If they are suicidal, Help Them Connect
Helping someone with suicidal thoughts connect with ongoing supports (like Lifeline, 800-273-8255) helps establish a safety net when they find themselves in a crisis. Additional components of a safety net might be connecting them with supports and resources in their communities.
Explore some of these possible suicidal thought support systems with them:
Are they currently seeing a mental health professional?
Have they in the past? Is this an option for them currently?
Are there other mental health resources in the community that can effectively help?
Help with them to develop a safety plan.
This can include ways to identify if they start to experience suicidal thoughts along with what to do in those crisis moments.
A safety plan can also include a list of individuals to contact when a crisis occurs.
The My3 app is a safety planning and crisis intervention app. It can help develop these supports and is stored conveniently on your smartphone for quick access.
Impact of Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training on the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline:
Suicidal individuals that called the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline were more likely to feel less depressed, less suicidal, less overwhelmed, and more hopeful by the end of calls handled by Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training-trained counselors.
These improvements were linked to ASIST-related counselor interventions. These included listening without judgment, exploring reasons for living and creating a network of support.
What if someone talks about suicide on social media?
Many social media outlets, including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Tumblr, and Google+, have ways to report suicidal content and get help for the content creator. Each social media site has a different procedure, so search the site’s help page for assistance.
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
The Lifeline provides 24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones, and best practices for professionals.
1-800-273-8255