If we only view suicide through the mental health lens, society will be very limited in its ability to change the issue. Because change is then reliant only on the mental health system and only on those who can access mental health care. We need to think bigger.
Talking about suicide is one of the best ways to prevent it. But how we talk about it is critically important.
After losing her brother to suicide, Sally made a commitment to learn more about suicide—especially how to talk openly about it. Here are her best practices for having conversations about suicide.
The mental health community knows that stories of lived experience are the most effective tool we have to end discrimination, but evidence shows they are also the best way to encourage others to seek help and prevent suicide.
Building a suicide prevention program is a complex — and likely emotional — challenge.
It is important that we assess the state of suicide and take a few moments to remind ourselves of the basic, and sometimes overlooked, steps we can take to help those at risk of suicide.
An entire community can be changed by a suicide. This is why it's essential that support is available for everyone impacted in the wake of a suicide loss, and that we continue to work towards prevention.
A person can serve as their own first line of defense against suicide by recognizing their own suicidal thoughts and triggers. NAMI Midland Chapter President Marta Manning shares tips and advice for recognizing suicidal thoughts.
"So often, our culture concludes that suicide is a rejection of life, a willful refusal to live any longer, but I believe suicide is a statement that life can and should be so much more than pain or despair. If a suicidal person only sees a future with days on end of pain, then […]
[…] answered, “Life and the brain don’t work that way.” Mental illnesses, such as depression, bipolar disorder and substance use disorders are certainly among the risk factors for suicide. But there are other biological, psychological, social and environmental factors that can increase a person’s risk for suicide. For example: a history of physical or sexual […]
NAMI HelpLine is available M-F, 10 a.m. – 10 p.m. ET. Call 800-950-6264,
text “NAMI” to 62640, or email. In a crisis, call or text 988 (24/7).