It’s really sad hearing that someone has committed suicide or is suicidal. It’s also really sad not knowing how to help someone that’s suicidal. They feel so bad about themselves, they decide to take their own life. That’s such a difficult thing to digest, but it’s true. According to the World Health Organization, 800 000 people die due to suicide every year, which is one person every 40 seconds. That’s a huge number of people that feel this way about themselves.
This number has significantly increased over the years, but I believe that the suicide rate will decrease. The suicide rate would decrease because of the stigma removed on mental health and the rise of mental health professional. Another reason why the suicide rate will decrease is because of you. There are 8 steps that you can use to help people that are suicidal. After you’re done following along these steps itself, you will be on your way to improve someone’s life. Let’s begin with the first one.
1. Learn More about Suicide
This one is simple and a no-brainer for people. If you’re going to help someone that’s suicidal, you’re going to need to know information about suicide. It’s best to know that symptoms of suicide, risk factors, and potential treatment options. An amazing resource to learn more information about suicide would be the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. I know from a personal standpoint because I have been a member for about two years and have learned so much from this organization. Once you have all of the information you need, feel free to move along to the next step.
2. Risk Assess
Risk assessing is very important to determine if someone is in imminent risk or not. Why is this important to know? It will allow you to clearly see the severity of their suicidal ideation. The risk assessment is very simple and all you have to do is follow these 4 steps. The first step of risk assessment is ideation. In this step, you would ask someone if they are thinking about killing themselves. Since you are reading this, you’ve probably already have done this and found out that they are planning on killing themselves. If that’s the case, then move on to the next step.
The second step of risk assessment is plan. In this step, you ask the person if they have a plan to kill themselves. An answer in this situation would be a simple yes or no. The more information they are willing to share, the better as it would give you a better image of what they’re thinking about. If they have a plan, you move on to the next step. If they do not have a plan, then you would stop risk assessing and move on to the third step on the list.
The third step of risk assessment is means. In this step, you would ask the person if they have access to whatever their plan was from the previous step. Some examples of this would be:
- Killing themselves with a knife
- Hanging themselves with a rope
- Overdosing on pills
- Driving their car in the ocean
The list goes on and on, but I think you get the point, if they had suicidal ideation, a plan, and means for the plan, then it is time for you to move on to the final step of the risk assessment.
It’s also important to de-escalate the situation and calm them down as well. You can’t do all of that if they plan on killing themselves within 24 hours. If they say yes to this question, skip to steps 6 & 7 to get them the best help possible. Crisis Text Line offers great services to people that are in crisis. Their crisis counselors are trained and prepared to risk assess you. Once they’ve finished risk assessing you, they will help you get through this situation even if you are suicidal. Once you’ve finished risk assessing, move on to the next step.
3. Provide Support/Understand Their Situation
It’s important to be there for this person because they are suicidal and they need help. They were comfortable enough to share their thoughts and feelings with you, so obviously this is important to them. Give them warm affirmations and make sure that they are being heard. Listen to them! Listen! I cannot stress that enough, like seriously. Listen! Having trust in someone only to find out that that aren’t really listening to them is the worst feeling a suicidal person can have.
Trust me, I know this from personal experience. About 5-6 years ago, I had a serious case of depression. I hated school because people were very cruel to me and I hated being at home because I was always told that I didn’t do enough. Constant yelling and arguing. I had no safe space to go to, so I went to my friends for help. Just having that one person listen to you and be there for you makes the most impact.
When you listen to them, you’re trying to put yourselves into their shoes. You’re literally experiencing exactly what the other person is going through, which is empathetic. Doing this will allow you to be prepared for the next step, which is all about safety.
4. Making Sure They’re Safe
After you’ve risk assessed them, and provided them with support, it is time to make sure they are safe. In this step, it is important to see if they have any previous suicide attempts and/or acts of self-harm. A lot of suicidal people find negative ways to help them cope with their problems. Suicidal people turn to smoking, cutting, drinking, and violence as ways to help them escape from their lives and from thinking about themselves.
It’s best to help them come up with ways for them to get away from these things. If they cut, ask them to put the blade away until they receive some sort of help. The same goes for the other negative coping strategies that they might be involved in. The best thing to do is to get them to try out alternative coping methods that will help them out like journaling and meditation. After doing this, it is time to move to the final three steps.
5. Find a Mandated Reporter
If you are a mandated reporter then feel free to skip this step. Knowing someone that is a mandated reporter is very beneficial when it comes to getting a suicidal person help. With a mandated reporter, they can report the situation to the police or to a mental health professional if they feel like the person is in serious risk of killing themselves. It may be difficult to have a mandated reporter present with you because the person you’re trying to help may not feel comfortable sharing any information with them. If you don’t know a mandated reporter, don’t worry because the next step is all for you.
6. Call for Help
This is by far one of the most important steps to follow. If you don’t learn anything or do all of these steps, this is the one I would want you to do the most. Getting help for someone that’s suicidal is critical in potentially improving their life. Without proper help, the suicidal person could act on their plan and be gone forever. No one wants that to happen. Everyone is going through their own problems, but their problem is possibly life-ending. If you feel like like you need a alternate solution, then the final step is for you.
7. Look for Resources
There are plenty of resources that would help anyone that is suicidal. If they go to school, tell them that they should reach out to teachers and school counselors with their problem. These are two examples of a mandated reporter (step 5) that you can go to if you’re unsure on what resources may work. Same thing goes for work as well. They have co-workers or a manager that they can talk to and reach out for help.
There are numerous resources that you can use like seeing a mental health professional. If you’re not a mandated reporter, you cannot make the person go to counseling or therapy. Support groups and workshops are two really good resources to use to gain valuable information regarding suicide. If you can’t find any resources that are near you or that is in-person, then you should look for online resources. A really good resource for suicidal people is the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. This is a 24/7 hotline that you can call for help and support for someone that’s suicidal or that has suicidal tendencies.
Now you have everything that you need to help someone that’s suicidal. Just follow these 7 steps and you will be fine. Good luck and make someone’s day by providing them resources to help them out of a difficult situation.
