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I’ve been thinking a lot about those tweets that are like “how do I tell my therapist how I’m feeling without being hospitalized” and there actually is a way! A thread:
I’ve been thinking a lot about those tweets that are like “how do I tell my therapist how I’m feeling without being hospitalized” and there actually is a way! A thread:
Any decent therapist will understand the difference between being actively suicidal and suicidal ideation. They should know how important it is to be able to verbalize & explore feelings of wanting to die.
Talking about suicidal ideation is really important, actually.
If you want to talk about thoughts or feelings of suicide and bring it up to a professional, they’re going to ask you if you have a plan, if you are going to hurt yourself, or something along those lines just to determine whether or not you are actively in danger.
If the answer to those questions is yes, then that’s a different story. But all you have to do is assure them that you don’t have a plan of any kind and you just want to talk about these negative thoughts and feelings you’ve been having.
Really, it’s as easy as establishing that you are in fact safe, then you are free to talk about what you’re dealing with without having to worry that something will happen against your will.
In the mental health world, they take your word for it that you are safe unless you are physically acting out or if you end up in the hospital for self injury.
Otherwise, going to a therapist to start a conversation about how you’re feeling, particularly when it’s something as difficult as suicidal ideation, is really commendable behavior and an important step toward recovery.
So in summary, “I feel like I want to die and that is a problem that needs to be solved” =/= “I’m going to kill myself and am a threat to myself that can’t be trusted”
One disclaimer of course: I can only speak from my own experiences and every situation & therapist is different, but I’ve had these conversations with a wide variety of mental health professionals and wanted to share.
