You get a call from from someone suicidal

[Broken Blade]

I've not had a stranger do that, but I have had a colleague do that. It's not fun.

 

[FernandoV]

You're just minding your own business when your phone rings and you answer. It's nobody you know, but who ever they are, they are saying they are about to kill themselves, and they wanted a stranger to console them. What do you do?

Depends on who. If it's my best friend I'd reason, otherwise: peace nigga.

 

[debossman21]

truly suicidal people don't call. they just jump. or pull the trigger. or go about their own various means of ending life

 

[esperandote]

Assuming I don't think it's a prank call the I would ask them why and go from there.

 

[JasonKaotic]

Well I'd just assume it was either a prank call or a really desperate attention seeker, I'd probably just hang up.
Although I'd feel awful if I heard about a local suicide later on...

EDIT: And yeah, as it's been said, if they really wanted to die they wouldn't ask people to talk them out of it. Because then they wouldn't want to. Usually a clear sign of the latter of the previously-mentioned.
Usually.

 

[emeraldrafael]

I dont know them, so I'd tell them they should probably call someone who knows them more then i do.

Then again, I believe that someone shouold get over their depression on their own, instead of someone crutching them along.

... though the last person I talked to that was suicidal killed himself anyway and used it more as a way to say good bye to all of us. sobering really...

so take from that what will you I guess.

 

[Sparcrypt]

A lot of these responses remind me of a while back, some guy was on a webcam and in a chatroom, saying he wanted to kill himself. A bunch of idiots encouraged him, told him to do it... guess what? He did. Live on the webcam. In fact it's not all that uncommon - google it and you'll find a bunch of people, mostly teens, who have killed themselves with live audiences cheering them on.

My utter contempt for those people cannot be put to words. As someone who has known people who have been suicidal at one point in their life, gotten help and come out the other side I find it pathetic that people would have these attitudes.

 

[wottabout]

I would try to help them, even though I would suspect it was a prank call. I would also strongly hint that they should call a suicide hotline

 

[Ensiferum]

This is something I do for my job on a regular basis, not always suicide mind you but I work overnights at an emergency answering service and when someone like this calls we keep them talking on the line until we can get an emergency psychiatrist to speak with them. The hardest one I've had to deal with was someone threatening to shoot his mother and then himself. Most of the time though they're not actually planning to go through with anything and just want attention.

 

[Teh Jammah]

Get 'em to come out for a beer and talk about it over that.

Simples.

 

[gabe12301]

Me:....um ok then, I'm going to recommend you don't kill yourself, but i'm hanging up because I don't want to be implicated.

 

[Giest4life]

Honestly? I'd hang up. I don't have time for this. Unless it's someone I know, in which case I'd ask them to "stop kidding me" half a dozen times before I actually take them seriously.

 

[Ghengis John]

"i got some roap in the closet if your in need"

I have a dictionary for your "roap"

I have initiated a search for your missing punctuation.

There's an old Japanese parable about a series of animals killing each other in the forest. The last animal, a boar, finds it's way to the bow sights of a hunter, who has seen the entire procession. The hunter decides he wants no part of this cycle of death and slowly relaxes his bowstring. At that moment a demon appears from behind the hunter and tells him. "Excellent. And here I was, ready to kill you too." The demon then slays the boar and takes off with it up into the tree tops. I feel it's essential to point this out because I have no desire to join this cycle of smugness. I say without hubris or didactic intent that you have missed the previous poster's intent to lampoon the poster before him by emulating his poor diction. In doing so you have displayed your lack of perception.

As for the topic at hand. I would try to console the person by telling them the fact they called anyone means they didn't want to die. But I would direct them to a professional suicide prevention hotline and hope they call it. It's not something I'm trained to handle and I don't need to be prank called.

 

[Mastermoose]

"Jumping off of a building to kill youself?" "Yes" "Do a flip"

 

[XDravond]

Hehe easy if the person actually knew me I would do one out of two things

1. Find the person and give him/her a hug (that would REALLY throw them of balance, I'm not a hugging person) and/or use a quote like -dude "suicide is a longterm solution to a short term problem", -ok mate you know "death smiles on all of us, the only thing we can do is smile back" or -remember "You can't outrun death forever but you can make the b*stard work for it"

2. Ask "Why 'dya call me for? Need help doing it or someone to clean up afterwards? I can do the sooner but not the later"...

Or for some reason the 3rd option (I don't know the person) "Wrong number, person, time and place. Please do not leave a mess for the living to clean"

 

[Shadowkire]

I doubt anyone who asks to be consoled by a person they have randomly connected to over a phone is really serious about killing themselves.

However, I would say something along the lines of "I have been there before and it gets better, if you don't believe me you could at least put your life to use by doing something dangerous to help out others."

 

[grimgor42]

If it's a hot chick, I'd do what Tyler Durden did.

 

[skeliton112]

To be honest I would assume it was a prank and hang up. If for some reason I knew it wasn't then I guess I would try and console them.

Just quoting you because Skindred is awesome (I assume thats why you have that avatar)

I don't know, but id probably assume it was a pranks call and tell them to do it in an amusing way

 

[no oneder]

Presume it's a prank call and hang up. If he/she wanted real consolation they should have talked to someone they know. Just calling random number smells of attention whoring, i.e. one of those people who only want to attract sympathy and deep down don't want to kill themselves.

Of course I'm telling this from an "objective" point of view, I have no idea what I'd do if it really happened.

This answer is surprisingly filled with sense. I'd probably think this too.