Worried about my flatmate

Hey there,
sorry if I'm posting in the wrong place, not sure where to put this.
My flatmate is really worrying me. He has been severely depressed for quite a while now. Today he started saying things like "If you find me dead some day, I don't want a service just want to be cremated"..
He had a suicide attempt before, but he promised me before that he won't do it to me. However, recently he has been saying "you say yourself that promises are ********" or "If I want to do it, you won't be able to stop me".
I told him if he keeps on like that, I will get him sectioned. He replied that if someone comes to take him away, he is grabbing a knife.
I'm not sure what to do. Do I call the shrink team on him or what? He does not want to listen to me nor go to the psychiatric assessment. I am truly worried. What should I do? I can't just ignore it.

Right place to put this...reach out and get him some help. There is a UK organization called the Samaritans that might offer some help on what to do. They have an anonymous online service and phone numbers to reach them too. Samaritans | Samaritans

I offered samaritans/mental health assessment and a bunch of self help tools, but he just says "What's the point". He is at the point where he stays in bed for hours when he isn't working and has no interest in anything at all. He barely eats and just stays in his room staring at the wall or sleeping.
The only option I see now is getting him sectioned. He would hate me for that though.

I'm afraid I'd come home one day and find him dead. I walk on unsuccessful suicide attempt once already. It was enough for me.

In those situations, getting him sectioned may be the way to go...My wife took me to the hospital against my best wishes. At the time I was livid with her, but now I'm thankful as she probably saved my life.

Wow that is a really tough situation. Once when I was in high school a friend of mine told me she was going to take a bottle of pills that night. I didn't know what to do and told no one. Luckily she didn't do anything. I would have felt horrible if something had happened.

Recently I was chatting with a friend on facebook and she started talking about the loaded gun that her husband kept by the bed and how tempting it was. I told my parents about it as they know her but didn't do anything else. The next day my parents talked to her and she got all mad at me for telling them.

I know from my own experience it is something that is very hard to go through with even if you have it all planned out. There is a tiny spark that lives within us that is very hard to distinguish. Yet suicides do happen every day.

Maybe sectioning is the best bet. He certainly needs help. It is really hard when someone does not want help. They can give him meds but can't really force him to take them. When they section someone to they make them follow a treatment plan? Or just observe them?

You should call if he is saying and doing things that threaten suicide. His life is in danger and you care enough about him to do what is necessary to save his life. The professionals who intervene have the same goal. They want to save his life. He isn't thinking straight and may not want his life to be saved, but since he is not in a state of mind to make decisions in his best interest, someone needs to do it for him to keep him safe.

If he is not serious about it, then he is still for whatever reason asking for help through his behavior and his words, and he deserves to have that help. And you deserve not to have to worry about what he might do or take on the task of trying to do what the professionals are there to do as a team when your role is to be a flatmate. Responding by getting help shows him that you take him seriously, care about him, and have boundaries.

You wont necesarrily get him sectioned (that is actually harder than you think in the UK these days... cuts to mh services have been pretty hard) but I would recommend speaking to your doctor and get some advice.

They may arrange for a mh nurse to come out and visit him for an assessment... which could be the best step forward for him. In turn they'll be able to give him advice and quite possibly sort out with his gp, medication and possible counselling services.

Should he play the outraged card on you... just be frank... tell him that with what he's been saying and threatening, you saw no other option.

I'd say just by what you've wrote that he is wanting help... but making that step yourself when you're depressed is both scary and confusing.

TJ is right...

I imagine he will say all sorts of things to hurt/threaten/berate you, so I suggest you get ready for that.....

But the alternative is not good...

Stay strong and keep posting.

Thanks for your responses!
I phoned his brother yesterday and had a long chat with him. He didn't know any of that but now he does and the two of us are going to help him the best we could.
I looked though the legislation for detainment, and it looks like they wouldn't lock him up if he tells them he is ok and not suicidal.. and I'm sure he'd do that. On the bright side, we convinced him to go get assessed, so at least that.
I'm also thinking about getting a lockbox for my meds cause I have enough to kill an elephant.
all this business is not very good for my mental health either, as it gets me down a lot and I can't concentrate on my problems. Boo.

Good moves on your part Ms. Beans, especially about the lock box for your medications. Pat yourself on the back for good decisions.