Paul Quinnett, in his very helpful book Suicide, The forever Decision had this to say about getting help from our family physicians.

"Over and over again, we are reminded to see our "family doctor" if we are having problems, including emotional ones. I, personally, consider this generally poor advice for people in an emotional crisis. With some notable exceptions and excluding psychiatrists, most physicians have not had the appropriate training or experience to be of much help to emotionally upset people. Busy professionals, many frequently do not have the time to listen to someone whose life's problems are great and who may be thinking of suicide. Many of them work on a fifteen-minute schedule (that's fifteen minutes per patient) and, as a result, most simply do not have an hour to sit down and listen to someone in trouble.

As a result, and as tragic as it is, many people who commit suicide have recently been treated by their family doctors, sometimes on the same day they take their lives. More to the point, many people who attempt suicide use the very medications supplied to them by their physicians. No doctor I know would willing supply a lethal dose of medication to a suicidal person.

So, if you go to your family doctor to discuss your problems, you'd better make darn sure you tell him or her that you are having suicidal thoughts and feelings. If he doesn't want to discuss these with you, or gives you the impression he's too busy to listen, or fails to refer you to someone who has the time to listen, then for Pete's sake, get yourself to someone who is trained, has the time, and understands what an emotional and suicidal crisis is."

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He goes on to point out that doctors are not mind readers and they don't routinely ask if someone is thinking about suicide so, hard as it is, you have to tell him how you are feeling.