Hi everyone, I need some real time coping strategies for what I am going through right now. my husband had a mental breakdown yesterday while I was out of town and I was on the phone with him.
He had a gun to his head and was screaming and crying to not come home and that he didn’t want me to see. I was pleading with him and talking him out of it and finally was able to calm him down and I am back home now but I am so shaken up from this I can’t stop crying.
The flashbacks of that phone conversation and preparing myself to hear the gunshot is something that I just can’t get out of my mind. I’m not sure how to cope today. I will go to counseling and work through this but I just need some strategies for getting through the day-to-day in this moment right now. I feel paralyzed.
Thank you.
4 comments
You might want to try calling a suicide hotline available in your area. While you might not be the person with intention, i think it will help if you have someone to talk to at this moment to help you process these emotions.
Listen to slow and calming music too to help calm your heart down. Sending all the virtual hugs I can give.
Your husband needs a psychiatric evaluation. Do you feel he is truly having a psychiatric crisis or that he is [using threats to manipulate you?](https://www.loveisrespect.org/resources/what-to-do-if-your-partner-threatens-suicide/) An episode like this can definitely cause PTSD. [Breathing exercises](https://www.verywellhealth.com/breathing-exercise-for-panic-attack-5498745) and physical activity can help focus your mind elsewhere. Do you have a friend or family member you can lean on?
Do you have a way you can play tetris? Sounds strange, but there is actually research showing it somehow helps brains after trauma.
Too bad you didn’t call the police last night they would have most likely placed him on a a 72 psychic hold at the hospital for observation.
That would give you a chance to come with a plan without you having to worry about him.
Are you afraid that he might harm you or anyone else in household, including pets? Can you take all firearms out of the house and store them safely where he can’t get to them?