The online suicide threat pattern
Keep an eye out for this. It’s very common and it will save you a lot of hurt and trouble if you look out for these signs.
-Someone has just posted a suicide threat statement on their blog/journal/tumblr/etc.
-They will do one of 2 things. They will disappear, or they will stay around.
-If they disappear, try to find out who knows them and how to help them/find out what happened.
-More than likely though, they will stay around. And when they do, this is how things go down.
-People will tell them it’s not worth it and beg them to stay.
-They will respond over and over with statements like ‘No it’s not, I’m gonna go do it. you can’t stop me. it’s not worth it’.
-People will ask them to tell them what’s wrong
-They will continue to respond, avoiding the question or saying things like “No, it hurts too much.” or “I can’t say it.”
That, or they WILL give a reason, and it’ll generally be a fairly weak or vague reasoning, like: “Because I’m a freak.” or “My life is too hard.”
Now, this may continue for quite some time, and will draw more attention from concerned spectators as some of those followers will have spread the word to try and help this person.
After a while, the person may do one of these things:
-Say “Goodnight” and go offline
-Become apologetic and say they reconsidered
-Disappear for a day or more
-Continue the talk until they feign a change of heart
Almost all of these options will be followed up within the next few days of “sorry” and “I’ll change” and “I’ll never do it again.”
Now, we throw a wrench into this pattern, and a new pattern will occur.
After the billionth time of seeing said person doing this, there will be some nay sayers and doubters. This is the boy who cried wolf. This person has destroyed any reason to be trusted, and have now gathered a lot of hurt friends and spectators who have finally decided to give up on their constant circling and downward spiral of repeated behavior.
This is when the said “suicidal” person gets comments like this:
-I don’t care anymore, just do it
-You’re lying and hurting people
Now cornered for what they are doing, they will pick up new patterns.
-Victimizing themselves. They will try to act like those people are the worst people in the world and the reason for their suicidal plight. They try to throw what little loyalties they have left at this person, and they feel they’ve gained another reason to be miserable.
-Guilt trip. They will claim those statements 'pushed them over the edge’ and will outwardly state that. Thus beginning the cycle of concerned spectators scrambling over them and begging them to once again not do it and to ignore the hate.
-Feign death. That’s it. The gig is up. They’ve been shown for what they are, so what do they do? They stage a death. This might include a photo of a weapon, a 'final statement’, a goodbye, or an entire wipe of their gallery/blog.
But fear not, they have likely just packed their bags to go find a new group of people to use and manipulate with their constant whining and attention seeking.
Well, that’s a very good question. There is always a risk that this threat may be real. So what you need to do is this-
*Do not feed the fire. Don’t freak out, don’t beg, don’t try to reason with the person. Just ask them to talk with you calmly, and don’t try to talk them out of it. That’s not your job. That is the job of a professional.
*Let them know that you will call the police/hospital if they persist. If you can do this, it may stop them from what they are doing, lying or not. If you know how to do this, then by all means, contact someone they know or someone in their area to help them
*Step away. Sometimes, these people want more than anything to see a reaction. If they get no reaction, they don’t get what they want, and they will likely just sit there and say sorry afterwords. They want to jerk you around, but if they can’t all they can do is feel stupid for even trying.
*Time to reconsider who you have as a friend. If this problem has repeated at least 3 times, it’s time to realize this person is not a good friend to have. It’s going to be tough, but you’ll need to break off the friendship and contact with this person. It’s better for you and for them. It teaches them that they are hurting you, and it keeps you from being further hurt.
This has been 'false suicide awareness’ with Jitters. I hope this has helped you understand the workings of internet drama queens and their many manipulative and futile ways.
Don’t let yourself be manipulated by these people.
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