(Sorry for the long response, all)Originally Posted by catnapper
The problem is my aunt... if she would actually commit suicide, then I'd have her death on my conscious. ... and neither would be responsible for anything if my aunt commited suicide. Believe me, the threat of suicide is real.
You can only be responsible for you. You can do something about Denise's situation, since she's a minor, but your aunt has to make her own decision. Please don't blame yourself for something that someone else decides or worry about that decision. Trust me, I have been struggling with a suicidal (soon-to-be-ex-)husband who has actually looked me square in the face and asked me to take a shotgun and kill him (and yes, he was serious...not just emotional, having a fight over-reaction type of stuff, like we both are/were prone to anyway). We are separated now, in part because of this...he has attempted to take his own life 5-6 times now, according to what little he will tell me, and he blames me for a lot of the relationship problems we've had (and yes, I'm partly to blame, but his recently diagnosed bi-polar and clinical depression have contributed also...2 sides to every story). If he chooses to end his life now, I refuse to bear that guilt on my conscience...he is an adult who has to make an adult decision whether to continue or end his own life and no one else can decide that for him.
You can help a minor whether they want help or not, but you can't help an adult unless they choose to accept that help. If you really think she's a danger to herself, have her committed (as someone else has suggested), but until she chooses to recognize her own mental instability, she will be untreatable. It took my almost-ex about 3-4 years to admit that he had bipolar, even though I'd been trying to get him to see someone about his behavioral/temper problems for almost that long.
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