Suicide Prevention
"Suicide is complex. It usually occurs gradually, progressing from suicidal thoughts, to planning, to attempting suicide and finally dying by suicide." - International Association for Suicide Prevention
I have found that talking about suicide can be quite a taboo, though it shouldn't be, considering 6,188 suicides were registered in the UK this year alone and suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the US, not to mention the increasing percentage of people in the world attempting suicide.
Suicidal thoughts and actions can be a co-morbidity of many mental health conditions, as well as substance abuse, alcoholism and using benzodiazepines (such as Diazepam or Lorazepam).
Some of the most common ways of attempting suicide:
- Hanging.
- Poisoning oneself.
- Jumping from bridges or buildings.
- Drug/alcohol overdose (this can include illegal, prescription or over-the-counter drugs).
- Gun shot.
Many people believe that paracetamol is not dangerous. This is a myth. When mixed with other medication, paracetamol can be extremely fatal.
Symptoms of suicidal thoughts and behaviours:
- Threats of suicide.
- Past suicide attempts.
- Feeling like life has no purpose.
- Mental health conditions such as depression, bipolar affective disorder, borderline personality disorder, etc.
- Feelings of hopelessness.
- Thoughts that people would be better of without you.
- Becoming withdrawn from family and friends.
- Loss of interest in hobbies and activities.
- Mood swings.
- Agitation or anxiety.
- Self harm* or misuse of drugs/alcohol.
- Sleep disturbances or sleeping too much.
These thoughts and feelings can be very distressing for the person experiencing them.
* Self harm behaviours does not always indicate suicidal thoughts. I will do a separate post on self harm.
Some people may struggle with Suicide Ideation. This is where a person may experience suicidal thoughts or plans without feeling like completing suicide. This is particularly common with Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder (Borderline Personality Disorder).
A common misconception about suicide attempts is that the person is only thinking of themselves. This is completely untrue. In fact most of the time they are thinking that the world is better off without them and they don't see any other way out of their distress.
The risk of suicide can be increased in someone with a mental health condition if they have particularly stressful life events, such as:
- Death of a family member or friend.
- Unemployment.
- Bullying.
- Trauma.
Early detection/treatment is the best way to lessen the risk of suicidal thoughts and behaviours. Medication and talking therapy can help a person to understand their thoughts and learn skills to cope with them. Sometimes hospitalisation is necessary, especially in attempted suicides, in which the person will be assessed by the local Crisis Team (trained mental health nurses) and then referred for ongoing treatment and keeping them safe.
What to do if you are feeling suicidal:
- Call 999(UK)/911 (US) if you are having unbearable suicidal thoughts, about to make an attempt, or have taken an overdose.
- If you're in secondary care services, contact your CPN, care coordinator, psychiatrist or local Crisis Team.
- Talk to someone whom you trust.
- Ring a suicide helpline (listed further down).
- Write down your thoughts and feelings.
- There are a lot of apps that can be downloaded onto phones via the App Store or Google Play. A good one is What's Up?
How can I help someone who is feeling suicidal?
- Talk and listen to them about how they feel and what their thoughts are.
- Call 999(UK)/911 (US) if the risk of suicide attempt is high.
- Contact the local Crisis Team or the person's mental health professional.
- Encourage them to see a doctor.
- Encourage them to ring a suicide helpline.
Helplines are a brilliant way of staying anonymous while talking to a trained professional about thoughts and feelings.
Helplines:
- The Samaritans (UK & ROI) on 116 123
- Suicide Prevention Lifeline (USA & Canada) on 1-800-273-8255
- Lifeline (AUS) on 13 11 14
- Suicide Ecoute (France) on 01 45 39 40 00
- Telefonseelsorge (Germany) on 0800 111 0 111
- Nationella Hjalplinjen (Sweden) on 020 22 00 66
- Kirkens SOS i Norge (Norway) on +47 815 33 300
- Livslinien (Denmark) on +45 70 201 201
- The Samaritans (India) on 022 6464 3267
I have found that talking about suicide can be quite a taboo, though it shouldn't be, considering 6,188 suicides were registered in the UK this year alone and suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the US, not to mention the increasing percentage of people in the world attempting suicide.
