questions about suicide hotlines

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what do they do? how long can they listen to you? they dissuade you from suicide, but what if you already know all of the classic anti-suicide arguments anyways? do they even help?

are they okay with swearing? because when i'm sick+angry i often want to say things like "f*** humanity" or whatever. and then use **** in every other sentence.

and frankly do they only deal with those who are immediately considering suicide? it's not 24/7 unlimited counseling for those with severe depression or hopelessness or whatever.

There are crisis lines that you can call when you're in "crisis" and that can mean severe depression and hopelessness even if it doesn't mean immediately suicidal.

I don't know exactly what they say. I've called a crisis line once and there was a very nice man on the other end who talked to me for almost an hour, we started with what was bothering me and branched out into talking about things that interested me. I think what he was trying to do was just talk to me and get me thinking about something else.

I don't know the answer about swearing. I would imagine it depends on the person you get. There people who are better at manning crisis lines than others, and it doesn't hurt to call back if you get a dud.

Many places, if you're immediately suicidal, will try to get you to a hospital. However, the crisis line I called at one point was rather helpful; I was worried I would be homeless, and they basically convinced me that I still had options other than suicide if I ended up getting kicked out.

If you're worried they'll call an ambulance or something, I'd suggest just calling from a cell phone and going somewhere other than your home to do it. And then there's the fact that if you're suicidal and can drag yourself out of your house, you'll probably get at least some benefit from being outdoors.

I once called a suicide hotline and they told me they would call me back in 45 mins. I'm not joking.

To me these suicide hotlines are more of a distraction till your mind is finally out of suicidal mode. If that's what you really need. It's fine.

Otherwise they dont really do anything for you other than find a way to keep your mind off of it for as long as possible. I usually on until I'm sick of talking to them about it.

If you indicate you feel like harming yourself, they will send the cops, who will take you to the hospital. But if you don't use those words, they will listen to you.

I called a crisis line once, although it was not specifically a suicide line. About a year ago I called because I had just been subjected to a lot of stressors in a short period of time... and when I am anxious, I stim like crazy. So, basically I was doing almost nothing for three days aside from pacing along the same line in the carpet and talking aloud to myself. No eating or sleeping.

I called the line just to find out what I should do and the worker was very helpful. After I told him everything that had happened and what it was that I was doing, he told me, "Well, you've had a lot of difficulties lately and there are quite a few things you are going to need to do in the next few days. Do you think you will be capable of getting these things done and on your own?"

I said simply, "No."

So he responded, "Then you are in crisis, because you're not able to care for yourself properly."

I asked, "Should I go to the hospital?"

He said, "I would." So, I did!

I did call once. It was very helpful. The guy on the other end was very patient with me.