I'm discouraged. I'm frustrated. I might even go so far as to day that I am irritated.
I don't want to be in counseling forever. I mean, Perry is great. I couldn't ask for better. I like counseling. It is serving me well. I just don't want to be in counseling forever.
I thought that a good transition would be a support group. It would be nice to talk to people who have been where I am now and have gotten out of this valley. It would be good to talk to other people who actually feel the same things I do. While I appreciate counseling, Perry doesn't know how I FEEL. It would be nice to talk to someone who gets it.
I have searched for such a group for a few weeks now. There are support groups for everything it seems...alcoholics, drug addicts, families of both of those, battered women, cancer patients, the list seems endless...
Until you get to "Suicide Survivors."
Well that's not exactly true either... there ARE groups for the families who survive someone who has committed suicide. Just not any for someone like me...who tried to die and didn't.
It is surprising and frustrating to me. Here are some of the responses I got from my inquiries at local hospitals and treatment centers:
"I hate that you haven't been able to find a group or a community to bond with during this time. It has been my observation that, generally speaking, our specific culture does not value support groups (other than the ones you mention) as a whole. Not sure why, but the group phenomenon has not been well accepted here. I am unaware of any suicide survivor support groups, but I will poke around and see if I can find anything."
"I received your email today and wanted to follow up with you concerning a support group for individuals struggling with depression and thoughts or attempts of suicide. I would like to talk with you more specifically about your needs because although we only offer inpatient treatment for suicidal thoughts/plans, we do work with a network of providers in an outpatient setting. There are some support groups but they may not be applicable to you. Inpatient treatment is always best for those dealing with suicide. Always remember the Suicide Prevention Hotline #800-273-8255 is available to help."
"I am sorry that your experience has been what it has. Unfortunately, this is a story that is familiar to us. Especially in a place like Mississippi, the resources are extremely limited. Though we technically do not have a suicide-specific group, we do offer a mental health track, which has a completely different focus than our night group, which does specifically address addiction and substance issues/diagnoses. We would love to get you scheduled for an assessment and leave the choice in your hands as to whether or not you think Imagine would be an appropriate fit for your needs. "
"Good Afternoon, we do not have specifically a group for suicide survivors, however the group we do have focuses on and explores many aspects of mental health"
"First of all, I am so glad you are doing better at this moment. I am thankful for all the help you have received. I am sure you know your journey is not over so I applaud you for seeking other avenues of help. We completely agree with you that depression and suicidal thoughts are of the utmost importance to treat as a primary health issue and that is why we focus on issues such as that in our inpatient treatment. We do not have outpatient programs for those struggling with suicide."
Perhaps you can understand my frustration.
Let's look at the statistics again....
These stats are from 2015, but everything I have read talks about concern over the continuing increase year over year.
These are the most current stats, updated on the NIMH website in March of this year...
Someone kills themselves in the US every 11.9 minutes.
In 2015, 44,193 deaths were ruled a suicide
Suicide was the 10th leading cause of death in 2015 (Homicide was 16th)
The suicide rate for people my age (45-54) rose from 16.5 in 2005 to 20.3 in 2015.
In 2015, this age group made up 26.2% of the population, but 37.3% of the suicides
In that same year, there were 1,104,825 reported failed suicide attempts
That translates into someone ATTEMPTING to kill themselves every 29 SECONDS in the US
It's not just me. I am not the only one struggling to find some sort of normalcy after trying to end my life.
I don't need to be hospitalized again. (my experience with that was that it was focused on addicts as well, but that is a post for another day) I just want to not feel so alone in this. I want to know how others deal with the aftermath.
I'm still looking....
Much love and BIG hugs!
K
I don't want to be in counseling forever. I mean, Perry is great. I couldn't ask for better. I like counseling. It is serving me well. I just don't want to be in counseling forever.
I thought that a good transition would be a support group. It would be nice to talk to people who have been where I am now and have gotten out of this valley. It would be good to talk to other people who actually feel the same things I do. While I appreciate counseling, Perry doesn't know how I FEEL. It would be nice to talk to someone who gets it.
I have searched for such a group for a few weeks now. There are support groups for everything it seems...alcoholics, drug addicts, families of both of those, battered women, cancer patients, the list seems endless...
Until you get to "Suicide Survivors."
Well that's not exactly true either... there ARE groups for the families who survive someone who has committed suicide. Just not any for someone like me...who tried to die and didn't.
It is surprising and frustrating to me. Here are some of the responses I got from my inquiries at local hospitals and treatment centers:
"I hate that you haven't been able to find a group or a community to bond with during this time. It has been my observation that, generally speaking, our specific culture does not value support groups (other than the ones you mention) as a whole. Not sure why, but the group phenomenon has not been well accepted here. I am unaware of any suicide survivor support groups, but I will poke around and see if I can find anything."
"I received your email today and wanted to follow up with you concerning a support group for individuals struggling with depression and thoughts or attempts of suicide. I would like to talk with you more specifically about your needs because although we only offer inpatient treatment for suicidal thoughts/plans, we do work with a network of providers in an outpatient setting. There are some support groups but they may not be applicable to you. Inpatient treatment is always best for those dealing with suicide. Always remember the Suicide Prevention Hotline #800-273-8255 is available to help."
"I am sorry that your experience has been what it has. Unfortunately, this is a story that is familiar to us. Especially in a place like Mississippi, the resources are extremely limited. Though we technically do not have a suicide-specific group, we do offer a mental health track, which has a completely different focus than our night group, which does specifically address addiction and substance issues/diagnoses. We would love to get you scheduled for an assessment and leave the choice in your hands as to whether or not you think Imagine would be an appropriate fit for your needs. "
"Good Afternoon, we do not have specifically a group for suicide survivors, however the group we do have focuses on and explores many aspects of mental health"
"First of all, I am so glad you are doing better at this moment. I am thankful for all the help you have received. I am sure you know your journey is not over so I applaud you for seeking other avenues of help. We completely agree with you that depression and suicidal thoughts are of the utmost importance to treat as a primary health issue and that is why we focus on issues such as that in our inpatient treatment. We do not have outpatient programs for those struggling with suicide."
Perhaps you can understand my frustration.
Let's look at the statistics again....
These stats are from 2015, but everything I have read talks about concern over the continuing increase year over year.
These are the most current stats, updated on the NIMH website in March of this year...
Someone kills themselves in the US every 11.9 minutes.
In 2015, 44,193 deaths were ruled a suicide
Suicide was the 10th leading cause of death in 2015 (Homicide was 16th)
The suicide rate for people my age (45-54) rose from 16.5 in 2005 to 20.3 in 2015.
In 2015, this age group made up 26.2% of the population, but 37.3% of the suicides
In that same year, there were 1,104,825 reported failed suicide attempts
That translates into someone ATTEMPTING to kill themselves every 29 SECONDS in the US
It's not just me. I am not the only one struggling to find some sort of normalcy after trying to end my life.
I don't need to be hospitalized again. (my experience with that was that it was focused on addicts as well, but that is a post for another day) I just want to not feel so alone in this. I want to know how others deal with the aftermath.
I'm still looking....
Much love and BIG hugs!
K
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