So apparently Ted Bundy worked at a suicide hotline when he was a psych major in college. Imagine calling a suicide hotline and getting a serial killer on the other end of the line?
Everyone tells you to call one of those places when you’re depressed. But you ever wonder who you are talking to when you call one of these places? No one ever thinks of WHO is on the other end of the line.
The ONE and ONLY time I ever called the suicide hotline, (I was depressed but NOT suicidal) the lady on the other end of the line managed to make feel SUICIDAL by the end of the call. I felt 100x worse after the call than before. Anytime someone suggests I “call a hotline” I’m like “fuck you, no.” And then ppl get mad at me bc I won’t listen to their “helpful” suggestions. Pffft.
1- If those hotlines actually helped, then why do ppl still kill themselves after calling?
2- If those hotlines actually helped, then why are so many ppl still depressed call after call after call?
3- Does anyone bother to think WHO is on the other end of the line? Like WHO is “volunteering” and what kind of person is it that is trying to dole out “advice”?
Everyone just automatically assumes the person on the other end of the line 1- genuinely wants to help and 2- will make you feel better which is NOT true. Sure, that may be the case for some, but many only do it bc it’s a requirement for class, requirement to become a therapist or counselor, most do it bc they themselves are broken and looking to heal themselves, and others do it for power, ego and manipulation.
I’m not saying the lady I spoke to did it for power, ego or manipulation. (She was just lazy and was reading from a script). But she did manage to make me feel suicidal when I wasn’t suicidal. Also not saying everyone who is working the hotlines is evil. But ppl make false assumptions that 1- they’re all there to help you (no, not all of them are) and 2- that they will help you and make you feel better after talking to them (again, that is not true) and that 3- it can’t hurt to call (oh yes, it sure can!)
It’s funny how NO ONE thinks of WHO on the other end of the line is.
Except for me- But overthinking is also a reason for my depression. Ah, the conundrum…
6 comments
I’m waiting to see the suicide statistics for 2022. The new flashy national hotline has been in use for nearly a year, and everyone’s patting themselves on the back at the increase in call volume, but that don’t mean shit if people keep killing themselves. And all the studies I’ve been reading in the last couple months point to increases in suicide. So yeah at a certain point we gotta ask, is the suicide prevention hotline making any appreciable difference? With all the billions of dollars that have been pumped into suicide prevention for decades, we’re not seeing any results.
But I don’t think anyone cares about results. It reminds me of the standard politician’s “thoughts and prayers” whenever some catastrophe happens… it never gets fixed because nobody really cares. They’re just putting on an empty show for the public who equally don’t care. The suicide hotline exists only so that people can shout “call the suicide hotline!” and go about their merry way.
“it never gets fixed because nobody really cares. They’re just putting on an empty show for the public who equally don’t care. The suicide hotline exists only so that people can shout “call the suicide hotline!” and go about their merry way.” EXACTLY!
THAT is the problem I have:
1- NONE of these “help” places actually fix the problem
2- NO ONE FUCKING CARES. they just want you to stop complaining and would rather you pretend to be happy (hence the bs lines of “think happy” and “think positive”) so you’ll leave them alone.
It goes back to my whole thing about how all psychiatric aid is like a complaint department unattached to the actual problem.
Having worked inpatient, I can tell you the main goal is stabilization, and with the hotline they know they’re going to fail some. To stop people completely from committing suicide, you have to take away all lethal means. Can’t do that over the phone.
so harm reduction is what they are up to, and the data would indicate that works. It may be surprising to someone outside of the social sciences, but if you ask an ordinary person to promise to stay safe, on average they do. People are remarkably vulnerable to suggestion, especially when they’re sick.
There’s also no stopping a determined suicidal person. I remember reading about someone who got checked into a ward, spent several weeks there, then went home and killed himself. He told no one, and that’s something people aren’t prone to expect
but in modern society, we put our lives in the hands of strangers all the time. Any time we drive is a good example, still the most preventable deaths there. But also in so many small ways, when we go out to eat, what’s to stop them from poisoning you? I just got finished watching the entire series of Criminal Minds, and a conclusion I came to is that there is no situation absolutely safe, and apparently killers look for the ones we take for granted to hunt.
So when you say Ted Bundy worked at a suicide hotline, I’d say that makes a lot of sense. If you were looking for victims that wouldn’t fight back, where better?
Bundy’s wife recounted how sweet he was to her daughter from a previous relationship.
I think ironically someone like Bundy might be quite useful at a suicide hotline.
Manipulative people like him know how to say the right things to make people feel good in the moment.
Edit: Apparently, they weren’t married.
Yeah. Hotlines aren’t all that helpful. I guess better than nothing. I just spent 30 minutes chatting with one. Didn’t help. But didn’t hurt. Never thought about who was on the other side though. Creepy.