Suicide is a complex and challenging issue. For decades, experts have tried hotlines, group therapy, individual counseling and psychiatric medications with sometimes dangerous side effects.
Prevention strategies that have been effective include means restriction, responsible media coverage and general public education, identification methods like screening and gatekeeper training, and resourcing for mental health treatment.
1. Know the Warning Signs
Suicide is a complex issue that affects people of all ages and from many different backgrounds. It’s important to recognize warning signs of suicide and know how to help someone at risk.
Warning signs of suicide include talking about suicide or expressing a desire to die, preparing for suicide by making a will or writing a note, giving away prized possessions, researching or buying weapons or poisons, behaving recklessly or dangerously, displaying extreme emotions like anger and rage, sleeping less or more, and withdrawing from social situations. It is also important to be aware of any history of suicide or attempted suicide in a person’s family, as well as any chronic illness or pain they are experiencing.
It is especially important to be alert if a person’s suicidal behavior is new or increased and seems related to a painful event, loss or change. Visit Conversations Matter to learn more about how to have a #RealConvo and find resources that can help you get support for yourself or someone you know who might be thinking about suicide.
2. Help the Person Develop a Safety Plan
The goal of the safety plan is to help a person get through a high-risk period without engaging in suicidal behaviour. It should involve a list of things they can do to distract themselves from thoughts and feelings of hopelessness, helplessness and self-criticism, such as activities they enjoy or have used in the past. It should also include a list of people they can call for support in a crisis and contact information for mental health professionals and services.
It is important that the person develops their own plan while they are not in a suicidal crisis and feels ownership of each step. The process may take a few sessions and can be done in the context of working on hope and assessing suicide risk or during a follow-up session.
Other short-term interventions include promoting resilience and life skills training. Long-term approaches include reducing access to lethal means of suicide and providing a range of other options for help, such as suicide helplines, mobile apps and community outreach programs.
3. Remove Potential Means of Suicide
Suicide is often impulsive and people in the midst of a crisis need to be helped immediately. You can help by calling a crisis line or your country’s emergency services number, or getting the person to the emergency room. If it is safe, you should also remove pills, razors and firearms from the person’s home or vehicle.
Mental health professionals can conduct detailed psychiatric evaluations, risk assessments and develop comprehensive treatment plans for suicide prevention. They can help reduce the severity of a person’s symptoms, improve coping and wellness skills and manage medications.
Strategies to prevent suicide need to be developed and implemented at the individual, system and community level. This includes policy directed at means restriction, as well as education and awareness activities. In addition, addressing risk factors like access to lethal substances and social support systems is critical. Prevention efforts need to be reinforced after a suicide attempt or loss with support and care for survivors.
4. Help the Person Connect With Others
Researchers who have studied suicide prevention have found that feeling connected to others is a strong protective factor against suicide. Helping someone connect with friends, family and the support of a mental health professional can help them get past their hopelessness and psychological pain that may be contributing to suicidal thoughts.
Keeping someone who is struggling with depression, anxiety or other mental health issues in touch with a therapist or psychiatrist who can monitor their progress and respond quickly to any crisis is important. This can also provide a person with the support and guidance they need to develop more healthy ways of managing their emotions.
Finally, reducing access to lethal means of suicide can be one of the most effective strategies for preventing suicide. Whether that is limiting access to firearms or providing a safe place to store medications, removing a means of suicide could save someone’s life. In addition, it is important to know the warning signs and how to recognize them in yourself or in those around you.