My sister tried to commit suicide today

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mommamaree

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Hello everyone.
Many of you are already a bit familiar with my family background.

I got a call a little while ago. It was my mom informing me that my sister is in the hospital, and being transferred to a psychiatric facility because she tried to commit suicide today. She tried to cut herself. We don’t know all the details, because my sister lives in NC, I live in SC, and my mom lives in IN.
Apparently, she and her “boyfriend” had a fight, he said something really stupid, and she tried to kill herself. She suffers from bipolar, and is not medicated. I haven’t been able to see her for years now, because she feels too much pain being around me and has asked for me to give her some time and distance. I sadly obliged.
I always knew I would get this phone call someday. Didn’t make it any easier when the call finally came.
My only consolation is that I know my sister is smart enough to know how to actually “finish the job” if she really meant to end her life. She has been a cutter for many years. She recently lost a friend to suicide last month. Her friend hung herself after the birth of her third child. My sister has also been in psych units before. She has been around this stuff long enough to know how to do the thing “properly”. My hope is that this was a cry for help. But neither my mother nor I know anything about the nature or location of the cuts. So my thoughts could merely be wishful thinking.
This hurts so bad. What is it about this year. So full of pain.
 
I’m so sorry to hear this. I am praying for her and your family. :hug1:
 
Prayers for your sister and for you and the rest of your family.
 
Oh, I am SO sorry!!! 😦

I will add you and your sister to my prayers. It is so hard when a person has a mental illness…and then a completed suicide like your sister’s friend always has a risk of starting a “cluster” of others. I don’t know just why that is, but it’s well known.

:grouphug:

Dear St. Dymphna, please intercede for mommamaree’s sister and keep her safe from harm until she can be helped by the professionals who are caring for her.
 
I pray for your sister, you, and your family.

Our Father, Who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy Name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy Will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now, and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; and do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly host, by the power of God, cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

Saint Dymphna, pray for us!

:crossrc:
 
mommamaree said:
Hello everyone.
Many of you are already a bit familiar with my family background.

I got a call a little while ago. It was my mom informing me that my sister is in the hospital, and being transferred to a psychiatric facility because she tried to commit suicide today. She tried to cut herself. We don’t know all the details, because my sister lives in NC, I live in SC, and my mom lives in IN.
Apparently, she and her “boyfriend” had a fight, he said something really stupid, and she tried to kill herself. She suffers from bipolar, and is not medicated. I haven’t been able to see her for years now, because she feels too much pain being around me and has asked for me to give her some time and distance. I sadly obliged.
I always knew I would get this phone call someday. Didn’t make it any easier when the call finally came.
My only consolation is that I know my sister is smart enough to know how to actually “finish the job” if she really meant to end her life. She has been a cutter for many years. She recently lost a friend to suicide last month. Her friend hung herself after the birth of her third child. My sister has also been in psych units before. She has been around this stuff long enough to know how to do the thing “properly”. My hope is that this was a cry for help. But neither my mother nor I know anything about the nature or location of the cuts. So my thoughts could merely be wishful thinking.
This hurts so bad. What is it about this year. So full of pain.
Click to expand...
Hmmmmmmm. When in the throes of certain aspects of Bi - polar disorder, one is not in possession of one’s faculties and often one acts upon first association thinking in the manic phase.

She needs to be medicated quickly IMHO. I am *not *a Doctor. <------- (legal disclaimer.)
 
Brother/Sister in Christ,
I am so sorry to hear about the difficulties you are facing during this current time, and year. I have a brother who is having difficulties with pain killers currently. I realized that the only way to help him and others, that continue to deal with their struggles in abusive ways is to pray and offer your love to them. Everything else just seems to scare them off. I will be praying for you, your family, and your sister. May our Lord Jesus Christ give you love, strength, and direction to deal with your hard times. God Bless You.
 
My heart and prayers go out to you and your family. I have been in the midst of such despair and know how deceptive such dark times can be. May I also recommend requesting prayers from Saint Raphael the Archangel. The following prayer for healing has been suggested:
Code: 
"Glorious Archangel St. Raphael, great prince of the heavenly court, you are illustrious for your gifts of wisdom and grace. You are a guide of those who journey by land or sea or air, consoler of the afflicted, and refuge of sinners.

I beg you, assist me in all my needs and in all the sufferings of this life, as once you helped the young Tobias on his travels. Because you are the "medicine of God" I humbly pray you to heal the many infirmities of my soul and the ills that afflict my body. I especially ask of you the favor (here mention your special intention), and the great grace of purity to prepare me to be the temple of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

God, with great wisdom You direct the ministry of Angels and men. Grant that those who always minister to You in heaven may defend us during our life on earth. Amen."
I pray for peace and health for your sister, you, and your family. God bless!

about.com provides the following about St. Raphael the Archangel:
Unlike most saints, Saint Raphael the Archangel was never a human being who lived on Earth, but instead has always been a heavenly angel who was declared a saint in honor of his work helping people on Earth. Saint Raphael the Archangel serves as the patron saint of healing, serving people who need healing for their bodies, minds, or spirits and helping the people who care for them (such as doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and counselors). He is also a patron saint of young people, love, travelers, and people seeking protection from nightmares.
 
Thank you for your prayers. We need them right now.

