Suicidal Feelings

WHAT ARE SUICIDAL FEELINGS?

Suicide is the act of intentially taking your life.

Suicdeal feelings is when a person has thoughts about ending their life or that people would be better off without them. It can also mean making a clear plan to end your life.

These feelings can be intense and overwhelming at times. A lot of stigma surrounds suicide making it a difficult topic to discuss causing these feelings to become even more intense.

WHAT DOES BEING SUICIDAL FEEL LIKE?

Every persons experiences of suicdal feelings is unique. However, often those struggling with thoughts of suicide feel unable to cope with difficult feelings and feeling as though there is no way out of their current situation.

These feelings can build up over time and change from day to day.

How you Might Experience

Different people have different experiences of suicidal feelings. A person might feel unable to cope with the difficult feelings that they are experiencing and may feel less like they want to die and more like they cannot go on living the life they currently have.

These feelings may build over time or might change from moment to moment, and it's common for a person to not understand why they feel this way.

Some comon ways a person who is feeling suicidal might experience are:

Tearful and overwhelmed by negative thoughts
Unbearable pain that you can't imagine ending
Useless, not wanted or not needed by others
Desperate, as if you have no other choice
Like everyone would be better off without you
Cut off from your body or physically numb
Fascinated by death.

Some things a person who is suicidal might experience:

Poor sleep, including waking up earlier than you want to
Change in appetite, weight gain or loss
No desire to take care of yourself, for example neglecting your physical appearance
Wanting to avoid others
Making a will or giving away possessions
Struggling to communicate
Self-loathing and low self-esteem
Urges to self-harm

How to recognise signs of suicide

The reasons why someone might take their life are complex and can be difficult for someone who isn't experiencing thoughts and feelings of suicide to understand. However, When someone is contemplating suicide, their words and actions can give you clues that they are at risk of hurting themselves.

Below are some of the warning signs to look out for:

Threatening to hurt or take their own life
Actively looking for ways to take their own life (e.g. stockpiling tablets)
Talking about suicide, for example 'I wish I had never been born' or 'Everyone would be better off without me'
A sudden obsession with death- an unusual focus on death, violence or dying

High levels of self hatred

Saying goodbye- unusual or unexpected visits or messages saying goodbye

Giving away possessions- giving away personal items and money

what to do if someone you know is suicidal

Finding out that someone you know is suicidal can be daunting. It can be difficult to know what to do or say and you might feel scared about saying something wrong. Don't worry, taking action immediately is the best thing you can do. It is always better to do something in these situations than nothing. There are phone numbers you can call to ask for help and they will help you through the situation.

If you feel like you are struggling with anything you have read or any other aspect of mental health, then there are services out there that can help. If you need to talk to someone you can sign up here for our peer coaching service.