head but which you'll never perform.

Yeah, I'm not sure that suicidal ideation on its own will involve a trip to the hospital. My husband has admitted to attempting suicide & that's what triggers the visit to the psych ward.

i'm sure they're different everywhere. i guess we have some decent ones around here. a couple of friends have actual experience staying in them. my point is that if you are worried about being committed try looking at the alternative.. right? so, it is better to go to a hospital than down under. my best to you!

No, they're not. State controlled facilties are NOT very pleasant. There are private owned facilities that are, but they tend to be very difficult to get into because they're high demand, and often you can't get into them unless you have a history. Typically, as well, they give precedence to younger individuals. And contrary to popular belief and what you may learn in school, the majority of people that talk about suicide DO NOT attempt to actually kill themselves. When I worked in MH, the people who would actually succeed you usually had no contact with before whatsoever. They didn't threaten, they didn't talk about it, they didn't make little teeny attempts, they just did it.

Stan...very insightful. I've heard the horrors of state-run facilities. I hope my husband never has to go to them because I would just be mortified. Here's to always being able to send him to private facilities if he has to go.

Sorry this is a bit old but I wanted to bring this up-

Your doc has a legal obligation to commit you (or something) if he thinks your life or someone else's life is in immediate danger.

So, if you tell your doc "I am going to kill myself tomorrow by OD'ing on aspirin" he will probably commit you.

If you say, "I have had some suicidal thoughts recently when I was feeling really depressed" he probably won't, instead he'll take that into consideration when determining the severity of depression and course of treatment.

Or that's the way it's supposed to work, at least.

I can say that not all facilities are wonderful, but in my life, whenever someone has had to be committed, it was really necessary and they came out better for it. (And didn't regret it)

suicidal thoughts is one thing but having a "PLAN" would have your doctor curious ,i tell my doctor about suicidal thoughts he ask's me if i have a plan and do i wanna physically harm myself i tell him no ,but if your thoughts are leading you to actually wanna kill yourself then seek help before you harm yourself or some one else if there thoughts then there just thoughts

Right. If you are having suicidal thoughts, you should tell your doc, because it is a measure of how serious your depression is and she/he will be able to treat it more effectively.

Okay. I think I can claim "expertise" on the matter since I've been sent away a dozen times. Literally--12 times into the mental ward at our local hospital since 2002. Average stay was 10 days each. Anyway, my doc would put me there if I posed a threat to myself or others. If I was having ideations, he would watch me closely.

Now, there's different types of being committed. One is voluntarily, which is the category I fell under. Honestly, I felt pressured because my doctor would've fired me if I didn't go, but I could've left at anytime ADA (against doctor's advice), but would not be welcome again if I needed to be there in the future. So, they say it's voluntary, but it's kinda not.

The other type is when there is a court order issued for your committment. For this type, you are usually brought into the hospital in handcuffs. This method is resorted for those who absolutely have to go in but will not cooperate. Any doctor or family member can have you court ordered to be committed if they deem necessary. This does, however, lead to a longer stay AND, in my state, send you eventually to the county mental facility when a bed opens up. That stay is usually not too long. Kinda pointless if you ask me. Total time of committment in this case is over a month.

Being hospitalized for mental illness is anything but a vacation. You lose all your rights... especially if you are under suicide watch. When you come in, you lose your shoelaces, your belt, and all your toiletries. You have no mirror, no coat hangers, no racks. You can only shower at a certain time, which is the only time you can have your toiletries. If you want to shave, you must wait until things are going slow so a tech or nurse can be there to watch you. You have to conform to their schedule and one community television. There's awful, boring activities and group therapy about 4 times a day, except weekends when you do nothing except count ceiling tiles. If you get in trouble, you may get sent to solitary confinement. If you get out of control, they can stick you with a shot that will knock you out for 2 days. Straight jackets are rarely used and they rarely ever strap someone down unless it's absolutely necessary. There's no privacy, total boredom, and the ups and downs that go with medication changes. You only get to see your family for an hour in the evenings and twice per day on the weekend. It's awful. Thankfully, it's a place I haven't been to in 2 years. At one time, I was deemed a "frequent flier," as they called it. AWFUL... (Oh, and limited caffeine, snacks, and awful hospital food. I always lost weight and then they would try to tell me I was anorexic. What a nightmare...)

With that said, you still really NEED to confide your feelings to your doctor. If you can convince him that you are not a threat to yourself or others, you should have nothing to worry about. If he feels you are a threat, he may resort to having your family watch you closely before considering hospitalization. Depends on the doctor and the level of care in your town. If you go, I sure hope it's better than the place I ended up. I've heard ours is worse than average. They don't even allow people to smoke. Smokers have to wear a nic patch, so they are all just pissed off the whole time and can't work on getting well because they're just pissed 'cause they want to smoke. I felt sorry for them.

Now I have a new doctor. The other one did eventually fire me. I think my problem was the old doctor. I've been fine since my new doc pulled me off of half the meds I was on. Turns out, I was overmedicated. I feel pretty okay now.

Good luck to you and I hope you are feeling better.

My 2 cents is, that if you are up front and honest with your doctor on your thoughts, he can better treat you. He can not treat something he is not aware of. There are some pretty decent medications out there now if use properly that I am sure might help you. But, only if you tell him your thoughts.

Carrie

I was brought to the hospital in handcuffs 5 times. Having literally 30 policeman in your house, being handcuffed, and put in an ambulance is not my idea of a pleasant ride to a vacation spot. The hospitals themselves varied. I was in private and county hospitals. The private hospital was more clean overall, but all of them were dirty and run down. I would NEVER want to be in a state facility. They said if I would have been hospitalized again, that would happen. Oh, and my only thought on my mind while bieng hospitalized was that I wanted to get out, and the things I will do when I get out.

Be completly honest EndlessApathy if you want to start to get better. Your doc will not lock you up for this information. Suicidal thoughts are a lot more common than you may think. But still they can be dangerous for you and often uneccissary A small amount of counseling could have you on the track to a new way of thinking. But again he will not try to commit you for sharing that you have suicidal thoughts. If you have a suicide kit ready to go and are planning it intently and have tried or have a history of trying He may get a little more concerned. But he will want you to go see someone. So be ready and open to getting the help you want This can be done on a outpatient basis for sure. As long as you dont hurt yourself or others.

Anyone heard from EndlessApathy, the original poster? I wonder how he's doing. Been months since his last post.