12 Feb 2021
Risk of Suicide in Depression - Know the signs and HELP
I know it sounds very negative but depression can increase a person’s risk for suicide (https://www.healthline.com/health/suicide-and-suicidal-behavior) or self-injury. Here are a few things you can do that can make a difference:-
Recognise the warning signs: As we discussed earlier, you need to see if there is anything unusual in your close one’s behaviour, if you find something strange, it’s time to act.
Reach out and ask, "Are you OK?”: So, what do you do when you notice someone is struggling and you fear they may be considering suicide? Reach out, check-in and show you care. The very nature of someone struggling with suicide and depression is that they're not likely to reach out, they feel like a burden to others. So it’s more of your responsibility to reach out to such people.
Be direct: Ask about suicide: Most people are afraid to ask about suicide, because they don't want to put the thought in their head, but there's no research to support that. Instead, suicide prevention experts say discussing suicide directly and compassionately with a person at risk is key to preventing it.
Assess risk and don't panic: Suicidal feelings aren't always an emergency: Say a loved one confides in you that they have been thinking about suicide, what do you do then? "Don't let yourself panic”. People often believe that a person considering suicide needs to be rushed to the hospital. But "not everyone who expressed these thoughts needs to be hospitalized immediately. Someone who has a plan at hand is at a high risk of acting on it. And to find out if anyone is planning on it, you need to communicate openly.
Listen and offer hope: The biggest thing is listening in an open-minded way, and to not be judgmental. Don't tell a person what to do. They're looking to be heard, to have their feelings acknowledged, so avoid giving advice. The next step is to offer hope. It helps to say things like, I know how strong you are. I've seen you get through hard things. I think we can get through this together.
Help your loved one make a safety plan: It's a simple plan for how to cope and get help when a crisis hits, and typically, an at-risk person and their mental health provider create it together, but a family member or friend can also help. This includes a conversation about the means and ways they would use when considering suicide and is one of the most important steps to preventing suicide (https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/means-matter/means-matter/saves-lives/).
Explore tools and support online: For those struggling to access mental health care, there are some evidence-based digital tools that can help. For example, there are smartphone apps like Virtual hope box, which is modelled on cognitive behavioural therapy techniques. There’s a website called Now Matters Now (https://www.nowmattersnow.org/), which offers videos with personal stories of suicide survivors talking about their own struggles and how they have overcome their suicidal thoughts. Stories of survival and coping with suicidal thoughts have been shown to have a positive effect (https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/the-british-journal-of-psychiatry/article/role-of-media-reports-in-completed-and-prevented-suicide-werther-v-papageno-effects/DFF62CAE7A44147EE9CAB4DFB50B49F0) on people at risk of suicide.
I hope this was helpful for you all.
