Urgent Support

Suicide & Crisis

Coping in a crisis

If you feel that you are unable to cope then try the following:

1. Speak to someone you trust about how you are feeling.
2. Get to a place where you feel safe and can access support (this could be a hospital or a police station).
3. Call a crisis helpline - they are trained to listen without judgement and will offer support, help and advice on what to do next. The links to some are below.
4. If you need immediate medical help call 999 or go to your nearest A&E. 

Help with suicidal thoughts

1. Talk to someone

Talking to somebody you trust about suicidal thoughts is often the most effective way to help. People that care about you and you trust would much rather listen then have you come to harm. It’s ok to tell people what you need from them with regards to how they can help.

If you don’t want to talk to people you know, there are helplines available and their details are found below. 

2. Keep safe

Get to a place where you feel safe, whether that’s somewhere at home, a library or spiritual building, a hospital, a friend or family member’s house or your workplace. Alternatively, you could go to a hospital or police station if you need immediate support. 
Try to not be on your own, even if you don’t want to talk. You will be safer in a public place, even if you haven’t told anyone what's going on. Try to get to a cafe, shopping centre or park or wherever you know there will be people around.

If you are thinking about harming yourself, try to put barriers in the way to make it harder for you to act on impulse. This could mean throwing away surplus medication or asking someone to keep it for you until you feel more in control, removing sharp objects, or avoiding locations where you know you could harm yourself. 

3. Take one day at a time

Try to focus on just getting through the day and don’t think about anything longer term. Take each day as it comes and you might feel more able to cope in a few days time.

4. Distract yourself

Instead of harming yourself, try to do something else that you usually enjoy. You could try some meditation to distract you, listen to music or watch your favourite film, do some gentle exercise, draw or paint, do housework or eat some nice food. 

If the impulse to harm yourself is strong and you are unable to distract yourself, try having a cold shower or smashing some ice cubes up in a bowl, on the pavement or in the bath or sink. 

5. Look after your body 

Take care to eat, sleep and drink enough water. 

Avoid drugs and alcohol. They can impact the parts of your brain that control your judgement, concentration and emotions. They can also cause your mood to fluctuate to extreme levels, alter your perception and make you more likely to take risks.

Crisis Helplines