Buoy for trusted support in emotional crises
Wiki ▸ Use Cases ▸ Buoy for trusted support in emotional crises
If you are in an emotional crisis and need a lifeline, Buoy can assist you in finding people you know and trust to talk through your crisis. Buoy helps you quickly reach out to your personal network to chat with friends, or so they can come and sit with you until you feel better.
- [Scenario: Friends help ease suicidal thoughts] (#scenario-friends-help-ease-suicidal-thoughts)
#Scenario: Friends help ease suicidal thoughts
Carol has been feeling down lately. She's been feeling down for a while, actually, and was diagnosed with depression, complete with an anti-depressant prescription. Even with her medicine, however, she's still feeling down tonight, and she can't really explain why. Things seem hopeless, and life too painful to Carol, and these realizations lead her to consider taking her own life. These thoughts quickly spiral to ideation and planning, but for a moment, Carol catches herself and knows she could use some help before he gets further. She reaches for her smartphone and taps the "Buoy: Activate Alert" button on her home screen, and the Buoy panic buttons are displayed:
Carol presses the top-right button, with the chat icon in it, where she can message her friends that she needs support from right now:
She types in a message asking for help:
i'm really feeling down right now thinking a lot about killing myself. can anyone talk with me?
and presses Send. The alert is sent:
Buoy displays the chat room created for Carol and her friends, but right now Carol is the only person in the chat room, so it displays the safety information window:
Her phone is showing her hotlines she could also call to find someone, anyone to talk with, but she wants to talk with her friends who know her problems, who understand, and who care about her. It's hard to find someone who will support and stick by you. She hopes one of her friends will come through tonight.
And someone does. Carol's good friend Bob receives the alert and responds:
Hey Carol, I'm here. How's it going now?
Carol begins chatting with Bob and tells him how she is feeling. He listens, and soon, their friend Alice joins in. Chatting helps, but Carol is still having flashes of suicidal ideation. She feels like she needs someone she trusts in the same room with her. Looking at the map, Bob and Alice agree Alice is closer to Carol, a ten minute walk, and Alice heads over to Carol's apartment. There, Alice and Carol talk, and Bob says goodnight through the chat. After a few hours of talking, Carol feels better, and sleepy. So Alice leaves, and Carol sleeps, a little more assured about life than she was at the start of the evening.