Suicidal thoughts and self-harm

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Do you have a safety plan?

replies: 97

Safety planning involves creating a structured plan – ideally with support from your health professional or someone you trust – that you work through when you’re experiencing suicidal thoughts, feelings, distress or crisis. Your safety plan starts with things you can do by yourself, such as thinking about your reasons to live and distracting yourself with enjoyable activities. It then moves on to coping strategies and people you can contact for support – your friends, family and health professionals. The safety planning model was developed in the US by suicide prevention experts Barbara Stanley and Gregory Brown. It has been used extensively by US veterans’ health organisations, hospital emergency departments and high schools, and there is strong evidence that it works. Many health professionals in Australia also use some form of safety planning to support clients experiencing suicidal thoughts or feelings, or after a suicide attempt. beyondblue has an app you can use to create a safety plan, called BeyondNow. The BeyondNow app takes the principles of safety planning and makes it even easier to use – so rather than carrying around a piece of paper, you’ve got it on your phone at all times. It’s free to download from the Apple Store or Google Play. If you don’t have a smartphone or would prefer to use your desktop or laptop, BeyondNow is also available to use on our website. Do you have a safety plan? Do you have questions around how you might create one, or fill out some of the sections? This thread is for discussing ideas around creating a safety plan, and sharing tips about what has been most useful about this process for you. Below are two videos featuring Peter and Nic, who have both used safety plans successfully. Peter Nic

PLEASE READ THIS FIRST: posting in this section

replies: 0

Life gets pretty hard sometimes and many people in this online community have had times where they have thought about hurting themselves or ending their life. This can be a stressful and at times overwhelming experience, and this section is here to help members who have had these experiences. This is a place to share where you are at, seek ideas for help and know that you are not alone. We are here to create a safe environment for everyone. Please do not provide any details about any plans/ideas that you may have had to hurt yourself, and importantly, help us to understand if you are safe by letting us know in the post. Making comments that let us know that you are having thoughts, but are safe, helps us to know that your conversation can continue without interruption, and that we do not need to put any further follow up for you in place. This section will not be for everyone.It shows posts from people who are distressed, offers public replies to these posts, and encourages people to come back and share how they got past that difficult point in time - what worked, what didn’t and how they now approach these difficult thoughts. It is important to think about what you want from the forums, what information you need and what threads will be helpful to your situation, rather than reading everything that is posted. For some people this section might be difficult to read – if it is not helping how you feel, then please consider moving to another section. This section, like the rest of our forums, is closely monitored and all posts are reviewed by moderators before publication. Moderators will also ensure that anyone needing follow up will be provided with information about how to access further support. This section remains a discussion forum focused on helping each other through the dark times, it is not a crisis support service. Any posts that do not abide by the community rules will not be published. Unlike other areas of the forum, threads in this section will be closed after a period of one month of inactivity. If you are in crisis or need immediate help, assistance is not available via these forums. Please call Suicide Call Back 1300 659 467, Lifeline 13 11 14 or contact emergency services on 000.

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doomed from the start

replies: 14

i used to think i wanted to die because of my situation, because of what was happening at the time. but finally i realised, there is no reason. even now when everything i fought so hard for has finally come true, even after everything is going right in my life for the first time ever, i still feel this way. for once in my life i felt happiness and yet it made no difference. i still want to die. my current situation makes no difference and it took me far too long to realise that. even knowing i want to live and that this is all in my head, it’s still the only thing on my mind. why go on when all i can think about is dying? why keep trying when the root of the problem has just always been that my brain won’t allow me to stay happy?

Death of Hope

replies: 4

Hello, everyone. I have suffered with depression and anxiety since young teens. My chronic joint pain, vision issues, dizziness, add extra weight to my suffering. Ever since i was 12 i realized how artificial and manufactured reality is and i am so disillusioned with this plane of existence now i view most people as NPCs rather than humans. The presence of other people make me deeply disturbed as if a otherworldly entity is looming over me. I view literally no purpose for this life, history and experience has taught me life is horrific suffering interrupted by small windows of contentedness. I just want to feel good again for a little bit so i can peacefully fade away in my next life.

i don't look forward to anything anymore

replies: 1

i continue to find that i don't look forward to anything anymore. for some reason i continue to put things in place that i think i enjoy doing but then realise that i don't like doing this activity that i maybe used to enjoy and ultimately end up hating myself more after. i always think to myself why do i bother with anything and i think its because i'll continue to try to help myself, but i am worried that i will give up all hope and put myself in a much darker spot. recently i went away for four months, over that time i still felt like i didn't want to be around. although goods things would be happening to me and i would know that and appreciate it. i found myself holding onto the the negatives that popped up. using these, i guess small negatives to propel my overall feeling of not wanting to be around. i will go away again for a similar amount of time soon and keep thinking to myself why am i even bothering.

Broken system

replies: 2

Why is the mental health system such a mess. After a very serious sucide attempt I woke up in hospital and then dumped straight onto a mental health unit with barely any interactions from staff just given sedation till they washed their hands of me. Sent to another unit with similar outcome. I had been diagnosed with MDD and PTSD. Then I had some chick prance through my room with 20 odd questions and then I was told I was BPD. I don't meet the criteria and was then told they are finished with me and by the way if you have a crisis just ring triage!! I cracked it and stopped all my medications which I don't think were doing much and now I'm totally going down the rabbit hole. My GP is a joke ( hasn't once asked about my mental health or sucide attempt) I dont have a shrink so I suppose if they don't care why should I?

