Not sure what to say to a suicidal friend?
June 5, 2014 3:13 AM Subscribe
She's stuck in a difficult life situation from which she can't seem to break out of, and she's told me that she can't take anymore.
I have a friend that I met through Facebook...we've grown very close over the past year. We have similar personalities and we tell each other almost everything. Well she is originally from Cameroon, and she came to America when she was a teen when her father got a job in New York. The dad decided to return to Cameroon after a couple years, but my friend decided to stay in the U.S. Currently she works as a social worker with kids and their families who have been to juvenile hall.
The thing is, she hates her job. Her clients can be verbally abusive and call her at all hours, but it's just the nature of the job. She's received praise for being so great at her work, but it still makes her miserable to be among all that negativity. She can't change jobs because the places she's interviewed for won't sponsor her. Even though she has been in America for ten years, she's not allowed to apply for citizenship because she came over with her dad.
So basically she is stuck at this job that has been wearing her down for years. She's told me "Happiness never lasts for me. I love that all my friends are getting their big breaks and figuring out their purposes but I am so sick and tired of seeing everyone move forward while I'm stuck in life. Every time I try to move forward there's always a barrier. Nobody can help me, nobody can advise me.....it's all in vain."
And honestly don't know what to tell her...she says that after her trip to California next month, she's going to end it all if her life doesn't change for the better. I'm too far away to go visit, and I can understand why she feel such despair. I've tried to get her started with freelancing so that maybe she could eventually leave her job, but she doesn't believe she could do it. I've told her to take a loan so that she could come stay with me in Ghana for awhile. If she goes back to Cameroon, her parents will lord it over her that she's living with them again. But still, I think any of those options would be better than committing suicide?
I have a friend that I met through Facebook...we've grown very close over the past year. We have similar personalities and we tell each other almost everything. Well she is originally from Cameroon, and she came to America when she was a teen when her father got a job in New York. The dad decided to return to Cameroon after a couple years, but my friend decided to stay in the U.S. Currently she works as a social worker with kids and their families who have been to juvenile hall.
The thing is, she hates her job. Her clients can be verbally abusive and call her at all hours, but it's just the nature of the job. She's received praise for being so great at her work, but it still makes her miserable to be among all that negativity. She can't change jobs because the places she's interviewed for won't sponsor her. Even though she has been in America for ten years, she's not allowed to apply for citizenship because she came over with her dad.
So basically she is stuck at this job that has been wearing her down for years. She's told me "Happiness never lasts for me. I love that all my friends are getting their big breaks and figuring out their purposes but I am so sick and tired of seeing everyone move forward while I'm stuck in life. Every time I try to move forward there's always a barrier. Nobody can help me, nobody can advise me.....it's all in vain."
And honestly don't know what to tell her...she says that after her trip to California next month, she's going to end it all if her life doesn't change for the better. I'm too far away to go visit, and I can understand why she feel such despair. I've tried to get her started with freelancing so that maybe she could eventually leave her job, but she doesn't believe she could do it. I've told her to take a loan so that she could come stay with me in Ghana for awhile. If she goes back to Cameroon, her parents will lord it over her that she's living with them again. But still, I think any of those options would be better than committing suicide?
This post was deleted for the following reason: I'm so sorry you're having to deal with this. But "no questions about suicide" is one of the few guidelines we're generally quite strict about enforcing, I hope you understand. -- goodnewsfortheinsane
You could also find and share a number for a suicide hotline.
posted by HuronBob at 3:31 AM on June 5, 2014
posted by HuronBob at 3:31 AM on June 5, 2014
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posted by taff at 3:25 AM on June 5, 2014 [1 favorite]