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What to Do If Someone's Suicidal?

It's not a situation anyone ever wants to be in. But with 33,300 people in the United States committing suicide each year, the odds are unfortunately good that there may come a time when you will need to know how to help someone who's suicidal. Suicide touches all socioeconomic groups, races, age brackets and genders. Anyone who has been pushed too far or suffered too much is at risk. There is no guaranteed way to prevent a suicide, but the following advice may help.

  1. Get Help

    • Find a way to contact emergency services and ask for their assistance. Make discrete use of your cell phone, if possible, or try to get a message to someone else and have them place the call for you. If this is not possible, explain the need to call for help. You may have to deal with anger and accusations of betrayal, but if you feel the situation is critical, do it anyway. Do not try to handle the situation on your own or allow yourself to believe the suicide threat is an attempt "to get attention." Suicidal expressions and comments should be taken seriously. Do your best to remain calm and to keep the other person calm, if possible. Try not to act shocked, appalled or confused by his behavior.

    Listen

    • Once help is on the way, or if there is no immediate emergency, try talking things out. Take the time to listen to what is being said. Encourage any form of self-expression and try to be sympathetic to the situation. Offer comfort, if possible, or express concerns about the current situation. Many suicidal people feel the world would be a better place without them in it; some even believe no one would notice if they simply disappeared. Ask questions about the suicide: find out how, when and where she plans to do it. If the plan is already underway or seems imminent, do not leave, no matter what, until professional help arrives.

    Try to Understand

    • The situation that is making life unbearable may not seem like that big of deal to you. It's not about the circumstances; it's about how much the pain the circumstances are causing. If it were possible to "just snap out of it" or get over it or deal with it, they would.

    Follow Through

    • Once the danger has passed or professional help has arrived, stay for as long as you can. Check in every few days to make sure your friend or loved one is receiving appropriate treatment and medication. You were chosen in a moment of crisis and trusted with another person's life, whether you wanted to be or not. To someone who feels as if their life is does not matter, knowing that one person cares enough to try and save them can make all the difference in the world.

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