I had success when someone did this for me fifteen years ago after years in the dark. I was also ashamed of my feelings and hid them as a result of the stigma in society. No two people experiences of mental illness are the same, but I'm glad someone said something. I lied and acted like it was a ridiculous question multiple times before I finally admitted to myself that I needed to commit to getting help. I'm glad I did. No two experiences are the same, but if you're interested in talking more about it my contact info is in my profile.

I had success in that I'm still alive.

I have called a suicide hotline. They determined that I was a danger to myself. The police came to my house and took me to a crisis center where I was held against my will for seventy-two hours where other unsupervised, unmedicated residents of a facility for observation before being released.

If I am ever suicidal again I'll just skip the suicide hotline. They were no help, and those seventy-two hours were the worst of my life.