Self help in a suicide crisis situation? Really?

Did you know that when we are struggling to cope, our minds close down on creativity and our problem solving skills become much more limited giving us a kind of tunnel vision which has deadly consequences because we begin to believe that suicide is the only option, our brains can become ill and can't see another way.

But thoughts and feelings of believing its best to end your life do pass. What you have to do is get through this dangerous point in time. This can be done by reaching out to someone, anyone.
And there is also self help. When I was really struggling with grief my brother-in-law sent me this article.

Chris Cornell - When Suicide Doesn't Make Sense by Julie. A. Fast  

He was trying to help me understand why people sometimes totally unexpectedly take their own life but what really touched a cord with me was the action one can take to prevent themselves succumbing to suicide.

Its basically a suicide prevention plan. Although I think in this current climate this may be a terribly difficult action to get people to undertake, I hope that in years to come, as the stigma and silence surrounding suicide hopefully falls away, everyone that has suffered depression/low mood or is susceptible to depressive episodes makes one, just like you or I would create a diet or exercise plan. I would like to see it become the norm. It needs to be created and thought out when you are "mentally healthy" so you can call upon it when your mind closes to rational thought.

The author of this article explains suicide susceptibility so much better than I could ever hope to, so please take the time to read it. In her words she "didn't listen (to the suicidal thoughts) because she had taught herself that this is what happens when her depressed brain gets sick. We can teach each other to do the same":

"When we talk openly about the chemical side of suicidal thoughts, we teach people in the deepest moment of suicidal ideation to step back, just as if they were detecting the signs of a stroke, and say, “Wait! This is not me and it is not what I want. I need immediate help.”

And THIS is the type of awareness I want to achieve and to teach others to protect themselves from suicide. Now I know about this message it seems so so very sensible. But we need to get rid of the stigma, and start talking and teaching our young people about this. Knowledge is key.

At this stage I don't think I would even know how to go about creating one of these suicide prevention plans, I probably have an idea and it can't be that hard, surely. So I'm going to see what more I can find out about it.......