suicidal thoughts

[2mama]

So Iwas just talking with my little brother (19) and we had a wonderful conversation about his work, school, thoughts of having kids some day, ect. Then told he me about how he is feeling and how his antidepressant had been making him worse so he stopped taking it. Next he told me that he has been having rapid mood swings and angry outbursts (which is very unsual for him). I asked him if he was feeling safe and the answer was NO. I then asked if he had any thoughts of hurting himself, he said yes. I asked about suicide and he said yes: . I am a psychiatric nurse so I know why he has come to me, but I feel stuck. I tried to convince him that he needs to go to the hospital but he refused stating he does not want to go to the wrong hospital and have to pay out of pocket. I tried convincing him to call hospitals and see if they accepted his insurance. He said he'll to it tomorrow. He has to work at 5am to 130pm tomorrow and lives with his girlfriend who I talked with about the situation. He said he is the most suicidal when by himself. Tomorrow after work he will be alone from 2-6. As a sister who helped raise him I want to believe he will be safe and call. As I professional I say call the police and have them take him if he won't go but then there is the chance he will deny he said it and that he will not trust me for not trusting him. WHAT DO I DO? : Sorry for the babbling.

[Snowdrift]

Been there, had that done to me and it was not helpful in the least.

It sounds like he is involved in trying to get through this crisis. He has a support system. Does he have people he can call if he gets very crisis-y in his alone time tomorrow? Does he have numbers of hotlines? (numbers in the plural, sadly they are often busy)

Having him taken forcibly to a hospital that he cannot afford is not going to solve any long-term problems and may be ineffective at even helping with short-term problems.

Obviously you have plenty of professional experience and this situation is not clear-cut even to you. Seems to me that no one should be dragged from their home by the police because someone else thinks they *might* be in danger.

I'm certainly projecting my own experiences onto this response, but well, I'm experienced. Someone I don't even know decided, on the basis a misunderstood remark, to call the police. This resulted in the single worst night of my life. I doubt if I will ever completely recover from that.

Unless you're pretty sure that he is in imminent danger and that he and his support system are incapable of keeping him safe until he formulates a plan I wouldn't call anyone, other than maybe taking on some of the burden of arranging for care.

Can you call his insurance company for him to find out what he qualifies for? Those calls can be extremely stressful ,especially if he is having anger problems. Many a time I self-injured while on hold with my insurance company merely to make it through the humiliation of having to explain personal details to officious phone-bank operators. Can you arrange someplace distracting for him to be during his alone time? Maybe check out movie times. Those are a great distraction--in public, a bit overwhelming to the senses, difficult to brood through.