If you think a contact has a problem and may be thinking about suicide how can you contact someone to help?

Hi - are his emails direct to you or thru answers? If they are direct then you can get the IP address and notify the police of your concerns. Here is a site that will help you do that - http://www.ip-adress.com/trace_email/ This site will walk you thru how to do it.

If it's thru answers I would think the only thing you could do is to contact the administrators and tell them your concerns. I'd imagine the police or prevention people could assist in that too. Good luck - Hope that helps.

if this person has chosen to talk to you about how they are feeling, it seems as though they have trust within you, my advice would be if the person lives close, go rnd or phone, it maybe just a cry for help for someone just to acknowlage they exsist, maybe they feel lonely and depressed, and maybe you can help resolve this by just being a friend, even emails back being supportive would be helpfull.

if they are far away then if no responce has been made within 24 to 48 hours you could always ring a helpline that maybe able to send someone round to check, but be warned like i say it may just be an attention thing so make sure you listen and be supportive before you go jumping the gun, although its a risky game, sometimes thats all it can be is one big emotional game,xx

You can call the police department in his town, explain what he has been saying, and ask them to do a wellness check on him. If they feel he is in danger after speaking with him, they can have him committed on a 72 hour psych hold. During that time, he will be examined by mental health professionals and depending on their findings, he can get started on the proper treatment.

You should be prepared for him to be really mad at you at first. However, as his mental condition stabilizes, he will eventually be glad you cared enough to get involved. (Also, forget the old saying that people who really intend to kill themselves never talk about it and that people who threaten it will not do it they just want attention - that isn't always right!)

If you can get the full headers on your email you can see his IP code. This should tell the authorities where he is located.

If you are worried enough and don't know his address you can give them the email information and they may be able to help.

For now just keep letting him know you care and are there for him.

You can call a suicide hot line and tell them about your friend they will give you some ideas about what to do.