When people say that they tried to kill themselves, most of the time do they mean that they went through with an attempt that didn’t succeed, or that they were about to go through with it and something stopped them?

r/

When people say that they tried to kill themselves, most of the time do they mean that they went through with an attempt that didn’t succeed, or that they were about to go through with it and something stopped them?

Comments

  1. ryodark Avatar

    I would say the former. Attempted but did not succeed.

  2. Ellienn4 Avatar

    It can mean both, but usually the latter one

  3. ccasketcase Avatar

    As someone who’s both attempted and had emotional episodes where I wanted to but didn’t, if I say I tried I mean the former. That I actually attempted it to some degree.

  4. zertz7 Avatar

    I don’t think it would make much sense to say it if you didn’t try to kill yourself

  5. Nice2BeNice1312 Avatar

    Usually the first. I attempted when I was 17 and by that i mean i took the steps to end my life but it wasnt successful and when ive spoken to other people, thats generally what they mean too.

  6. Shizuka369 Avatar

    I tried to but backed out at the last minute. I just got an image in my head of mom coming home from work and then finding me… I couldn’t do that to her, so here I am. 😂

    I found a reason for living, but that basically went down the drain, so I’m looking for a new reason to stay alive. I’m thinking, “Living out of spite.” Everyday I’m alive is a giant fuck you to all my bullies and abusive exes.

  7. Appropriate-Jury6233 Avatar

    Hello I work on 988 and it’s a mixed bag. We ask anytime anyone has SI and some say they attempted and when I ask about it they say “I almost did it “ but the majority tell me about an actual attempt .

  8. BooPointsIPunch Avatar

    I tried when I was 18, but survived, through the lucky lack of knowledge (and absence of internet connection). (Still had to spend two-ish weeks in a non mental hospital to recover).

    I planned several times.

    One time when I thought the attempt was imminent, a thought about my child crossed my mind, and I went to an ER, where they rolled me into their hospital’s mental health unit for a week. That I call “I was about to”.

  9. InternalSame938 Avatar

    I would say it’s the type where you have tried to kill yourself and failed, though i’ve heard some say they tried to kill themselves but just couldn’t bring themselves to do it.

  10. amborg Avatar

    For me personally, I’ve been in both situations. The first time, I cut through an artery and when the blood started spraying I became panicked instead of relieved. I wrapped it up and went to the hospital. The second time, I decided to overdose and would have succeeded but my body was making weird noises and someone found me.

  11. thatsnotmynameiswear Avatar

    I’ve attempted and did not succeed. So that’s what I mean. And I assume most people mean.

  12. chronically_eeby Avatar

    I mean: I tried, and someone and/or something else intervened

  13. EzraDionysus Avatar

    Attempted literally means what the word says. An attempt means trying to do something. He attempted to lift that weight, she attempted to win that race, he attempted to win that fight.

  14. -imagenotfound Avatar

    People ususlly mean they attempted and it wasn’t lethal. Some people will exaggerate and say they tried to when they just thought about it really hard and then didn’t for whatever reason.

  15. table-grapes Avatar

    for me it’s both. i’ve tried to kill myself so many times i’ve lost count and it’s a mix of both with having actually attempted then not succeeded and then having the plan but not going through with it and then falling to self harm instead of acting the plan.

  16. xonesss Avatar

    Usually neither. Just desperate for attention