poetrylesbian:

Those posts that are like “IF YOU ARE GOING YO KILL YOURSELF, THIS IS A SIGN NOT TO. REBLOG TO SAVE A LIFE” are so performative and probably super useless.

I can guarantee that 98% of suicidal people will read those posts, and their brains will add “except me” to the end of it.

Or they’ll read it and it’ll mean nothing to them because they don’t know you.

Only a tiny percentage of actually suicidal people will give a fuck about those posts.

Also adding “reblog to save a life” on your own post is TACKY AF.

If you really want to save a life, here are some tips:

– if your friend is going through a hard time, talk to them and help them seek help

– if your friend has been going through a hard time and is suddenly much more cheerful, this might be a sign they’ve decided to end their life, so talk to them

– if someone you know has a mental illness, ask them what you can do to make their lives easier, and do it (or help them find a way)

– be open about feelings so people won’t feel the need to hide their pain from you

– if your friend self harms, help them prevent it, and tell one of their family members (if that’s appropriate in that situation)

– if someone tells you they’re suicidal or going to commit suicide, don’t think they’re just being dramatic, get them help ASAP

– it’s better to over-react than under-react

– tell teachers, etc., if that’s an option

– don’t tell people in positions of authority who are untrustworthy/abusive

– if a family member has demonstrated suicidal tendencies and has medication, see if you can administer it to them instead of trusting them with the whole bottle

– alternatively, see if there’s a way for them to have to pick up their medication every couple of days from the pharmacy

– before they’re in a crisis situation, sit down with them and make sure they have a crisis plan

These are just some, but there are millions of other things you can do for suicidal people that are a million times more effective than reblogging some post.

Helping mentally ill people means HELPING, not just shallow social media crap.