Attempt Survivor

Based on a true story of a friend

It was World Storytelling day. She wrote a story on how someone was contemplating suicide but the thought of their children made them change their mind. Even before she could share the story with anyone, unfortunate events unfolded one after another.

As she was leaving work that day, a text message provoked her and made her too upset. Her grief, her sorrow, her sadness weighed her down. She was devastated and did something stupid that would cost her life. Soon, she realized her impulsive act, and wanted to write a note which was torn. She again tried to explain the need of a note as she didn't want any complications for her family. She wrote precisely what needs to be written and that's when her family understood the seriousness and called for help. By the time help arrived, she was already feeling drowsy. Antidote given to her did not help. Seeing her worried family in ER made her realize how stupid she had acted. But it was now a question of wait game. From 6 in the evening till 10 at night toxicity in her blood stream was increasing and it was midnight when the graph started falling down. That was when family knew she was out of danger. The whole time she felt completely restless, nauseated and wanted to unplug all the wires that surrounded her in the name of drips, heart monitor and run away. She was poked several times for blood work to monitor the toxicity. She was refused even a single drop of water for 12 hours. Her throat was dry, her head was ready to explode, she was disoriented and was on/off drifting to sleep.

Next day morning she came to know that she had to be in a psych ward for next few days until they determined that she is not a threat to herself anymore. She was put on high dose of meds that she couldn't tolerate. All she wanted was to be with her family at home. Instead she ended up with bunch of people who needed help too. It was her cry for help that landed her here. She shared a room with another woman who had abused alcohol along with street drugs. There were others in the facility who were either street drug users, or alcoholics or people who felt jail was more safe and kids who needed help. She never imagined in her life that she would even meet people like them leave alone having to spend few days with them. It was a learning experience where she saw people who had worse problem than hers. She started observing her fellow inmates who taught her invaluable lessons. She realized that so many are out there with so many problems and ending life was not the answer.

She started group therapy and all the counseling sessions were focussed on bringing out the positive attributes of each individual and to make them feel good about themselves. Social workers offered Cognitive behavior therapy that focused on practical hands-on approach to problem-solving. She learnt to monitor her thoughts, the triggers of emotional responses and resultant actions. She was offered all the tools that she could use when she has to face the same set of problems again.

Her ordeal is far from over. She has to deal with the medicines, its side effects. She will be under watch for sometime but she is left with no choice. She has to face her loved ones with guilt and failure everyday. She has to meet with her psychiatrist and her doctor from time to time and continue with CBT. She has to worry about her hospital bills now. She is on her road to recovery which might take sometime and with support from her loved ones she will never think about doing something stupid again. She has strong loving support from her friends that is keeping her happy now.

Suicide is not an answer to anything. Living this life to the fullest with a smile is the only possible solution.

 

Yes they hardly realize the aftermath of a failed attempt at that moment. Thanks Satchi for ur feedback .

 

Dear Jayasala mam
Thanks for sharing your valuable feedback.

Thats the main reason for sharing this here. If it can make a difference in someone's life I will be happy. In US it seems 1000 people die every year in such impulsive act. Yes some things are blown out of proportion but mental health is given highest importance.