Top Ten Things to Do if You're Considering Suicide

1. Memorize the National Suicide Prevention Number: 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is a 24-hour, toll-free suicide prevention service available to anyone in suicidal crisis. If you need help, please dial 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

2. Treat depression as if your life depended on it.

Depression is a treatable disorder with nearly a 90% rate of success. Suicide is not.
(http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/depression.cfm#ptdep8)

3. Learn survival skills.

Read How I Stayed Alive When My Brain Was Trying to Kill Me by Susan Rose Blauner. (http://www.howistayedalive.com/) or Night Falls Fast by Kay Redfield Jamison. (http://www.randomhouse.com/vintage/read/nightfallsfast)

4. Make a plan for life. (http://www.dbsalliance.org/info/suicide.html)

Work with loved ones to create a list of things to do if suicidal impulses strike. Include who to call and who not to call. Add the kinds of things to say or not to say. A formal list is also known as an advance directive.

5. Recruit people you trust to join your survival team.

Talk to family, friends, doctors, therapists, counselors, clergy, co-workers, and anyone else who can help. Share with them the "survival skills" that are most meaningful to you.

6. Move your body - get oxygen to your brain.

Play a sport, ride a bike, or take a hike. It doesn't matter what. Just do it as often as you can.

7. Join (or start) a support group. (http://www.dbsalliance.org/info/findsupport.html) (http://www.healthcyclopedia.com/mental-health/disorders/suicide/support-groups.html)

Several organizations offer support groups throughout the U.S. and Canada: AAS, AFSP, CESP, DBSA, NAMI, NMHA, Recovery Inc., SAVE, SPAN. Find a local support group and try it out.

8. Make a promise not to harm yourself.

Find someone (or a group) who cares more about your safety than "keeping a secret." They need to be good listeners. Ask them to contact you regularly, especially if you aren't contacting them.

9. Fight sudden or urgent impulses to harm yourself. Give yourself time.

Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary situation. Impulses will pass. Death won't. Instead scrawl in a journal. Smear paint on a canvas or the refrigerator or the bathroom mirror. Throw eggs at a tree. Cry. Pray. Call a trusted friend or visit this website: http://www.metanoia.org/suicide.

10. Remember the National Suicide Prevention Number: 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

If you have a strong impulse to harm yourself, remember it is your brain that is trying to kill you. Call for help. If people you trust are unavailable or unable to help, the HOPELINE will connect you to a local crisis intervention counselor.

To recommend links to add to this site, contact Rita at dbsacanandaigua@aol.com.
Thanks!

Enriching lives through education, empowerment, advocacy, and support.

DBSA Rochester is a group of local, volunteers who come together on a regular basis to offer each other encouragement and support in living with mood disorders.

If you need immediate help, please dial 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is a 24-hour, toll-free suicide prevention service available to anyone in suicidal crisis.

For more information visit: www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org

For more information about DBSA Rochester, contact DBSA Rochester Director, Rich Griswold at neuropsych1@gmail.com or 585-571-4238 or call the volunteer-run chapter central phone at 585-234-8432.

For information about DBSA International headquarters visit www.dbsalliance.org or call 1-800-826-3632.

To give feedback on this web site, please write to Rita at dbsacanandaigua@aol.com.