- Suicide is the act of intentionally taking your own life. Suicide is best understood not so much as a movement toward death as it is a movement away from something and that something is always the same: intolerable emotion, unendurable pain or unacceptable anguish. Reduce the level of suffering and the individual will choose to live.
- Suicidal feelings can range from being preoccupied by abstract thoughts about ending your life, or feeling that people would be better off without you, to thinking about methods of suicide, or making clear plans to take your own life.
- If you are feeling suicidal, you might be scared or confused by these feelings.
- But you are not alone. Many people think about suicide at some point in their lifetime.
| How you might think or feel | What you may experience |
| – hopeless, like there is no point in living – tearful and overwhelmed by negative thoughts – unbearable pain that you can’t imagine ending – useless, unwanted or unneeded by others – desperate, as if you have no other choice – like everyone would be better off without you – cut off from your body or physically numb | – poor sleep with early waking – change in appetite, weight gain or loss – no desire to take care of yourself, for example neglecting your physical appearance – wanting to avoid others – self-loathing and low self-esteem – urges to self-harm |
- Suicidal feelings can be overwhelming. How long these feelings last differs for everyone.
- It is common to feel as if you’ll never be happy or hopeful again.
- But with support from family and friends, doctors, and mental health professionals, and self-help, the majority of people who have felt suicidal go on to live fulfilling lives.
- The earlier you let someone know how you’re feeling, the quicker you’ll be able to get support to overcome these feelings.
Tips for coping/ overcoming Suicidal thoughts:
- Remove anything you could use to harm yourself or ask someone else to remove these for you. If you are in an unsafe location, move quickly
- Tell someone how you are feeling. Telling someone else how you are feeing can help you to feel less alone and more in control.
- If you are thinking of harming yourself, find self-harming coping techniques that work for you such as; holding an ice cube in your hand until it melts and focus on how cold it feels, tearing something up into hundreds of pieces.
- Focus on your senses. Taking time to think about what you can smell, taste, touch, hear and see can help to ground your thoughts.
- Avoid taking drugs as it can make you feel worse. If you can; get a glass of water, eat something if you are hungry, sit somewhere comfortable, and write down how you are feeling.
- Get outside. If you are feeling numb, feeling the rain, sun or wind against your skin can help you to feel more connected to your body.
- Make a deal with yourself that you won’t act today.
- Find your reasons to live. Like;
- Write down what you are looking forward to, whether it is eating your favorite meal, seeing a loved one or catching up on the next episode of a TV show.
- Make plans to do something you enjoy tomorrow or in the near future. Plans don’t have to be big or expensive
- Repeating to yourself that you can get past these feelings can help you regain hope and focus on getting through it. Remember that the thought about killing yourself are just thoughts and you do not have to act on them.
- Spend time with people who you like and trust.
- Learn from others – reading about other people who have managed difficult times can be inspirational.
- Call a helpline
