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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How to stop thoughts

replies: 2

We've got a chronically ill daughter. The situation has taken a huge toll on our family life as well as on my mental health. I had an episode where I was contemplating ending my life in that moment, that thought is there again. I feel like I'm losing my mind... It's like a voice in the back of my head. How do I shut it up? -I'm seeing a therapist and started medication a week ago.

Life sucks

replies: 1

Life’s truly a bummer., I can’t seem to master the art of enjoying life., today I woke up feeling like crap. I feel that I got nothing to look forward to… it just seems like no matter what and how many good days I have it always gets overshadowed By the bad days… I’m so lost and confused right now that it’s making me feel overwhelmed and anxious… i wish I can get out of this and not get stuck for awhile…

I dont know.

replies: 1

I feel like harming at my school almost every girl does and i feel invalid its like a space where i feel alone but better than at home also i just an s9 confused right now i wish i knew how to hadle all of this

Contacting too many times?

replies: 4

Can you contact the crisis services too many times? I feel guilty for wanting/needing to talk to them as much as I have in the past few days. Last night I talked about my experiences with suicide and it was the first time I actually felt I could fully open up. But I feel like I need to be telling myself to stop it’s not fair on others who also need the services and I feel like im being selfish.

For the first time in my life, I had suicidal thoughts

replies: 1

Hi Everyone,I'm new to the forum and looking to speak with other people going through a similar situation or who may be able to offer advice. I separated from my wife in October 2021, I left a few times and stayed with my dad for a few days but always returned home. The "spark" between us was gone and we weren't really talking much. I was happy to leave and move in with my dad until I could find a more permanent solution. We have 2 beautiful daughters together. We had a conversation (not an argument) one night where she asked if I was there for her or just for the kids. I was honest and said that I was there 70% for the kids and 30% for her. She was obviously not happy with this and she left the house. The next morning I was confronted by the police and our home with an IVO against me. She claimed I was financially controlling and a whole heap of other nonsense. The next 12 months would cost me over 100k in legal fees to see my children, along with being slapped with a community corrections order because she messaged me about the kids a few times and I was silly enough to reply. I lost my family business And now everything is finally coming to an end, she won't sign the divorce. I just struggle each day to find the motivation to go on. If I didn't see my girls I know I probably would have ended my life. I've been on anti depressants since I was in my early teens for panic attacks, but I've never felt this depressed before. I see a psychologist regularly and I'm going to raise this with her. But just wanted to see if anyone out there can relate.

Thoughts on Voices?

replies: 12

I am wondering what everybody’s thoughts are on what is more and less common in regards to voices in the head? I am going to word this as sensitively as I can but I do apologise if I offend anybody as that is not my intent. I have them still only sometimes, but I used to have them frequently. My voices are myself but speaking to me I guess like a bad friend or the devil on the shoulder. I’m posting this here because they would mostly occur when I was having su*cidal thoughts. An example being “stop being a coward. You know this is what you want”…etc. Would you say this is more or less common? I’m trying to determine if these “voices” so-to-speak are a cause for concern? When I think about what I would consider voices that would be concerning on a mental health level I think of hearing voices that sound unfamiliar as in, not like me? Whilst I do think I have experienced voices that say things I might not normally say to myself, I still hear themin my voice as an internal thought and not sounding like something external.

