I have been thinking about this, and so I’ll post it.
I know we all suffer terribly, and I personally think suicide is a legitimate choice that people should be allowed to make… having said this there is something that that I do have a little problem with: PRACTICING ON YOURSELF!
I just remember working on the periphery of the medical profession for many years, and people who are all carved up or who have to have their stomachs pumped every couple of months are just not taken seriously. Medical staff, social workers, group home staff just simply wear down when clients or patients or CONSUMERS (what a friend’s service company calls them) are not interested in suicide, but rather in pretending to commit suicide to get attention. And pretty soon, masters degree, doctorate or not, they are treating you more like a cash cow than a human being.
It’s not that they don’t think the person might actually do it, it’s just they get bored with it after awhile and internally they say “yeah, right, whatever. Okay, do it then and just shut up about it already.” Not literally do they say that, I mean sometimes they say stuff very similar, but that’s the gist of it.
And like I said, I think this choice is a legitimate one and not just some psychological fixation, like chronic hand-washing or a sexual deviation.
Frankly, I have long felt that “staff” really doesn’t care, I mean they REALLY don’t care, and constantly making lame insincere attempts makes the “staff” care even less.
Any thoughts on this?
4 comments
Reminds me of a quote by Yoda. ” Try? There is no try. Do or do not”.
What you’re saying is that suicidal people should quit with the half assed attempts and get it right the first time.
At the end of the day its just a job to them and that’s half the problem. some people are caring and compassionate and some people just simply aren’t. No amount of going to college is going to give uncaring people the ability to be something they’re not but that’ pretty much all that they need to do. I think medical and especially mentle health services should be more choosy on the people who they deem appropriate for the job – with empathy, caring, compassion and understanding the key qualities needed to be able to do the job.
spelt ‘mental’ wrong, knew it was ‘al’!
Personally I’ve been extremely lucky with many of the support staff and mental health workers I’ve dealt with over the years. They’ve really made a difference to my life. I feel supported and cared for most of the time. I find them often better than friends in actual fact, because the boundaries are clear and you don’t have to listen to a friend’s endless litany of problems which always seem more acute than your own.
However I am aware that many find only frustration when seeking ‘help’.
I can’t help agreeing with you about half-assed attempts.
Mental health workers, nurses and doctors etc are people too, and they often become jaded by the work and the sheer volume of human suffering they have to cope with. They also often have an inhuman amount of paperwork and bureaucracy to deal with. My experience is, the more proactive you are about your own recovery, the better rapport you can find with the support staff.