How do I help?

replies: 1

Tw: sh and talk of attempts ( no details ) I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this but I need some help.I was hoping some of you guys could help me with supporting my friend that told me today that they attempted last night.I'm extremely concerned that they might try again and take it further but I don't want to break the trust we have by telling someone. They're mum knows, she doesn't care at all and they're dad's not in the picture. I'm around 2 year clean and I don't really remember how it feels to be that bad, so I just need some help as to how I can best support them and keep them safe.Thanks,Bee

My mum has had suicidal "jokes"

replies: 12

Several months ago, mum made a joke about going to sleep and never wanting to wake up. Now I've had suicidal thoughts myself in the past, so it triggered me. I rang my brother for help, but he just suggested I stick her in a nursing home using my power of attorney. I sent an email to her GP to chase it up. In the depths of her drinking and despair, she would often say these things with sincerity, but now that I've followed up on them, she says it was just all a joke. She now resents me because she has to see her GP about it, which she's not looking forward to. For hours today, we argued about it, because she simply doesn't accept the trauma that it invoked within me. Eventually, I stopped her by going into detail what my thoughts were many years ago. She never realised. But even now, after discussing the trauma that it invokes inside me, she still doesn't respect my "mental boundaries". After all, everyone she's spoken to sees it as a joke. But none of those people have had suicidal thoughts in their past. So my question, is who's problem is it to deal with? Mine, to stop over-reacting to such comments when she's balling her eyes out and has lost all will to live. Or hers, to respect my sensitive nature. If I was a bit more thick-skinned, I may not have reported her behaviour to her GP. She is 77 and severely depressed and even though I am getting counselling which is helping, leans on me an incredible amount during her cancer treatment. I've tried to explain to her that it's a bit like a reformed alcoholic sitting in a bar, or a reformed smoker sitting amongst other smokers. To me, it's just not acceptable behaviour.

Close to the end

replies: 1

I’ve got a long history with mental health problems and I’ve been hospitalised for it twice so far. A few days ago my partner of 11 years says she doesn’t love me anymore and I need to move out. I have nowhere to go and no one to go to. The only pers... View more

Scared of Relapsing and Attempting Again.

replies: 13

Hi. I've never posted here before but I'm desperate. These past few months I've made everyone think I'm doing mentally okay again, but it's far from true. I've been struggling with thoughts, and honestly the only thing stopping me is the fact that if I survive this one (would be my 6th or 7th within a year) everyone would be so angry with me, particularly my mother. I'm 18, and I've struggled with mental health my whole life just about. I love my family, my best friend and boyfriend, but I can't deal with any of this. I can't even really tell my therapist because of the whole 'duty of care' policy. I don't need everyone finding out I'm thinking like this again. I can't really talk about this stuff with anyone other than my therapist either, but even then I don't really tell her everything. I tell her the truth, but it's truths that don't matter. I tell her I'm disturbed, but I just use something I've already told her as my reasoning. I couldn't tell anyone the real reasons. Obviously I won't disclose them here, but my god, I'm just struggling to survive at this point. I'm so good at pretending nothing's wrong, but I can only do this for so much longer. Every day I hold on to these secrets I promised would die with me, the more i lose sight of why I'm here. I'm running out of reasons to stay. Everyone uses love as a reason, and as much as I love my family and that, I'm not entirely sure love is enough to save a wreck like me. I like such an attention seeker; posting shit like this isn't me (like at all), but I have nowhere else to turn. I know I need to tell my therapist but as I said, DOC exists and I've been burned like that before. I'm begging for help. Please.

Life’s in total disarray

replies: 2

I don’t know how or where to begin on picking myself up after getting laid off from work yesterday... I knew I had no chance of getting my job back the moment I stepped into that meeting... none of those in the meeting knew me well or how I work so all those hard work that I’ve done didn’t even save me from getting fired... most of the time I’m honest and take responsibility of any wrong doings, that bit ,me in the arse yesterday... I’m now thinking if I have said a white lie would I still have my job? I’m thinking if only I knew then what I know now I wouldn’t have done it... my work was my protective factor and now that’s gone, I don’t know what else keeps me here... My life is in shambles and empty... I wish I’m able to pick myself up as fast as others but I just don’t know where to starT...I NEED SOME REPRIEVE FROM THIS...

Too much to deal with, Sick of things, Life sucks, I don't want to keep fighting anymore

replies: 2

I am now 28 years old without planning on studying at either University or TAFE, I don't know which entry jobs I want to work, I don't have any net work or references, I have never known what to expect from a job interview, I am dependent on a job recruiter that seems useless as they all do, and to make matters worse it has a disability attached stigma because a dozen years ago I made destructive repetitive suicidal choices and got wrongly diagnosed with psychosis and then schizophrenia when I never actually had the mental illness I never developed the life skills such as washing my clothes, dishes & cutlery, or knowing how to pay bills online, no one helped me develop to become a adult and I always remained as a co - dependent man child. I never had any family or friends that explained to me how to get a rent accommodation and I never had the eligibility either without working I had creative aspirations but could never start my dreams because I was bullied all during high school and I wanted to live on my own for my own clear mind and esteem, I never learnt how to handle my high sensitivity and become tough or sociable because I wasn't out in society and co - existing in the real world, I was never close to my father and my twin brother wasn't serious about leaving home like I am I have wanted to live in the United States since I was 12 years old but I could never even travel without money, people or even being successful in Australia firstly

Do you have a safety plan? replies: 97

PLEASE READ THIS FIRST: posting in this section replies: 0

doomed from the start replies: 14

Death of Hope replies: 4

i don't look forward to anything anymore replies: 1

Broken system replies: 2

How do I help? replies: 1

My mum has had suicidal "jokes" replies: 12

Close to the end replies: 1

Scared of Relapsing and Attempting Again. replies: 13

Life’s in total disarray replies: 2

Too much to deal with, Sick of things, Life sucks, I don't want to keep fighting anymore replies: 2