For Counselors:

1. Be a good listener. There are no right or wrong things you can say if you are speaking out of love and concern.   Show that you care by talking to them, holding them while they cry, or whatever else is needed.

2. A suicidal person usually is carrying around some burden that they feel they just can't handle anymore. Offer to listen as they vent their feelings of despair, anger and loneliness. Sometimes this is enough to lighten the load just enough for them to carry on.

3. Be sympathetic, non-judgmental, patient, calm, accepting. Don’t belittle a person’s feelings. Just tell them, “I understand how you feel. I have felt like that sometimes myself, or, I know other people who have said the same thing. You are not alone. God understands. You’re not crazy, this happens to many people. You can pull through it.” Display empathy and compassion.

The person will pick up on your attitude and begin to mirror this.

4. Draw the person out, ask questions. Are you having thoughts of suicide, what do you want to do?  Most people don’t have definite plans and don’t follow through.

5. Give them reassurance, let them know their life has value. Let them know you value their life. Let them know God values their life.

6. Try to instill a feeling of hope.

7. Share comforting scriptures.

8. Get support if it is serious, don’t ignore it.

9. Allow them to vent their feelings. Talking can help take off the edge and calm a person down. Pray for them and with them.

10. Try, in time, to get them to go for a long walk with you. Let them talk as you walk along.

For Those with Feelings of Suicide:

1. Accept mercy for yourself. Life is not all or nothing. We all make mistakes, we all have failures. Life is all about making mistakes and learning from them. Learning to accept mistakes we have made in the past, and realize that we will do the same in the future can help us.

2. Having a regular schedule for exercise helps. Walking briskly, outdoors is one of the best therapies. It is a forward-looking activity. It positively effects the chemical balance in our mind. It helps us to be positive, and to pull out of depression. It can help to stabilize symptoms associated with bipolar disorder and other mental health disorders. Some have said that swimming or other forms of light-contact exercise have helped.

 3. Try to get stay away  from television. Consider doing without a television for a year or more. For some, the television news can lead to feelings of despair. Many movies can influence the mind in feelings of despair or emotional turmoil. Finding active, mind-engaging forms of entertainment can help many to overcome feelings of suicide.

4. Heavy Metal and some other forms of music, involvement with spiritism or the occult, can also contribute to feelings of suicide for some.

5. Avoiding drugs and alcohol, paying balanced attention to diet can be of help.

6. Avoid isolation. If you have few social contacts, get involved with some organization or club, volunteer your time. Don’t spend too much time alone.

7. Avoid thinking that you need to have a mate to be happy. Some have given into thoughts of suicide after having been through a bad relationship. It is  possible to be successful and happy, even optimally happy as a single person, and without being in a sexual relationship.

8. Along those lines, monogamy is the way we were optimally designed. For many, promiscuity, excessive masturbation and pornography can lead to feelings of suicide. Trying to avoid sexually arousing entertainment and any form of pornography, can be one key for some, to break one link in the chain that leads to suicidal thoughts.

9. Don’t be afraid to get support. Friends, family, professionals in school, psychologists, a minister, can all be of help. Opening up to a supportive listener can be of help in healing wounds that might be leading to suicidal thinking.

10. Sometimes use of medicines can lead to suicidal thoughts that might not have been there previously. It is said that antidepressants actually double the risk of suicidal thoughts in children and young adults. For some, tranquilizers or major tranquilizers, typical antipsychotics have also contributed to suicidal thinking.

11. Prayer is of help to many. Pouring out one’s feelings to God, can be of great relief. If we look to God as accepting and merciful, which he is, this is of great help. Prayer is more than memorizing verses, it is open and honest communication with God.

Please read the following:

Anyone who is on medication should not come off abruptly. Sudden change in one's medication regimen can cause problems. Anyone who has suicidal thoughts and is trying to come off of medication, should do so under a doctor's supervision and come off gradually.

This website is for informative and educational purposes only and any decisions that one makes in his or her treatment, or for their children are on a personal basis and winmental health bears no responsibility for individual decisions on mental health.

These are some organizations concerned with suicide prevention:

National Suicide Prevention Directory
Contact information for suicide prevention agencies. Listed by state.

American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
Locate support groups for friends and families of suicide victims.

Suicide Awareness\Voices of Education
Includes an FAQ, general information on suicide, some common statistics, symptoms of  depression, literature.