Preventing suicide means identifying those at risk, providing them with care and connecting them to resources. There are multiple talking therapies that reduce suicidal thoughts and behaviors, including CBT, DBT, group psychotherapy and individual psychodynamic psychotherapy.
It is also important to make it easy for those at risk to connect with help by reducing access to lethal means, such as distributing safety locks for firearms and changing medication packaging.
1. Talk to Someone
The first step in preventing suicide is talking to someone. Showing your concern and offering support is important, especially when a loved one begins to express suicidal feelings or behaviors.
Be sensitive to their need for privacy and choose a place where you can talk privately, but be prepared to break the silence if needed. Start by expressing your concern and asking them directly if they have ever considered suicide. Listen to them without judgment and reassure them that there is help available and their life matters.
Be aware that some people who are at risk of suicide will act on those feelings immediately and may make a dangerous plan such as getting access to weapons or pills, withdrawing from social engagements, making multiple phone calls to friends and family, or writing notes about self-harm. If this is the case, you will need to stay with them or have someone who can stay with them.
2. Be Proactive
A proactive approach involves thinking about the future and changing behaviors to create desired outcomes. This is a common strategy for improving health outcomes.
Being proactive can help prevent suicide by addressing warning signs. It is also important to remove any potential means of suicide, such as pills, knives, razors, or firearms, if possible.
Other ways to be proactive include helping people with coping skills and self-care. Resilience, which refers to an individual’s ability to cope with adversity and adapt to change, is another protective factor against suicide. This can be helped through life skills training, mobile apps, and self-help materials.
Other proactive strategies are to offer gatekeeper training programs, which prepare people who routinely interact with others (such as a school counselor or community volunteer) to recognize and respond to suicidal individuals. This is a universal intervention that can be combined with other activities such as suicide screening and teaching warning signs. It can also be supplemented by indicated interventions such as safety planning for those who are at risk of attempting suicide or a mental health crisis.
3. Encourage Positive Lifestyle Changes
Suicide prevention activities aim to reduce an individual’s risk of suicide by teaching life skills, reducing barriers to help-seeking and addressing underlying conditions. These “upstream” strategies include educating the community about warning signs, helping individuals find resources, and providing support to families. Some examples of these interventions are educating family members about how to safely store medications and firearms, creating a network of suicide prevention services in the community, and providing education on healthy relationships.
Most people who die by suicide have experienced several triggering events that overwhelm their problem-solving capabilities. These may be caused by a combination of factors such as stress from work or school, a major life change, a relationship crisis, or a loss. Resilience, which refers to a person’s ability to bounce back from adversity and cope with change is also associated with reduced suicide rates. This can be addressed through life skills training and mobile apps, facilitating community connectedness, and supporting social programs for specific populations.
4. Be There for Your Loved Ones
The best way to prevent suicide is to watch out for warning signs and get help at the first sign of a problem. Behavioral changes like withdrawing from family and friends, making preparations such as writing a will, disposing of belongings or tidying up living spaces, research and purchase of weapons and other harmful substances, and intense feelings of guilt, shame or anger are often red flags.
Increasing a person’s connection to others has been shown to be protective against suicide, says Marshall. And simple gestures, such as asking someone how they’re doing and offering to help if needed, can be life-saving.
A person’s risk of suicide is heightened by factors such as a history of mental disorders, a previous suicide attempt, relationship breakup, financial difficulties and chronic physical illness. Stigma is also a major factor. A lack of awareness and the taboo surrounding the topic mean that people at risk don’t seek support. The fact that most suicides are impulsive makes them hard to predict and prevent.