[PhasmaFelis]

Well, that's part of the problem, the idea that you need a formal background to help a depressed person at all, and that the rest of us should go hands-off and pretend it isn't happening. Sometimes just knowing that someone cares can help. It's not universal, it's not a cure, but it is something.

[joesmo]

Couldn't agree more. Not only is it part of the problem, the so called mental health "professionals" are hardly qualified to help themselves. For all their education, they're no better than anyone else at preventing tragedy or helping others. The only thing they are better at is fooling people into thinking that they are professionals at all. This is a sad story, but as it states at the beginning, Stephen tried to call and talk to the hospital and other "professionals." If these people had any training that qualified them to provide help that laypeople don't, they would have helped. In fact, I'd go as far to say that someone who is not a professional is more likely to help because they might genuinely care for something more than money, something a professional trains not to care about.

[PhasmaFelis]

Uh, no. That's not what I said at all, and it's not true.

A dear friend of mine is still alive right now because her psychiatrist hammered into her that she needed a list of people to call when she felt suicidal. When the crisis came, she was just barely able to remember to call me before she reached for the knife, and my phone was charged and in my pocket because she'd told me about the psychiatrist's advice and I'd promised her I'd be available 24/7. I'm a pretty forgetful guy, but I forced myself into rigorous phone-care habits because of that psychiatrist, and that's the only reason that she didn't slit her wrists and bleed out on the carpet that night.

With severe depression, your best chance of a positive outcome comes with a solid support network and a well-trained, reliable psych professional. You need both.

[pserwylo]

I'm not sure why you've been down voted. I didn't intend for my post to say that talking to friends or colleagues is a replacement for professional help, just that any extra help is a positive, especially when people might have a tendency to feel isolated.

[PhasmaFelis]

Don't worry, I think you expressed yourself clearly. I was just responding to the other folks who seemed to be explicitly saying that you only needed one of [support network/psych professional] and that the other was useless.

As for the downvote, I'm pretty sure Xenophanes or one of his buddies is stalking me. After my first post disagreeing with him, everything I've posted in this thread has gotten a single downvote within five minutes, and then climbed back up later. No worries. :)