What is the best response to a friend who is suicidle but wants to keep his thoughts secret? "I will keep quiet if you promise to tell someone else how you’re feeling."

"It is too serious to keep this secret; I have to tell someone."

"I will keep quiet for now, as long as you promise not to do anything rash."

"We should call the emergency hotline together and get help."

I'm not sure if this is for a test or not because I don't see a specifically bad answer here...

I was su*c*dal for upwards of 2 years. If I were to tell my past self one of these things, I'd do a few things:

1. If they say they're suicidal, ask them if they have any plans or means to do anything. If they admit to having plans, their su*c*de risk is very high. If not, that gives you more time to be more relaxed about this.

2. If their risk is high (or even low), tell an adult immediately, but only if you know that adult is going to be helpful. A school counselor or an empathetic teacher is always a good way to go with this. If those aren't options, telling your parents or their parents would be good, though it's not uncommon for parents to be unhelpful in a person's recovery process (i.e. taking phones away, saying it's all in their head). Do not stay quiet. Encourage them to call a hotline immediately.

The issue with these questions is that they might help different people depending on their situations. Some people will become incredibly anxious about talking to someone, so option 3 might be a good option as long as you do not keep your word. Even if you say you'll keep quiet, still tell someone. Their life is too important to mess around with secrets. Just be especially careful that the adult you're speaking to will be responsible with handling this.

If it were me, I would like to be encouraged to promise to tell someone else. Then, the situation feel like it would be in my own hands rather than someone else's.

I hope this helps. Comment if you have questions or need clarification, I understand that this is probably a tough read.

what test are you taking