Suicidal thoughts and actions can be a co-morbidity of many mental health conditions, as well as substance abuse, alcoholism and using benzodiazepines (such as Diazepam or Lorazepam).
Some of the most common ways of attempting suicide:
- Hanging.
- Poisoning oneself.
- Jumping from bridges or buildings.
- Drug/alcohol overdose (this can include illegal, prescription or over-the-counter drugs).
- Gun shot.
Many people believe that paracetamol is not dangerous. This is a myth. When mixed with other medication, paracetamol can be extremely fatal.
Symptoms of suicidal thoughts and behaviours:
- Threats of suicide.
- Past suicide attempts.
- Feeling like life has no purpose.
- Mental health conditions such as depression, bipolar affective disorder, borderline personality disorder, etc.
- Feelings of hopelessness.
- Thoughts that people would be better of without you.
- Becoming withdrawn from family and friends.
- Loss of interest in hobbies and activities.
- Mood swings.
- Agitation or anxiety.
- Self harm* or misuse of drugs/alcohol.
- Sleep disturbances or sleeping too much.
These thoughts and feelings can be very distressing for the person experiencing them.
* Self harm behaviours does not always indicate suicidal thoughts. I will do a separate post on self harm.
Some people may struggle with Suicide Ideation. This is where a person may experience suicidal thoughts or plans without feeling like completing suicide. This is particularly common with Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder (Borderline Personality Disorder).
A common misconception about suicide attempts is that the person is only thinking of themselves. This is completely untrue. In fact most of the time they are thinking that the world is better off without them and they don't see any other way out of their distress.
The risk of suicide can be increased in someone with a mental health condition if they have particularly stressful life events, such as:
- Death of a family member or friend.
- Unemployment.
- Bullying.
- Trauma.
Early detection/treatment is the best way to lessen the risk of suicidal thoughts and behaviours. Medication and talking therapy can help a person to understand their thoughts and learn skills to cope with them. Sometimes hospitalisation is necessary, especially in attempted suicides, in which the person will be assessed by the local Crisis Team (trained mental health nurses) and then referred for ongoing treatment and keeping them safe.
What to do if you are feeling suicidal:
- Call 999(UK)/911 (US) if you are having unbearable suicidal thoughts, about to make an attempt, or have taken an overdose.
- If you're in secondary care services, contact your CPN, care coordinator, psychiatrist or local Crisis Team.
- Talk to someone whom you trust.
- Ring a suicide helpline (listed further down).
- Write down your thoughts and feelings.
- There are a lot of apps that can be downloaded onto phones via the App Store or Google Play. A good one is What's Up?
How can I help someone who is feeling suicidal?
- Talk and listen to them about how they feel and what their thoughts are.
- Call 999(UK)/911 (US) if the risk of suicide attempt is high.
- Contact the local Crisis Team or the person's mental health professional.
- Encourage them to see a doctor.
- Encourage them to ring a suicide helpline.
Helplines are a brilliant way of staying anonymous while talking to a trained professional about thoughts and feelings.
Helplines:
- The Samaritans (UK & ROI) on 116 123
- Suicide Prevention Lifeline (USA & Canada) on 1-800-273-8255
- Lifeline (AUS) on 13 11 14
- Suicide Ecoute (France) on 01 45 39 40 00
- Telefonseelsorge (Germany) on 0800 111 0 111
- Nationella Hjalplinjen (Sweden) on 020 22 00 66
- Kirkens SOS i Norge (Norway) on +47 815 33 300
- Livslinien (Denmark) on +45 70 201 201
- The Samaritans (India) on 022 6464 3267
Comments
Post a Comment