How would you feel about a suicide help community that outreaches to people who are thinking about suicide?
How would you feel about a suicide help community that outreaches to people who are thinking about suicide?
Suicide support is very hard to do correctly; you need to have training in order to properly help out people. You're also painting a huge "troll this community" sign on it for absolutely nasty people. Not too mention having a community where people post severely miserable things about themselves isn't going to be that healthy a space for people to exist in.
Much better to send anyone feeling suicidal to places that are better equiped to deal with it, like the Samaritans or whatever the US equivalent is.
I was just thinking maybe a couple of people to talk to.
Sure, but then you've got the problem of a bunch of suicidal people feeding off each other, which isn't healthy for anyone.
There are communities like !mentalhealth@lemmy.world and !autism@lemmy.world that I think work better. They aren't aimed at suicidal people directly (in fact I think they have rules barring suicide talk entirely), but encourage discussion and support for specific issues. There's an attitude of "here's a problem I'm having, how do I fix it/let me vent", rather than doomposting.
No. Suicide help requires a professional, or at least someone who can be held accountable for doing the opposite.
Considering the annoyomity of Lemmy and how anyone can run an instace, the last thing we want to create place for the opposite to occur.
Viewer discression adviced, but this video goes on deep dive of an unchecked "suicide encouragement form", and just how bad the anonymous web can be. https://youtu.be/C3y6SsGAWks?si=s9852X-KBrWC9Fgi
I understand this is the exact opposite form you want to create, but I use it as an example of how a few bad actors can kill people.
Let's say in a perfect world the community is all up an up, but some user starts DMing people to an "alternative help" instance/form. Even reported, they can just keep making new accounts, or weasel their way into the mod/admin postion to seem more legitimate.
I want no part in a community that is a collection of vulnerable individuals. Someone can simply spam everyone who posts in hopes of getting one person to take the bait. With no accountability, there are no consequences.
That being said, a locked community that is just a few posts with links and information about various professional support would not be a bad thing.
Now, I'll look at this from a less cynical perspective. Let's say theres no troll, but genuine randoms helping eachother online.
What happens when it doesn't work? You're talking to somebody online, get to know them a bit, and one day they just stop posting. You have to assume they're dead, how are you going cope with that? Grief is a natural emotion, and it can be taxing to cope alone (I'm guessing the majority of us here won't really be sharing our online activities).
There also a sistuatuon were you could feel you have to keep talking to a person to keep them from dying. This is not heatly for either individual.
Always seek professional help.
I just thought it would be a good idea. I am not a mental health professional but just a nurse in a slow hospital for the next two weeks until I get stationed again. And while I agree with you I think it would give people a place to let it out. Even if it does no good at least they let it loose. But I do think about 90 percent have mental health issue and need someone to say I care and I am willing to talk the person down. I asked the question out of curiosity but I am no mod or even know how to do it so it would rely on another person
I think its a wonderful idea. I would love to see a community for this, but I don't belive Lemmy has the tools to ensure it's a safe space.
You would need a 24/7 mod team to read through everything and keep bad actors out (not to mention utilizing DMs can make moderating pointless).
Even if you ban them, its too easy to make throw away accounts to bring negativity to the community, consequence free. You could try IP blocking, but with vpns thats easily cicumvented. Wholesale blocking vpns would go against what Lemmy is trying to accomplish.
Fundamentally, unless you can identify someone on Lemmy, they are free to do all the bad they want consequence free.
Suicide help requires a professional
...and that's why normal people are never allowed to have a community where they can talk about it
/s
From what I've seen of Lemmy so far you will get trolls who will make a big deal and pretend to have killed themselves. In theory it would be good to help people but in reality your just going to get this and probably constantly.
If I create a community would that not be up to the mods to get rid of trolls? I have never been a mod of anything but just messaged one to help me out?
It could be done well and it could be done disastrously.
Reach out to what? To befriend them? To educate them? To turn them into the authorities so their freedom is taken away?
There are multiple ways to prevent suicide. Some are enriching (helping a person find meaning) and others are demeaning and degrading (locking them up and giving them thorazine).
I think such an organization needs to be ready to take no for an answer. Reaching out is okay so long as it doesn’t violate consent.
My experience online is it's the blind leading the blind. For such topics, it's a bad idea.
I think its a potentially good idea. I think it would need very active moderation to protect vulnerable people from trolling though. I think many people are reluctant to approach more formal sources of support and a 'low stakes' place to at least be heard could be good.
How do you determine who's "thinking about suicide"?
Just somewhere to post and the community get together to help said person.
I would join it if someone made it.
But I don't want help
reaches out? performs outreach?
Great idea if you are naïve....
But then the extreme rule lovers are going to appear and tell you how super guilty you are if you don't act exactly this way and talk exactly that way, if a suicidal person is around.
Forget free speech.
They will become the mods. It's unavoidable.
And they will ban you like a flash, because they don't fuck around with a warning or canceling.
Sir, this is a Wendy's