Personal calls on speaker

[Cinateel]

I was at my local shopping centre today, and overheard part of a conversation a woman was having with the Samaritans, including her being asked about suicidal feelings, and admitting that she was experiencing them because of her current situation. . I moved away from her into a shop then, so I'm not sure if half our town knows what's going on in her personal life. Do people not realise that everyone in the vicinity can hear both sides of a conversation when on speaker phone?

I hate to be unkind but it does sound like she was intentionally wanting others to hear. I have a history of depression, which is well controlled at present. When I was at my worst I couldn't get out of bed. The idea of getting dressed, going to the shopping centre and then calling the Samaritans on loud speaker certainly wouldn't have occurred to me. I think you did the right thing, sounds she was looking for a drama!

Well you could be right, but she didn't appear to be aware of her surroundings, if you know what I mean? Not looking at anyone, sort of staring at the supermarket wall, though she was about 20' away.

If she's having suicidal thoughts (so much so that she felt the need to call Samaritans while out and about) and your description of what she looked/behaved like I would worry she left the house actively looking to hurt herself. So I suppose if that was her mental state the last thing she would be worried/thinking about is if other people could hear, it might even have been an (unconscious?) cry for help, hoping somebody might hear and stay with her once off the phone?

That was your experience. Sorry you went through that.

But please remember that; it was YOUR experience.

I've taken a number of overdoses. When I'm in crisis, people literally don't know because I carry on functioning.

I've also had times where it's all-consuming and I couldn't give a flying fuck who was listening; or, rather, it hadn't occured to me that others could hear.

@Dinojump I'm so sorry you've been through such a hard time. I suppose you're right. If things are so all consuming, you wouldn't be really aware of other people around you.

Thank you.

I just wanted to share my experience because I get very upset at people saying "well that's not what it was like for me, so they were obviously attention seeking."

MH crisis can look very different for different people.

People do seem to use the speaker setting in public for personal calls nowadays. I don't know why they do it, but they do.
In fact, I'd be interested to know why they do, I'd anyone knows??

Attention seeking? Emotional incontinence? Deliberately trying to manufacture confrontation?

I'm as baffled as you!

Do people not realise that everyone in the vicinity can hear both sides of a conversation when on speaker phone?

I mean you've kind of answered your own question here, haven't you?

@WhateverMate Yes, I suppose I have.

Two completely separate things.

This woman was clearly in crisis and not behaving rationally. She may have been so desperate she didn’t care.

On the broader question of people using speakerphone though this is the most selfish and entitled behaviour imaginable. I find it bizarre that anyone can think this behaviour is acceptable.

I knocked on my neighbour's door and he answered in the middle of a phone call, on speakerphone, afaik he was in on his own and he didn't know I was going to knock, so none of the above applied I don't think. Maybe some people have forgotten they can use the phone not on speaker?!