Pain in my head

replies: 5

My past is catching up with me: every morning when I wake the muscles in my head and to my neck are tensely tight and a mild tremor. I spoke to a doctor 5 years ago when it first started but she looked back at me as if she was 'dumb founded' she didn't have any answers nor questioned. I do have a very low threshold to pain. I nearly lost my baby i labour and nearly died myself when the long intense 14 hour labour became intolerable, both of my legs from hip downwards started shaking uncontrollably, my baby developed tachycardia and they rushed me to theatre as baby wasn't coming out. She was a large baby and had swallowed feaces, she was covered in it, brought on by her developing tachycardia. She is 25 years of age now but I wonder if this tremor in my head is a symptom of what is going to happen, a full on body tremor. It only happens when I am waking up from sleep. I do have neuropathy in my legs, numbness, spasms etc I exercise most mornings, 50 minute walk and I always feel great afterwards but I am scared of my body being in physical pain in the future. I am just delaying the inevitable. In 2020 the pain in my thigh was horrendous not even the strongest drugs helped and finally physio after 2 months in bed finally helped lift the pain from thigh, it was so bad I could not walk far. I still have numbness in my left thigh. I am seeing a new doctor this week and hopefully find what's causing the tense knot in my skull and the tremor and frequent spasms in my neck and throat. Weird. I wish most times to never wake up, I wish I had the courage to end this pain but I seem to just go on suffering. I am alone, my daughter lives interstate and is moving overseas in June for 3 years. I have no close family and no friends. My social housing property say to stop gardening as a tenant is trying to stop me. I can't join landcare like they want me to do but other tenants have complimented me it's just this one person causing me grief that I just wish I could go to sleep and never wake up.

TW: Thought of living

replies: 13

To some people, those that aren’t suffering from depression and suicidal ideation and urges, would probably say ‘life is great, life is worth living for so and so fort’ unfortunately that’s not the case for me and to a few who suffers like me. I wish I can say life is wonderful and worth fighting for but that isn’t the case… no matter how hard I try I keep stumbling downhill, no matter how hard I pretend that everything is good I just find myself more disappointed and more motivated to end my own life… I think that’s what it is right now, I feel that no one can save me, it is what it is...

Why…

replies: 3

Living with a terminally ill wife with about 5 years (if all goes well) left to live, a sick 8 year old daughter, a boss that is micromanaging me and feelslike he is bullying meby setting unfair goals, changing the hours I work, changing the way I work, being a cpap user as-well ashaving severe tinitus and being super sensitive to loud noises …I ask myself why…what is the point

I don't know what to do

replies: 5

I don't really have anyone close to me, and I came to this site just so I can say something honest somewhere. I moved to Australia at the beggining of high school, and I'll be doing my HSC next year. Since year 7, I never had any friends I felt close to, even growing up in India. Things got so much worse in year 7, I was basically bullied for being headstrong and opinionated. I wasn't perfect, but I never did anything to hurt anyone. I started faking having friends, and lied about having friends outside of school because I didn't want to be as pathetic as I was. The more I pretended not to be alone, the lonelier I got. No matter how well I do in school, even now, it doesn't feel enough. I have good grades? doesn't matter, I'm not at the top of my year in every subject. I have so many dreams, so many goals, but everyday they feel more and more unachievable. I don't know if I even deserve to get a good atar. I started self harming in year 9, my parent's found out then, and they got mad at me and got cold towards me. A year later, I had a breakdown in front of my drama teacher and told her everything. There were phone calls home, and after a lot of fights I got to go see a phsychologist. I thought that would help, but I didn't. I realised that I couldn't be honest, that I didn't feel comfortable with the psychologist largely because she was a middle aged Indian woman who reminded me too much of my mother. I felt pathetic. I acted my way out of that, and now I am lost. I avoid my teacher, I avoid my friends, and I just try to get on with it. I have self harmed since then, not because I want to, but because I feel like I would loose my mind if I don't. I want to make close friends, but I don't know how. I want to be normal, but at the same time I don't. Sometimes I just feel like I'm faking everything for attention. I don't know what to do, becuse I don't know what I want.

Do you have a safety plan? replies: 97

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

How to stop thoughts replies: 2

Life sucks replies: 1

I dont know. replies: 1

Contacting too many times? replies: 4

For the first time in my life, I had suicidal thoughts replies: 1

Thoughts on Voices? replies: 12

Pain in my head replies: 5

TW: Thought of living replies: 13

Why… replies: 3

I don't know what to do replies: 5