Advice on suicidal thoughts & self-harming

[JuniorxMyxLove]

I'm assuming, he doesn't have his parents to talk to, and you can't go talk to them considering his home life is one of the major elements causing all this.

Personally, I think school officials do jack sh*t for kids most of the time. Not to be mean, but with all I've experienced in my 18 years in a public school system, I've never had one guidance counselor I would've trusted. I've dealt with bullying before and I would've never gone to one for that either. The one in my MIDDLE school, oh don't even get me started... I'm SURE there are some exceptions, I am SURE there are amazing teachers you could go to as well, I had 4 that I trusted with my life. But then again, their jobs are to report it to the counselors.

Anyway, sorry for my little off-topic rant, but it's obvious this kid needs professional help and I'm glad you realize this. I am glad to that he has someone to talk to for now as well. That helps all the way of course. But is there any way he'd call a hotline first? He seems very reluctant to tell people about this, so maybe an anonymous hotline could help him.

I'm pretty sure his parents are out of the question. I'm not sure exactly what's going on with his home life (hoping tonight will answer that for me) but I know it's not good (he's said before that he feels like we're the only family he has right now)

I've never gone to my counselor for anything personal before, but she's always seemed sincere enough and willing to try and help. I dunno. I think it's all going to depend on what my friend E has been doing because I don't know what the counselors know and what their plan of action is.

Hi there! Don't believe we've met on here, as I am fairly new.

First off, very nice to see that you're seeking help for your friend. My advice to you will have both personal and professional views thrown in. I am part of a national group called Active Minds, and we work to raise awareness for the stigmas around mental illness- don't want people to have to be afraid any longer of coming forward and getting help!

Problems your friend listed:
- bi-polar
- depression
- self esteem issues
-self-harming

In perspective, self-harm, suicidal tendencies and depression all go hand in hand. I can't tell from your story if he is bi-polar depressive, or if you're talking about two different problems. They can be treated with different meds, which is why it is often very important for people to seek help to see if they can find what can help them as soon as possible. I do not believe that medication should ever be the Only way. The root of the problem is key here. You do not, to my knowledge, have any sort of counseling degree? Unless you really know how to handle it, one can't exactly "treat" the problems, although you can certainly help! As you've been doing, which is very good. It is always beneficial for friends to take an active role in helping a friend with these problems. Some people are made very uncomfortable about it so they don't know how to handle it- which can cause scorn from friends and family, and a sort of, "What's wrong with you!?!" attitude.

Thanks for taking the time to comment

I just wanted to add that my friend E made it seem like he's never been diagnosed as being bi-polar, but that it runs in his family and he seems pretty convinced that he suffers from it.

lol no degree, I'm just a senior in high school. I'm definitely not trying to treat or fix him; I'm just not sure how I'm supposed to respond when he comes to me so scared and upset.

pomtzu - I completely understand what you're saying, but I don't want to push him away. I know that if something happens, I'll feel terrible but I'd feel even worse knowing that he tried to come to me for help and I didn't do everything I could, y'know? I'm certainly not expecting him to fix himself or his family life to completely change, I probably could have worded my earlier post to be a little clearer.

(sorry if I'm ignoring any points you guys are making; I'm trying to do this and prepare for an AP Bio test AND get a presentation ready for AP Lit)

[ToBeEvergreen]

I got some work for tonight too, ha. Just to let you know, there are different types of mood disorders. Some of them do seem to run in the family, and can make it really difficult to function as a family, especially if more than one of them has it, more so if they are not treated.

major depressive disorder- serious to severe depressive disorder in which a person may show loss of appetite, psychomotor retardation and impaired reality testing.

bi-polar disorder- characterized by mood swings from ecstatic elation to deep depression. Cycles seem unrelated to external events.

The manic episodes of a bi-polar individual are as such: they may show excitement or silliness, to an extreme, and may become engrossed in normal activities: inspiration may appear to be high, and they sit there writing for days, without eating. That's a drastic case, but a real one.

Hey, send me a message if you'd like to know anything else, kay?

[Asiel]

All I can add to this is that you've gotten some very sound advice and it would be in both your and your friend's interest to heed that advice. Maybe your school doesn't have counsellors that would be able to cope without judging your friend, some schools have terrific counsellors, others not so great.
Could you speak to your own doctor about your friend and ask him to set up an appointment with a professional that could help? Of course you should speak to your friend about this and ask him to please accompany you . Beg if you have to but like Pomtzu mentioned this is way above you, please don't wait for something tragic to happen.
Your friend is right - bi-polar does tend to run in families, the sooner your friend gets help the better.

[luvofallhorses]

It sounds like he may need professional help, depression is some serious stuff to deal with and people can hit rock bottom easily. This is personal, but do you know if he is on any meds for depression? They aren't a "cure all" but can certainly help.

[sparks19]

The only advice i can offer is to speak to a school counsellor and call the suicide hotline and tell them what you told us