The hospital obtained a court order to have her transferred to an (name removed by moderator)atient psychiatric facility, which will keep her under observation for at least a week. She is being helped to get on Medicaid, so that her bipolar medication will be affordable for her.

My mother, who is raising my niece since my sister is obviously not fit to raise a child, is driving cross-country from IN to SC to drop my niece off to stay with us so that my mother can go to NC to be there for my sister. We have no idea if my sister will even be allowed to have visitors, but neither of us feel comfortable about my sister being all alone in NC. My “dad”, her dad, likely does not care. He did not care when my mother threatened to commit suicide during their marriage. He left her alone in a room with the pills after promising my mother’s doctors that he would supervise her carefully and remove the pills. The only reason my mother did not commit suicide that day was that she hated him enough that she wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of him being rid of her by suicide. I know my mother has informed him of my sister’s situation today, but I specifically asked her not to tell me of his reaction, especially since she said I probably did not want to know. He didn’t care when she was homeless on the street either. Thank God my husband cares, because my sister came to stay with us for about four months. We couldn’t leave her homeless and starving.
I don’t know, at this time, how much my niece knows about her mother’s situation. This is going to be a rough few days. And I am expecting my inlaws to arrive for a Labor Day visit from IN on Saturday, too. That should make things interesting. 😦
The worst thing, that my mother and I are both sure of, is that this is not likely to be the last time we receive a call like this. My grandmother tried three times to commit suicide. God only knows how she survived those attempts, especially as she was a nurse. And God only knows why I was somehow blessed with sanity, while those around me suffer with severe mental and emotional illnesses. God save us!
 
I’m so sorry you and your family are going through this.

Secret agents killing themselves to escape capture by the enemy make suicide attempts that make sense and can’t fail. They are sometimes clever enough to fake suicides in ways that pose little danger to their own lives. People who are suffering from mental illness don’t have the inner resources to do that. I don’t think that point can be stressed too often to their poor families and friends. It is tempting to want to make sense of it, but if victims of suicides and suicide attempts had all their senses and perceptions operating correctly and dependably, they wouldn’t be suicidal. Like a dream that is full of thoughts you can recognize but that are put together in crazy ways, the thought processes of a suicidal person don’t operate according to the laws of rational thought.

Think of what your sister is going through as kind of like a brain tumor, because it is a disease that manifests itself in the brain. Just as with other illnesses, she can be in denial, she can make mistakes in making her own health care choices, she can have her thinking interfered with by the disease that needs treatment. Just as with those other illnesses, it is better for you to give her the benefit of the doubt in her battle with a disease that is trying to eat her alive. It doesn’t make it hurt less, but it sometimes help in putting away blame and whatifs and second-guessing of yourself and her.

Please take care of yourself. You and your family are in our prayers, too.

PS There were many diseases with a high mortality rate in your grandmother’s time that are treatable, now, sometimes highly treatable. Don’t take your grandmother’s fate too much to heart. Your sister’s chances might be much better than that.
 
Nimzovik said:
Hmmmmmmm. **When in the throes of certain aspects of Bi - polar disorder, one is not in possession of one’s faculties and often one acts upon first association thinking in the manic phase.

She needs to be medicated quickly** IMHO. I am *not *a Doctor. <------- (legal disclaimer.)
Click to expand...
This.

St. Raphael the Archangel, please pray for mommamaree’s sister.
St. Dymphna, please pray for mommamaree’s sister.
St. Philomena, please pray for mommamaree’s sister.
St. Christina the Astonishing, please pray for mommamaree’s sister.
Bl. Eustochium of Padua, please pray for mommamaree’s sister.
 
Please know that I am praying for your sister. May the angels surround her and protect her and may God give her peace and comfort during her troubles in this world. Having had several people close to me commit suicide, my heart truly goes out to you.
 
EasterJoy,

I had to read your posts several times through before I got a sense of what you were trying to help me to understand.
One thing jumped out at me though…you mentioned blaming my sister and second-guessing her or myself. I don’t think I am experiencing those feelings or thoughts at this time. Is this a common reaction in this situation?
Mostly, I am just so sad that she must be in so much pain every single day. I know at least some of the experiences in her life that led her into despair, and they are horrific. I cannot imagine how she must feel. I told my husband that my impression of her emotional state (as of the last time she agreed to talk to me, several years ago) was that it hurt to be alive. How could I blame her? I pray to God that I never make that mistake.
The other thing that I wanted to ask you about your post…are you saying that her not “succeeding” in her attempted suicide may have been accidental. That despite her apparent saaviness, she really probably meant to do it, and just couldn’t accomplish what she intended? If that is what you are saying, then this is even more terrifying than I was willing to realize.
I will admit, I do not understand mental illness. I have tried. My mother has depression (my belief is that she also has bipolar, because I have witnessed what appeared to be manic episodes, followed by utter despair) and obviously my sister is bipolar. I just cannot understand. Maybe I am afraid to understand. I cling to my certainty of sanity like a life raft, as I watch all my biological family members (mother, sister, brother, aunt, female cousin, deceased grandmother) drown in an ocean of depression and related illnesses (anxiety disorders, fibromyalgia, CFS, and the list goes on). Maybe I am afraid that if I begin to understand severe depression, that I will drown too. 😦
 
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