How to talk to a GP or other mental health professional about self-harm

@Crazy_Bug_Lady I'm sorry to hear that things are tough for you at the moment. Having thoughts of suicide is a difficult experience and one that can be hard to talk about. It is great that you have asked how other people have gone about raising these thoughts with their various professionals.

You have done a great job at expressing your thoughts here and my thinking would be to tell your professionals in much the same way as you have here. Just by simply stating that you have been having thoughts of suicide and you have thought of a plan. You professional can then talk about your thoughts and plan and help to work out a saftey plan with you. it is important to remember that GPs, psychiatrists and psychologist hearabout and discuss suicide many times in a week and you do not need to worry about how to talk about it to them. They are there to support you! Maybe think of a way that you feel comfortable talking about it, even if you need to write down some notes to take with you to the GP tomorrow. There is no right or wrong way to tell your mental health team, just whatever feels right for you.

Does anyone else have any suggestions or ways to telling professionals about thoughts of suicide that have worked for them?

@Crazy_Bug_Lady I'm glad to hear that your not in immediate danger and I hope this helps you a bit for your GP appointment tomorrow. Best wishes.

hey @Former-Member

it's one thing to come on here, it's another thing to say to someone irl.

I'm just terrified. i don't know what to do. i don't know why i think like this. why am i even here.

Hi @Crazy_Bug_Lady, I'm sorry to hear that you've had such a tough week. Can I ask what it is about this conversation that is scaring you? What's the worst case scenario in terms of a reaction? I agree with Rockpool, talking about suicide and self-harm becomes second nature to GP's and mental helath professionals. It ends up having the same emotional weight as a discussion about last night's TV. It's routine rather than shocking.

I'm not sure if that makes it easier for you though. One way into the conversation is to say that you are feeling very down. The normal response is to ask you to complete a short mental health quiz (k10) which asks about any desire to self-harm. Once you tick that box the topic is on the table. And from there I would hope that a helpful response is given.

Do you feel able to admit to feeling extremely down (or whatever words best desribe where you are)?

Actually, I just checked the K10 and it's not there! Sorry about that advice @Crazy_Bug_Lady This kind of ruins my plan that it might be possible to indicate suicidal ideation without saying the words.

While you should just be able to indicate persistent or extreme sadness and be guaranteed that you'll be asked about self-harm, this isn't always the case.

A lot of the time people are worried to say the words for fear of being sent to hospital. However, the most likely scenario is that the CAT team will be asked to monitor you. And the best case scenario is that you get additional support to get you through a very vulnerable time. And that you won't feel so alone with your thoughts.

Hi @Former-Member

ive got a mental health plan, and I have to do those surveys (gp mostly uses DASS scale).

i feel like im being an attention seeker if i outright say it... i had an appt with him on wed, and my psych on thur, but it never came up...

a girl i was friends with years ago was admitted to a psych ward after tellling someone on her team about her ideation. i visited her most days. that place was completly terrifying.

I think you're being a bit uncharitable to yourself to see it that way. It's really the best way to communicate the depth of emotional pain you're in. A sort of short-hand for how tough things are.

I think that the fact that what happened to your girlfriend was 'years ago' is relevent. Maybe members on here have had other experiences but these days it's pretty difficult to get admitted. The priority is to care for people in the community which involves the CAT team generally. I'm not sure how much help they turn out to be. It will vary from place to place and team to team.

By finding the courage to say it to your GP and Psych you are giving them a glimpse into your reality and therefore a better chance of genuinely helping. It's a lost opportunity when not shared.

Hi,

I'm so sorry to hear you are in such a horrid place right now. I started by telling the GP that i was feeling really low and felt a bit like i got brushed off and to look at more positive things... but I felt worse.. so I wrote to my psychologist of the time and she got straight back in touch with me and initially she wanted to phone the crisis support team but I was terrified of that, so we spoke for a while and made a plan together that I would contact her each day by a certain time for the next week and say how I was feeling (by email because I am so much better at writing about how I feel than talking) and that I had to answer the phone from her if she rang (Im not great on the phone and never answer it lol, i'll phone people if i have to though.) And as horrible as it was (i hated being 'watched' and monitored lol how ungrateful!!) it was also good to know that there was someone who understood... Since then it's also been easier to talk through or write about those feelings with her at least.

I guess I just wanted to share my story.. and also say.. that if you dont feel like you are 'heard' the first time, tell someone else..

I know you said you know all the lines, but the suicide call back service have been great in the past, just to chat (again they have an online thing phew for me!) to put things in perspective, understandand explain why and how we think in those ways and help strategise ways of coping for the next few hours/days etc.. what ever you need really.

Its definitely not attention seeking, and by speaking it out loud to someone.. I think it kind of takes some of the power away from the thoughts because you have your own out loud voice and someone elses to counter it (not sure if that makes any sense!)

glad you are writing here,

LJ

Good luck @Crazy_Bug_Lady. Someone said to me recently 'power to your arm' which I now pass on to you. Remember too that you can shape some of the choices and decisions that come from your admission about how you feel. Don't hand over all the power to the GP. It's a partnership not a dictatorship!