Tips to Help Prevent Suicide To help prevent suicide, follow these tips suggested by
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Depressive and
Manic-Depressive Association:
Know that help is available. Call 1-800-SUICIDE (800-784-2433)
or a local crisis center to talk to a counselor if you feel suicidal. Express
your feelings to trusted friends or relatives.
Avoid drugs and alcohol. Most deaths by suicide result
from sudden uncontrolled impulses; drugs and alcohol contribute to such impulses.
Drugs and alcohol also interfere with the effectiveness of medications prescribed
for depressive disorders.
Recognize the earliest warning signs of a suicidal episode.
There are often subtle warning signs your body will give you when an episode
is developing. As you learn to manage your illness, you will learn how to be
sensitive to these signs. This is a signal to treat yourself with the utmost
care, as opposed to becoming angry or disgusted with yourself.
Write down your thoughts. Each day, write about your hopes
for the future and the people you value in your life. Read what you’ve written
when you need to remind yourself why your own life is important.*
