Speaking of Suicide

Chatbots and Suicide: Both Sides of the Story

Two recent headlines show ChatGPT’s dramatic potential to harm or help people with suicidal thoughts: “Lawsuits Blame ChatGPT for Suicides and Harmful Delusions” (The New York Times) “Over 1 Million Users Talk to ChatGPT about Suicide Each Week” (PC Magazine) ChatGPT isn’t the only conversational chatbot out there, so it’s possible millions of people every week turn to AI for…

I Wanted to Die for Five Years. Here’s How I Saved My Life.

by Morgan Ellis

On a cold November night in 2020, I awoke at 3 a.m. to find I was barely breathing. Very light inhalations, barely enough to stir my chest, spaced unnaturally far apart. I’ll never forget the cadence and feel of that breathing. “huh……….. huh……….. huh………..” I immediately knew what was happening, and I didn’t care. I didn’t try to take deeper…

People chat and eat at many tables close to each other in a crowded restaurant

Where is It OK to Speak of Suicide?

by Stacey Freedenthal, PhD, LCSW

I was mid-sentence when someone slid a sheet of paper across the table to my friend Sam. “This is for you,” a female-sounding voice said to Sam, and the messenger slipped away without my ever seeing her. We were lunching at a popular diner in Denver. I was intrigued: What was on that piece of paper? Sam happened to be…

The author's hand holding a stone heart for mindfulness

How I Survived the Trauma of My Daughter’s Suicide

by Jay E. Valusek

The last time my daughter, Beth, was seen alive was at 8:01 a.m., July 18, 2018. I know this from the time stamp on a grainy, black-and-white surveillance video taken inside the visitors center of a popular tourist attraction in south-central Colorado. She had traveled a very long way to get there—12,000 miles, in fact. From Nampula, Mozambique to Johannesburg,…

White doodle puppy with red ball under paw

To the People at My Suicide Prevention Talk Last Week…

by Stacey Freedenthal, PhD, LCSW

First, I’m sorry Luna barked while I was being introduced. It annoyed me, too. To the person who wrote in the chat, “Like children, you should have someone watching them while you work” — you’re right. I’ll do better next time. To the person who commented, “Old saying ‘smokers and dog owners always disturbing others'” — touché. And to the…

Silhouette of woman texting behind curtain, symbolizing talking with AI about secret suicidal thoughts

Suicide, Secrecy, and ChatGPT

by Stacey Freedenthal, PhD, LCSW

Decades ago, when I was 25, I wrote in a suicide note to my parents: Never, ever, ever blame yourselves or question if there was something you could have said, could have done, could have noticed. There wasn’t. It’s all me. I kept this to myself on purpose. I didn’t want anyone to think they should have been able to…

Do You Wish You Could Go to Sleep and Never Wake Up?

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“If only I could go to sleep forever.” “I want to die.” “I wish I’d never been born.” Do you ever have thoughts like these, and you do not want to kill yourself? Many people do. They want their life to end, but they don’t want to end their life. If you’re one of those people, you probably don’t think…