Do you think helplines like SOS really help?

Question:

My friend tried calling them because she was depressed. All she got was lots of personal questions asked which she felt uncomfortable to answer. They did not offer any advice or help in any way. In the end, she hanged up the phone.

Answers:
Talking from first hand experiance here of the Samaritan's email service, no. They were not helpful at all, and even though I fully expalined why I had written to them (women's health issues) and that this problem was making me very unhappy blah blah blah, all they did was ask if I was suicidal. I sent them two messages in total and the second one they basicaly turned round and told me that they could not help me, but they "were there to listen" which made no sense at all.
The funny thing is I never mentioned suicide in ether of my emails, they were the ones going on about me being suicidal. This can't be good for people who are in a lot of distress, like I was at the time, because I fear they could put the idea of suicide into people's heads.
But that's just my oppinion.

Seriously, I wouldn't know as I have not tried that before. If you want to help her, talk to her whenever you are free, get her to participate in activities, bring her out for a walk. Do or watch something funny. She should be ok after a while. Or else, better consult a doctor.

Do you think helplines like SOS really help?

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