My brother told me today that he thinks about commiting suicide all the time

[sarah_bella1050]

My older brother told me this while I was driving him to work today. He had moments earlier had a full blown anxiety attack and was crying in my moms arms. I don't know what to do, he confided this in me and I don't know what to do for him. I know that it must have taken a lot of courage for him to get those words out of his mouth and I don't want to let him down. What can I do? An interevention to try and get him to go to a facility for a bit? He has no health insurance and was recently dx'ed BP. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[AnyMama]

I would continue talking to him honestly, openly and respectfully and encourage him to get some help. Going into a facility might not be the best thing. Facilities can be scary and some can be pretty miserable places, some are great, but you have to know. Pushing him to go to a miserable place might make him distrust you, and it might persuade him to avoid an institution at a time when he really needs to be in one. If there's a good hospital in your area, that might be a good way to get him help and treatment and safely through the next couple of weeks.

You might try contacting your local chapter of NAMI to find out what resources are available for someone in your area without insurance. The more you know, the more you can help. It is so HARD to navigate this system if even if you're well, so your brother will really need your help right now.

It's really important that your brother doesn't feel like you're judging him, otherwise, he won't continue talking with you.

As a word of support, suicidal ideation isn't necessarily an indication that he's going to do it, but it's good you're taking it seriously.

[Inquiringmind]

Many community mental health agencies have evaluation centers where they can assess his level of letality and help develop an action plan to get him help. Would he be open to going somewhere like this? He's obviously searching for help if he's disclosed these feelings to you. Good luck in dealing with this difficult situation.