If you are thinking of suicide...

The option of taking your own life yourself isn’t going to go away. It is a choice you can make tomorrow or next week or next month, if you decide that’s still what you want. When you are feeling so bad that you want to kill yourself, the thought of just surviving the days ahead can seem exhausting, overwhelming, and unbearable.

Try to focus on just getting through today, not the rest of your life. Your coping ability is greatly weakened right now. You may not be able to imagine getting through this but your thoughts can play tricks on you when you are in a crisis.

Don’t try to handle thoughts of the future right now; just make a decision to get through today. Today may be painful, but you can decide to survive it and give some other options a chance, at least for a day.

Remember that however alone you feel, there are people who want to talk with you and who want to help

• Let family or friends know what you are going through. They may be able to calm you down and offer support. Even though they may not be able to make you feel better straight away, talking things through may help to get some perspective and see your situation in a different light.

• Call a crisis line to talk with someone right now. The Samaritans are available to talk 24 hours a day. Calls are charged at a local rate and in emergency they may be able to call you back. They can be contacted on 08457 90 90 90
  www.samaritans.org
  You can also email them on: jo@samaritans.org

• Papyrus is a charity to prevent suicide for teenagers and young adults. They have a helpline which can be contacted on: 0800 068 41 41 Mon-Fri 10am to 5pm, then 7pm to 10pm Weekends 2pm to 5pm
  www.papyrus-uk.org

Other people you could talk to

• a private therapist, counsellor, or psychologist
• a school teacher
• a religious or spiritual leader

Getting professional help

• Speak to your GP who may be able to help you access the support you need in a crisis. A GP should also be available to speak to you 24 hours a day. Call your surgery number to be put through to the out-of-hours service.

•  If you are not registered with a GP try calling NHS direct on 0845 4647 who may be able to arrange for you to access some help.

•  If you are under a Community Mental Health Team contact your Community Psychiatric Nurse. If they are not available, you could talk to the mental health professional on duty that day.

• If you have access to a mental health crisis line call it as soon as possible.

If you have a plan to end of your life and feel you may act today then get help now:

Go to your local Accident and Emergency department or call 999

It can help to try activities which distract you from your distress and focus on the world around you. It is best to try things you enjoy which can be different for different people. However, here is a list of things which can help.

• Try focussing on your breath for 10 minutes. This can relax you and take your mind off distressing thoughts.
• Take a hot bath.
• Eat your favourite food.
• Watch a movie or TV.
• Look through a magazine.
• Get some fresh air and exercise. Go for a walk in a green space
•  If you are finding it difficult to stop yourself from feeling distressed, try writing down your thoughts, how you could be helped, what you would like to change.
• You may have a list of things which you can do to make yourself feel better in a crisis. If so go down your list and do each thing until you feel better.

Avoid using drugs and alcohol when you are feeling desperate or in a crisis

Although it is tempting to try to use them to try to numb painful feelings, they can make your emotions more volatile and affect your judgement. Using drugs or alcohol while you are in crisis will greatly increase your risk of hurting or killing yourself impulsively even though you may not have fully decided to do that..