A Phone Call

You know it's going to be an interesting call when it begins "I'm going to kill myself, and I want you to be on the phone with me when I do it." I enjoy my work, and I actually feel fairly comfortable dealing with these kinds of calls, but they can be stressful and they do tend to take an emotional toll. Being as jaded as I am, my first goal in such a crisis is to determine if this person is being honest, or if the person is simply doing this for some kind of secondary gain. It didn't take me too long to realize that this poor woman was not playing games. The woman on the phone was convinced that killing herself would end all the pain. I asked her how she knew that was the case, and she responded "because then it's over." I asked her is she believes in God and the afterlife, and she said she wasn't sure. I told her that she then has no idea whether or not the pain would be over, and that perhaps she should give this some more thought. She agreed that she would seek some help "one last time." She called from her cell phone while driving around in her car, so part of the stress was related to getting her to some safe place before she wrecked her car like she was threatening to do. After about 40 minutes, we ended the conversation as she, following my direction, walked into the local emergency room and asked to speak with a Crisis Intervention counselor. She should be safe for tonight at the very least, and likely for the next few days. Her name is Rachel if you're the kind of person that prays for people like this. Well, off to bed, so I can get some rest... I have to get back to grind in the morning.