co-workers with suicidal thoughts

[johnrsemtp]

Has anyone ever had a co-worker tell them that they have been having suicidal thoughts?

how do you handle it? what do you tell them? do you have them ID'd so fast that their head is spinning days later?

I am in that situation, I know the person is getting help, but I don't know what I should do to help them besides letting them talk.

thank you all for your input

[Just Plain Ruff]

Your concern is evident and that is commendable.

your co-worker is expressing suicidal thoughts? I'd be on the horn to your supervisor and tallking to them. If my partner told me he was considering suicide I'd take us out of service and hit the supervisor.

You will kick yourself if you didn't bring it to the attention of the supervisor and your partner kills themself.

I had the unlucky experience of running the suicide of one of our service members. Found him hanging in the meeting hall. He expressed suicidal thoughts but everyone just thought he was talking and not serious.

so yes even though he was getting help he obviously isn't getting good help.

Take action now while you still have a partner.

[Ridryder 911]

Not only do you have an ethical and moral obligation, you have an legal one as well. The person describes endangerment to themselves, and possibly others is grounds for evaluation.....period.

I first would be blunt with this person and ask them point out if they have a plan, and how much they thought about it. Ask them if they have seen a counselor or treatment? I would inform them, they realize this has to be treated immediately ( apparently they are in health care as well) and for them to seek treatment now!.. otherwise, you will have to report it. This does allow them to seek immediate treatment on their own cognizance, if they do not I would report as others described, even if this involved LEO, and filling out 3'rd party statements. This is not to be mean, but to save their life. Depression, anxiety etc.. is a true disease that affects a large portion of EMS providers, and as others has stated this might be a preventive measure.

Remember, they are telling you because they are crying out for help!......so help them.

R/r 911

[Just Plain Ruff]

Rid the poster said they are getting help but obviously it isn't working. They are still crying out for help. I think this is a true crisis and needs to be dealt with.

I'd report it and I'd have done it prior to coming here but thats just me. I reported a co-worker about 12 years ago and they go the help they needed via an inpatient treatment center and they are still one of my best friends. He said he hated me for doing what I did but he realized that he would have done the exact same thing. so we became much closer due to this whole thing.

[Michael]

http://www.metanoia.org/suicide/samaritans.htm

Free, confidential, non-religious. Good people. Call them or have your friend call.

[rat115]

It sounds like you are very concerned about this coworker. It's good that the person is already receiving counseling. It sounds as if the person is still having some major problems. I agree with Rid that this person is asking you for help with what is being said to you. I would be going to a supervisor ASAP and informing that person of what is going on. It's not "being a snitch" when you do this. It's caring about the health and welfare of your coworker. The person may not see it at first, but he will thank you in the long run.

Good luck with such a tough situation. :thumbright:

[paraloco]

I had a partner years ago who had surgery to remove a rod placed in his thigh after a wreck he had 20-some years before. The doc put him on zoloft, and when he came back to work, he stopped taking it cold-turkey. He later confided to me( months later, after he no longer worked with me) that while working an MVA, he heard voices telling him to step out into traffic. scary stuff.

[bunnos]

A co-workers girlfriend called me at 03:00 one morning and told me that he wanted to end it and had his drug bag out. i was off duty but raced over their to find him drawing up all the morphine and midazolam he had. Apparently he had threatened this before but noone would take him seriously. after a big wrestling match i overpowered him and took away his drugs. After 6 months of councilling he is now enjoying life again and is very grateful.

what im getting at is dont wait for it to get that far. If he is telling u he wants to do it BELIEVE HIM! Use your channels of communication and get him help.

[Eydawn]

This is always a touchy situation in terms of your judgement. Since you're not the person, you really don't know what's going on inside their head. However, if the person has confided a suicidal intent to you, you do have to do whatever you can to help that person. Perhaps a more focused intervention is what is needed here if the person is already seeing a psychologist. Unfortunately, if you're smart, you can out-talk your shrink and make them believe you're just fine... when what you really need to do is lay it all out honestly.

How has this person's behavior changed recently, if at all? Any crises recently at work, or in this individual's personal life that you know of?

I look at it this way. If you do have to step in and do something drastic, it's accepting that person's possible anger towards you as a fair trade for them staying alive in a situation in which they might not otherwise. Alive and pissed off is still alive, and in my own experience, it's been worth it because the anger has been temporary.

Good luck!!

Wendy

NREMT-B

[Stretchermonkey]

I know it's perhaps a bit late after the original post...but something I haven't seen mentioned is; other people.

Along with stress, anxiety, depression or whatever the root of the suicidal intent is, often can go the loss of rational thought. If someone becomes so intent on ending their own life, they may not be too concerned on how they do it, just so long as they believe it will work.

It is good to be concerned about your co-worker, but also be concerned about others that maybe around him. One of them might be you. Let's say one moment, one day, he really has enough and decides in a flash to drive the ambulance off a bridge, into a tree, into on-coming traffic...etc. The other person in the ambo might be you, or someone you care about.

I'm sure you have acted already as you believe is best, I hope this is of some help.

Cheers,

Stretch.