Preventing suicide requires a broad range of interventions. These include reducing access to lethal means of self-harm, such as distributing gun safety locks or changing the packaging on medication.
It’s also important to teach people life skills that promote resilience and help them cope with challenges. This can be done through education, community programs and workplace wellness initiatives.
1. Know the Warning Signs
When someone is contemplating suicide, they often give clues to the people around them. These clues are called warning signs and should be taken seriously.
They might talk or write about death and dying or their own life and how they are a burden on others. They might withdraw from friends and activities they normally enjoy or start acting irritable and agitated. They might sleep or eat more or less than normal. They might change their appearance or possessions, or they might try to hurt themselves with self-mutilating behaviors like cutting, scratching or marking the body.
Parents and school personnel are often the best observers of sudden changes in their children and students. They may also notice a pattern of conflict with other children or adults, and they might see themes of suicide in classroom drawings, assignments or journals. Personalized safety planning, which includes limiting access to lethal means and listing people and resources who can help in a crisis, has been shown to decrease suicidal thoughts and behavior.
2. Talk to a Friend
The best thing you can do for a friend who is suicidal is to talk about their feelings. If you aren’t comfortable having the conversation, find another adult who can-a parent, a teacher, a school counselor, a coach, or a youth leader at church. Adults are better able to coordinate getting help for your friend and can often get them into a psychiatric ward or an out-patient treating psychiatrist more quickly than you can, which may save their life.
When you talk to your friend, make it clear that you take their feelings seriously and aren’t dismissing them. Also, listen for their reasons to live and don’t try to impose your own reasons.
Ask if they are thinking about suicide and if they have a plan in place or access to lethal means. Studies have shown that talking about suicide and having a safety plan can reduce someone’s risk of taking their own life. Continuing to reach out and be there for them is also important as follow-up contact has been linked to lower suicide rates.
3. Make a Safety Plan
A safety plan is a set of steps that a person with suicidal thoughts or intentions can follow to keep themselves safe. It is often created with a therapist, the person who is at risk and if the person is a minor, their parents. A safety plan usually consists of a series of gradually escalating steps and can help prevent suicide by diverting a person’s attention until the urge to harm themselves passes.
The safety plan can include things a person can do on their own to stay safe, like identifying resources they can call for support or help and where they might go to seek refuge in a crisis. It can also include the people who they can reach out to for help and ways of eliminating access to lethal means in their home or work environment.
It is best to make a safety plan during a time when the person is not in crisis, and it is a good idea to review it regularly to check it still works for them.
4. Call the 988 Lifeline
When 988 launched, mental health providers, researchers and advocates cheered. It’s an easy-to-remember three digit number that connects people to a national network of crisis call, text and chat centers.
The Lifeline offers 24/7 judgment-free support for anyone in a crisis, including those struggling with suicide. People can call, text or chat with counselors who are trained to focus on de-escalation and safety planning – not to dispatch police or other emergency services.
In the first two years since the launch of 988, counselors have answered more than 10 million calls, texts and online chats (excluding those to the Veteran Crisis Line). Calls remain the most common contact mode with call volume increasing in all states, followed by text messages and then chats.
Whether you call, text or chat, your connection to the 988 Lifeline is free and confidential, although your phone company may charge standard rates. You can also get help through the 988 website and through its mobile app. For more information, please visit SAMHSA’s Frequently Asked Questions about the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.