World Suicide Prevention Day: What Should You Do When Your Friend Feels Suicidal

There’s nothing more painful than losing a friend or a loved one to suicide. However, people show early signs of suicidal thoughts and on this World Suicide Prevention Day let’s find out how you can help.

Symptoms of Feeling Suicidal

It is not always possible to know when your friend or loved one is feeling suicidal. However, here are some signs that can help identify:

• Talking about suicide: someone who’s feeling suicidal might talk about committing it. For example, “I wish I was never born” “I wonder what will happen if I fall off this building” “I wish I could die” 

• Acquiring the means for suicide: for example, buying ropes, piling up pills, buying a gun, etc.

• Withdrawing from social life: not wanting to socialize and wanting to stay alone almost all day, every day

• High Mood Swings: for example, one day extremely emotional and the next day, highly discouraged.

• Increase in consumption of lethal things: for example alcohol, drugs, etc

• Taking life-threatening risks: for example, driving recklessly, etc

• Illogical activities: such as giving away possessions or staying away from loved ones & friends with no logical explanations

• Goodbyes: Bidding goodbyes as if you won’t see them ever again

• Change in daily routine, eating habits & sleeping patterns

• Feeling anxious, trapped and experiencing hopelessness

What To Do When Your Friend Feels Suicidal?

The time has changed and the world has become complicated. It has become more common to feel anxious, lonely, and depressed than ever. However, committing suicide is not the answer. If you know someone who shows the above-mentioned symptoms, then here’s what you should do:

• Talk with the person and try encouraging him/her to call up a hotline number

• You should also try talking to him/her into getting a treatment program

• Be there with him/her and encourage him/her to get support from trained professionals

• Acknowledge his/her mental situation & be respectful

• Be open-minded and avoid making judgements or prejudice

• Encourage him/her to give up alcohol and drugs (if applicable)

• Take away all life-threatening objects from his/her house

Following the above steps might help you help your friend or loved one going through one of the horrific chapters of his/her life. 

Click here to check out suicide hotline numbers of different countries that you may use according to where your friend or loved one lives.

There’s almost nothing worse than experiencing loosing a closed one to suicide but you can try to help them avoid these feelings.

We hope the right people would find this article and someone in need would get the right help. So, if you think this content could help, do bookmark it and share with your closed ones.