Thank you for this comprehensive and compassionate post about suicide prevention. I want to add a few related thoughts respectfully:
There's an essential distinction between suicidal crises driven by mental health struggles (which this post addresses) and the work of organizations like the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Humanes Sterben (DGHS), which advocates for self-determined dying in cases of terminal illness or unbearable suffering. The DGHS focuses on rational, long-considered end-of-life decisions made by individuals with decision-making capacity, often with medical consultation - a fundamentally different situation from acute suicidal ideation.
Additionally, Ernest Becker's "The Denial of Death" explores how our culture's inability to confront mortality honestly can create psychological distortions and suffering. Becker argues that denying death's reality - rather than integrating an awareness of our mortality into a meaningful life - can lead to anxiety, destructive behaviors, and a loss of authenticity. There's something paradoxical here: honestly facing death can sometimes be what makes life more bearable and meaningful, while denial can intensify suffering.
This doesn't contradict suicide prevention work - instead, it suggests that part of mental health might involve developing a healthier, more open relationship with mortality itself. Both crisis intervention for psychological distress AND philosophical/spiritual engagement with death and dying serve essential roles. The 'suicidal trance' you describe may partly stem from an inability to hold both life's difficulties AND death's inevitability in conscious awareness simultaneously.
... and how does that make you feel?