Need help with my anorexic and suicidal friend?

Question

I just want to know what can i say to make her feel a bit better.

she has major depression, she self harms and has starved herself on and off for quite a few years now. what can i say that will show the genuine care that i have for her wihout threatening her or telling her what to do?

Answer 1

Talk to her in a calm and loving way about your concern for her. Try to convince her to seek treatment for her anorexia and depression. There are support groups everywhere for what she is going through. Being around people she can identify with is what she needs right now. Contacting a mental health facility is not the answer. She will feel betrayed by you and be put even more on the defensive. Making her feel even more alone. which is the last thing she needs right now. Extend your hand out to her. But let her know that she does need help. And plead with her to at least try. If not for herself then for the people that care about her. Then take it from there. I hope everything works out.  

Answer 2

Try to talk to her calmly and find out what the problems are in her life. I think if you find the problems she has, then you could try to solve them and therefore, help in saing her life. It will not be your fault she kills herself, as it is obvious she has a very loving and caring friend. Not that that really stops the pain if she does commit suicide. Try talking to a counsellor about what you could do for your friend and tell them about how this is affecting you. It could be that because you can see your friend's life is in danger that you can't think of anything to do for her. Please, don't take her to a shrink or anything, that would be the worst thing you could possibly do, because it would most likely ruin your friendship with her...I hope I helped, good luck with your friend.

Answer 3

nothing that she does to herself is your fault. the only thing you can do is be supportive and tell her that you care about her and want to help her. She may not believe you but remind her often. If she sees that you are consistently there for her, she may start to beleive you. Whatever you do, dont blame yourself for her self injury.

You cannot make her stop. you can help her and support her but dont try to force her to stop. This is very counter productive. it breaks the trust that you obviously have because she confided in you.  Try to talk openly and honestly with her about her problem and let her talk about her feelings. A lot of times self harm is an outlet for emotions that are too hard or scary to deal with on your own. If you are there to help her she might start to try to deal with them in healthier ways. But if it happens it happens. As long as it isnt life threatening harm, it is better than her attempting suicide if it builds to untolarable. i know that might be hard to hear but its true.

OBviously DO NOT use the "if it happens it happens" for her suicidal thoughts. if she is talking about suicide you need to reassure her that she has people and things to live for. and that her killing herself would cause more harm than good for everyone.  If she is truly in life threatening danger, Call 911. but someitmes jsut talking about it does not mean she is attemting anything.

hopefully your friend is in therapy because she definately needs to be. Talk to her. Do your own research. I know from oxperiance that they can help. Trust me. Ive been where she is. Ive also been where you are. Its tough but everyone needs support. It is obvious that you care about her and want to help her. She really needs some kind of professional help. Talk therapy and/ or medications can do wonders in this kind of situation.

I hope ive helped and that you read this giant entry.

Answer 4

You need to contact a mental health facility immediately.  This girl is going to commit suicide soon and if you don't report it, it will be all your fault.  ACT NOW!  She needs to see a professional.. Obviously her parents aren't getting it done.  Be a friend... Save her life.

Answer 5

Suicidal Kids and/or People, are a big issue.

You see, What you need to do is contact maybe a Mental Therapist, that can help sort out her problems, and lose her depression.

Know that she also needs YOU to help her too. Maybe go with her to Mental Therapy, and calm her down in times she feels she needs to die.

Someone like this needs serious help, and alot of people can do that for her. Some questions need to be asked as well. Like:

What are her parents like?

What does her family do to help this, if they do at all?

What causes depression in her life?

What does she feel when depression enters her mind every time it does?

Do her parents know about her feelings?

AFTER THERAPY:

Did it help at all?

Does she seem more happy?

Has she had suicidal thoughts anymore?

Do her parents still act the same?

Things like that might help. It all depends on what level of Depression she is in.

Answer 6

Unfortunately, your friend isn't going to believe to you. Even if she does, she still needs help that you, or her family, can't give her. If you truly fear that she is going to kill herself, you need to call 911. She needs help that only a professional can give her.