Suicide prevention includes actions at the individual, systems and community levels. These strategies include gatekeeper training, suicide screening and connecting people with care.
Protective factors reduce a person’s risk for suicide. These include effective coping and problem-solving skills, a sense of belonging and reasons for living, and safe storage of lethal means (like guns or medications). Psychotherapy like cognitive behavioral therapy can also help.
1. Know the Warning Signs
Suicide is complicated and tragic, but often it is preventable. It is important to know the warning signs and how to recognize them.
Risk factors for suicide include mental health issues, family history of depression or other mental illness, a previous suicide attempt, alcohol and drug abuse, chronic pain or illness and social isolation. Other factors that may increase the risk of suicide are a recent loss or trauma, the onset of a life crisis, and impulsive behavior.
A person who is thinking about suicide might display changes in personality or behavior, such as withdrawing from family and friends, sleep patterns or weight change, acting anxious or agitated and displaying anger and rage. They might talk about suicide or start practicing ways to kill themselves, such as storing or making preparations with lethal objects.
2. Listen Without Judging
The most important thing you can do for someone struggling with suicidal thoughts is to listen to them without judgment. People in distress often feel judged by those around them, but judging can make the problem worse.
When you talk to a person who is contemplating suicide, let them know you want to help and ask how you can help. Tell them to call a hotline or crisis text line if they need help, and try not to belittle their feelings.
Those who are at risk of suicide need immediate support from a variety of services, including hotlines and crisis centers that provide evaluation and stabilization. They also need access to ongoing care, such as psychiatric treatment and community support programs. Restricting access to lethal means of suicide is another preventive strategy.
3. Ask for Help
Often, people who are at risk of suicide do not seek help. This is partly because they are often not aware that help exists, or they believe that help won’t work.
Encourage those you care about to seek help by providing them with a list of resources, such as hotlines and community-based services that can provide evaluation and treatment. Include a list of mental health professionals who can treat them and techniques, such as psychotherapy, that will help them understand their thoughts and improve their coping skills.
Help them create a safety plan that includes ways they can get help and what to do in a crisis. This plan should also address removing potential means of suicide, such as weapons and medication. This is especially important for teens, as half of all youth suicides involve firearms.
4. Make a Safety Plan
A safety plan is a practical tool that is used to help manage suicidal thoughts and urges. It outlines internal coping strategies, support systems, professional agencies and emergency services.
A patient’s Safety Plan should also include their own personal resources and strengths. For example, they might agree to have a friend store their medication or give them a weapon to keep at their house when they feel suicidal. Clinicians should work collaboratively with the family and emphasise that these measures are only temporary.
If someone has access to a lethal means of suicide then it is important to remove this immediately. This can be done through a Safety Plan, but it is often difficult to get people to accept this approach. It is important to use trauma-informed care when addressing the issue.
5. Remove Potential Means
A person who is struggling with suicidal thoughts and behaviors needs help. If you notice them skipping classes, getting poor grades, forgetting to do chores or acting in ways that indicate they are struggling, don’t keep it a secret. Tell them about the resources available to them and encourage them to seek it out.
Research shows that connecting people to ongoing support can help deter suicide, by reducing isolation and lowering hopelessness. This can include family, friends, cultural or religious groups, and mental health professionals.
Also, remove or restrict access to lethal means (drugs, guns, razors, etc) when possible and safe. This is a critical step in helping someone stay safe. Also, help them stay connected by taking them to social events that foster community connections and encouraging them to seek out mental health services when they need it.