Wikipedia:Responding to suicidal individuals

Wikipedia is a place where anybody can search for information or find answers to their questions. It aims to be, and is seen by most people as, a civilized and welcoming community. In serving the public, Wikipedia inevitably attracts some people who feel that there is no one to turn to for emotional support, and so they ask for help from total strangers. Some of these people are considering harming themselves, and responding inappropriately to these people could have tragic consequences. However, as an online encyclopedia staffed by untrained editors, Wikipedia can never provide the expert help these people need. The most we can hope to do is to point them towards a source of help. This guideline covers the proper response to a message on any talk page or Reference Desk which seeks or responds to help for Suicidal ideation.

A note about the bystander effect

Wikipedia currently contains 48,475,346 registered editors. Therefore it has a huge potential to be affected by the bystander effect. When someone is surrounded by a group of people they usually tend to be less likely to intervene in an emergency situation than if they were alone. In the case of a potentially suicidal message on Wikipedia, a lack of response could increase the feelings of isolation and "no one cares" that the suicidal person has, which could make the person feel worse than if they had received an imperfect response. It is important that all suicidal posts be responded to; if you do not feel capable of doing this, seek help from any administrator at Wikipedia:List of administrators.

Responding to suicidal people

To avoid the appearance of distancing yourself from the person, template messages should never be used when responding to a suicidal person. Instead, try to write a short, sympathetic, and to-the-point message. Acknowledge that the person is in distress and encourage them to seek help immediately from an appropriate crisis hotline listed below. Never provide a medical diagnosis. Wikipedia cannot adequately provide the help they may need. If you are responding to a message posted on a public Wikipedia talk page or Reference Desk (as opposed to a user talk page), it may be best to respond on the suicidal person's user talk page. In this case it is important to leave a short message attached to the person's original post which includes a link to their talk page, and a short message indicating that you have responded on their user talk page. Without this note, many users (particularly new or IP address users) may never think to look for a reply on their user talk page.

Directing the person elsewhere

It is recommended in most cases that you suggest the suicidal person seek help from a hotline or other suicide help group. Bear in mind that a suicidal person may feel rejected by this suggestion, so try to personalise your response a bit more than just giving the person a list.

List of crisis hotlines

In the event of a suicide crisis anywhere on Wikipedia, you can recommend the suicidal individual seek help from the following free resources. (Note that not all are international.) Some will keep confidentiality with individuals seeking help, others will not and will go so far as to trace calls from someone they believe is about to kill him or herself. If you contact one of these groups and this is important to you, ask first. The Samaritans, a British group, do keep all matters relating to suicide confidential.

Remember that suicidal people are often unlikely to use suicide hotlines. In one study, only 5% of suicides had been in contact with a hotline. Nearly half the calls hotlines get are pranks. Of the other half, many are depressed people wanting someone to talk to, but only a small fraction are actually suicidal. If you are a friend of the suicidal person, remember that the person might prefer talking to you.

This site can be used to Geolocate an IP address.

International

• Samaritans Email: [email protected]
• International Federation of Telephone Emergency Services
• Former Befrienders International website (now maintained by Samaritans UK)
• SuicideHotlines.com (international)
• TeenHelp.org (for teens)

North America

• National Hopeline Network
• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
• SuicideHotlines.com
• SuicideHotlines.com (Canada)

United Kingdom

• Samaritans Email: [email protected]
• Childline (for children and teens)

Australia

• Lifeline Australia
• Kids Helpline (for children and teens)

How NOT to respond to a suicide message

When responding to a message which seeks help for a suicidal problem, never revert their post under the assumption that it is trolling — not even if there is very good evidence that this is the case (i.e. the editor is a repeat offender). Even if they have posted similar statements or threats in the past, those may be legitimate cries for help. They may be testing the water to see if anyone cares about them. Or, they may have been trolling in the past but are genuine on this occasion. Undoubtedly, some suicide posts are merely trolling; however, because of the seriousness of the issue, it is important to always assume that the editor is genuinely suicidal.

It is equally important that Wikipedia editors never respond to a suicidal message with personal attacks or humor. People who are considering suicide often feel that they are isolated from society and that there is no one who cares about them. Responding in an aggressive way will almost certainly increase the person's feeling of isolation. Responding with humor, no matter how well intended (eg. as a way of lightening their mood), may well have a similarly disastrous effect. This may be a life-and-death situation for them, not one where levity or humor is an appropriate response.

Do not call the person "crazy" or "deranged." While people with certain problems like schizophrenia may have a higher probability of killing themselves, this does not mean a rational person cannot decide to kill him or her self. To insist that suicide is necessarily the consequence of irrationality "is absurd and infuriating to those who have spent time at the bedside of dying patients who are suffering severely with no good choices." (Quill Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior) Don't use the phrase "suicide threat" either: this may be offensive to the person, implying that they are considering suicide to hurt others rather than for their own good, or even altruistic reasons.

Dealing with improper responses from other editors to a suicide message

Suicide is an uncomfortable topic to many people, and reverting a suicidal message under the assumption that it is trolling is natural. Be forgiving of the offending editor. Leave them a message asking the editor to read this page so that they will know how to properly handle similar situations in the future. Occasionally some editors respond to a “cry for help” with a humorous or derisive reply, or worse, recommend methods for carrying out the suicide. Given the seriousness of the subject any such response should be immediately reverted. However, unless the editor has obviously violated WP:ATTACK, a note asking them to refrain from such conduct in the future and a link to this page is usually more useful than a warning template.

An alternative: Talk to the person

Wikipedia does not expressly forbid editors from taking a more proactive approach when responding to a suicidal person. If you feel that talking to the person yourself is the only approach that will benefit the suicidal person, please ignore all rules. Note however that Wikipedia does not give medical advice and that for an untrained person to attempt to do so could be disastrous. In responding proactively to a suicidal message an editor acts on their own initiative. (See also Wikipedia:Medical disclaimer) If you do choose to attempt to be a friend to a suicidal person this essay may be helpful in responding. It may also be best to move the discussion to email if possible.

See also

• Wikipedia:Helping suicidal individuals
• Wikipedia:Medical disclaimer