[Rycoon]

Hey everyone,

I was wondering if I could have some advice with this. I was considering volunteering with a suicide prevention hotline over the summer because they have helped me a lot in the past and if I could help out even a few people that would be amazing, which is the same reason why I want to go into the field of social work.

But, although my mood has improved a lot in the past few months and I feel much more stable and am still in treatment and taking my medications, I am not sure if I am ready to handle doing that although I really want to. :/ I am not sure if it would trigger me or not...

But I've always been that person that everyone feels they can go to if they have a problem and I can be there for them and help them out a little. And I've never been triggered when people have told me some pretty dark things that they may not tell most people. Hearing other peoples' stories, no matter how triggering they may seem, have never really bothered me in that way. If anything I feel bad and empathize and want to help.

I think I would do a good job and I want to help others by doing this but I am scared that it may trigger me out of nowhere. What do you think I should do? Thanks.

- Rycoon

[emory_]

Maybe you could help with a mental health crisis center doing something other than suicide help lines. There are many positions that are very helpful that don't involve things that could trigger you. Maybe helping with community events, helping be a patient advocate, etc. It's awesome that you want to help!

I volunteered for a suicide hotline before and I did not find it triggering. That said, my mental illness hadn't become severe yet.

I used to be a facilitator for a weekly bipolar support group locally and suicide came up from time to time. My mental illness had become severe by then and I didn't find it triggering as to other members' comments.

I'd say give it a try with the hotline and if you feel uncomfortable, then find another way to volunteer elsewhere. We had to undergo a couple of weeks of training before actually taking calls on the suicide hotline...I think trigger may show up during your training period if they are going to appear? I recall a woman who volunteered and found it to be a positive experience...her husband had committed suicide and I thought she was really brave.

That's great you want to volunteer and there are a lot of places that need help. xo

[shortandcute]

It's hard to say for sure. I would think that it would be different for different people. If it were me, I would at least try it. You can always stop if you need to.

[Rycoon]

Thanks guys. I think I'll give it a try and see how it goes. There's an information session for it in about a week so I'll go to that and see how I feel about it all. If I think it will be triggering I'll look into some other things.

[starthrower]

I find working in any area I've had direct experience of triggering :/ I'm a mental health worker but avoid eating disorders, severe anxiety and personality disorders as much as possible- I usually work in psychosis. Be really careful with it if you give it a try, and make sure there's someone there you trust and can talk to. I tried to volunteer for a helpline but didn't make it through the training because the woman said I was "too anxious" which I think was her way of saying she didn't think I'd cope with it, so the training might let you know if you could deal with it. Good luck either way!

[Rycoon]

Thanks for the advice. I hope that I can work well under the pressure and normally I am very calm in emotionally intense situations (as long as I am not the one going through something terrible...then I'm a complete wreck) so I hope that helps. I'll go to the information session and see how I do in the training.

[starthrower]

Good luck!