Suicide threat, distressed poster

If someone told me they were about to commit suicide, I wouldn't say "call the crisis team" and then walk away

This is where I’m struggling with it too. Because that’s the policy. I find it difficult to comprehend.

Mumsnet isn’t right medium for suicidal posters.it really isn’t
With best intentions,no one on mn can make an appropriate or safe intervention
And lots of I’m here for you, I’m listening etc isn’t what’s required.
It needs specialist help,and signpost to appropriate mental health services

Have you called the samaritans recently? I did and they were engaged for over an hour.

Do you think police are particularly sympathetic to a suicidal person? Not always.

A&e you'll sit alone in a cubicle in hell for hours until an overworked psych liaison disinterestedly interviews you. Or they're not available til the next day and you're discharged with nothing.

* people were VOLUNTEERING advice and a listening ear.*

Why are untrained lay people volunteering advice to a suicidal person online? The risks involved with that for the OP are enormous.

I really do feel that mnet has a duty of care to intervene

No, no, no! How can they?! And what a terrible responsibility for MN to have to bear - seriously. This is just an online chat forum at the end of the day. None of us here knows how to help the OP, no matter how much we might want to. And it's all to easy for someone to say the wrong thing.

It's absolutely right that MNHQ should delete these threads.

It is nobody's responsibility to help a suicidal person, but people were VOLUNTEERING advice and a listening ear.

They are not qualified to offer advice. Posters want to feel like they’re doing something to help but realistically, the only thing that does help is real life intervention.

* As a mental health nurse you will know that there is sod all professional help available.*

The Samaritans, police, and hospitals/out of hours emergency health services are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Not everybody that has a compulsion to take their own lives needs a statutory crisis service.

There isn't enough help for people with these mental health issues. The NHS and the samaritans aren't these amazing cures that people seem to think they are.

It is nobody's responsibility to help a suicidal person, but people were VOLUNTEERING advice and a listening ear. If someone told me they were about to commit suicide, I wouldn't say "call the crisis team" and then walk away. Somewhat easier to ignore a person in need online I guess.

Batyleax I remember that to. It was awful and I'd hate that to happen again but I really do feel that mnet has a duty of care to intervene. To have people who are trained who can reach out to the OP via pm and offer support. I am pretty sure they can afford it!

that particular poster from tonight has posted before. its not her first suicidal thread. last one was left to stand, back in the summer. policy changed few years ago ,so not sure why it was left up

But what about the one (or more) who wasn't previously suicidal but becomes so as a result of reading those threads

Then the responses would help them too, and in addition I can’t deal i. the “maybe” that may not be real, but the actual, that one poster who is posting and just had the door slammed on her face. How does that help the other posters who may be suicidal ? Knowing mumsnet will slam the door on their face too, so they shouldn’t bother asking for help?

No it isn't Donkey.

It's 2 or 3 years old and it seems it's been forgotten why it was introduced,

Sometimes I do feel sorry for HQ.

Yeah it's not pleasant to deal with someone on the brink of death when you're trying to while away your time.

You have totally misunderstood why the thread went.

As for the mental health nurse recommending professional help - surely you realise there isn't any?

Six hours odd in a&e to be discharged with nothing in place. Or perhaps taken to a police cell under a 136 if there's no hospital bed. Great for someone who's at the end of their tether.

This is not a new policy.

Not even a warning just poof - gone!! No we will take this down soon. Nothing. That is definitely a new thing.

You must have missed it. The thread was up for a good few minutes after the “this will be deleted” message was posted.

That's not it at all pineapple.

It was posters telling me to think if my Dd and that my dd needed me that helped me. More than that it was posters telling me I was good enough mum and good for dd that helped me. I think I'm qualified to say what helped me personally. Maybe it didn't help the OP but Pease God it did. That she was engaging with the conversation was encouraging.

I hope she gets help

The attitudes on this thread are sickening. This is why people end up dead.

Yeah it's not pleasant to deal with someone on the brink of death when you're trying to while away your time. But would you tut and complain if someone collapsed in cardiac arrest in front of you in a shop? Demand someone move them out of the way perhaps?

yes LEM they did post a warning first to say it would be deleted

I give not one shIt if 99 out of a hundred of them are trolls, I care only about the one who isn’t.

But what about the one (or more) who wasn't previously suicidal but becomes so as a result of reading those threads?

There were three or more enormous site stuff threads after the very distressing thread(s) which caused MN to revisit their policy.

I wouldn't like to see a weekend like that again on MN. It was harrowing, graphic, inflaming. Awful.

What are you talking about weird fantasy scenarios for “it’s all going to be”.none of this stuff you are weirdly imagining happened, no one troll hunted,people simply tried to help.

BIWI indeed I have but I nearly dropped my phone when I read the deletion message. Not even a warning just poof - gone!! No we will take this down soon. Nothing. That is definitely a new thing.

may delay the poster in seeking professional help.

As a mental health nurse you will know that there is sod all professional help available.

In an ideal world referring a suicidal poster to professional services is the right thing to do. In reality it's sending them into an ether of nothing. Anyone that has tried to access crisis services in the past few years will understand what I mean.