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It's #WorldSuicidePreventionDay!
As a suicidologist and someone who has experienced chronic suicidality since age 9, I want to offer some insights that mainstream prevention orgs don't often share. 🧵
E Krebs, PhD 🧂
4,179 posts
E Krebs, PhD 🧂
@SaltySicky
Asst prof of health & culture / director of disability studies @FordhamNYC. Research on suicide, disability, mad justice. Alum @UUtah, @UofDenver x2. 🚲 🧗🏻
- A resource for anyone spending Thanksgiving with extended family:
- I learned by age 9 that I couldn't talk about suicidal thoughts because I would end up locked in a psych ward. We can't expect people to just "speak up" or "tell someone" in a country where discrimination, institutionalization, & incarceration of suicidal folks is 100% legal.
- One way to be a disability justice ally right now: Keep wearing your mask.
- Thoughts from a suicidologist on the new 988 crisis hotline: 1. Having a simple number is good. 2. Having more trained crisis teams is good. 2. It's still linked to nonconsensual active rescue which means they can & will trace your call & send police if they deem it necessary.
- A student just used the phrase "as we normalize the pandemic" instead of "as we return to normal" and I love it.
- Replying to @SaltySickyReporting someone for being suicidal can get them kicked out of college & fired from jobs. It can even cause them to lose custody of their kids. Mandatory reporting policies are dangerous & are aimed at protecting businesses and organizations from liability, not helping people.
- A real life #NYC horror story. 🧵 I was watching Netflix with my cat laying on the couch. All of a sudden he got up, eyes wide and ears forward, and ran over to the wall. 1/
- Replying to @SaltySickyAnd yes, Hopper is a very good, smart kitty. He got plenty of extra treats and love yesterday, plus some nasty wet food today. He purred while eating it. Hopper has wobbly cat syndrome (cerebellar hypoplasia) so he doesn't really catch critters, but he's good at locating them.
- Replying to @SaltySickyThere are many ways to handle mental health crises that don't involve cops or involuntary psychiatric care. Access to childcare, meals, emergency funds, and affordable medical care can go a long way. Being in a community where people can talk openly about suicidality is huge.
- My research as a critical suicidologist means I often critique nonconsensual (carceral) psychiatric care. Lots of people have asked what I recommend as an alternative. 🧵
- Replying to @SaltySickySuicidal ideation does not mean a person needs to be immediately hospitalized against their will. A significant portion of the population experiences suicidal ideation and never acts on it. I'd argue that it's a "normal" response to many difficult life situations.
- Replying to @SaltySickySuicidality isn't always episodic. That means that for some people, the desire to die never goes away. We wake up, think about it, and carry on with our day. I've seen this called "grey suicidality" online and it's fairly common. Again, not an emergency.
- Replying to @SaltySickyThe United Nations has called involuntary psychiatric care a form of torture but it's still regularly practiced on suicidal patients in the US. Involuntary 72-hour ("5150") holds are the norm for people deemed a threat to themselves. During this time, consent goes out the window.