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.
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.
I'd like to get a safety plan but I have no one who could help. If I mention it to my wife she will get even more angry with me, my sisters dint talk to me, I've been trying to get professional help for ages. I get hope then its dashed my wife is my only reason fur living and I think shes about to leave me. Ive tried so so hard I just think it's getting close to time to go and hope I cant remember the last few years if theres an afterlife I have pains in my chest tonight and I'm a actually hoping its a heart attack
We're so grateful your felt brave enough to share your journey with us here. It is important that you have done so.
We're sorry things have been so difficult for you but we want you to know that we are here to provide you with as much support, advice and conversation as you need.
Our Support Service is trying to reach you by email as we are worried about you.
When you feel up to it do please check back in with us and let us know how you're doing.
Hi sophie, thank you so much for caring, sometimes it feels like no one does. I spoke to your help line girl very late last night, she was great and I got through the night I got the drs certificate and I'll be sending that to the private hospital in the desperate hope i can get better and be the man my little kitten wont want to leave. We had a lovely day today,so atm all is not lost but I'm hanging by a thread. People keep telling me I can move on without her, but they dont know, I'm totally head over heels in love with my wife and have been since i met her almost 40 years ago. She used to feel the same. I just know if she leaves me I wont want to live I'm too old at 60 to start again, the very thought of being with anyone else makes me feel sick and I couldn't be on my own, the thought makes me go into a panick.
Hi Waxer, i hope you are okay and wishing you luck in getting through to the hospital. I had to get crises support from the hopsital (triage) and i found it really helpful. It sounds like a very difficult and scary time and I hope you can have some wins and good news day by day. Sometimes its the little things.
I do have a safety plan, I made one on Beyond Now and it's actually very handy... although i guess the idea is to add to it, when I read it now (3 months later) i don't relate to everything on there anymore. I have become closer to some people, and some of the contacts i put there i don't consider so helpful anymore.
It is very helpful how it allows you to put down a list of people you can "yarn" to - not necessasrily medical help or emergency contact, but just people you can have social support from as a friend. It then tidily lists them alongside their numbers, which is very helpful.
It was really helpful for me to share my Safety Plan with a clinician that I trusted. The first time I made one, i didn't shre it with anyone. I think, sharing it with someone makes a big difference, for me at least.
I had safety plans and reviewed them for time to time, as people changed and with that my reasons to live. I tried to find reasons that were not linked to other people. I tried all sort of approaches.
I attempted twice now and for me the most difficult part is that I cannot relate to my safety plan when I get unwell. I get detached from my life and don’t feel I’m real. I find there’s someone else making decisions for me. I don’t know how I can change that. I’m lucky I survived the second time.
the safety plan i feel also helps just before things get bad, but not exactly during. I still think it's good to have one and to talk about with others (like you're doing). So glad you survived and are here with us yggy. I've also had attempts at my life
I've been thinking of your posts about safety plans when you are at risk.
One thought keeps on returning so I figured I'll reply. I agree that there are times when a safety plan is no longer effective. Yggy you mentioned not feeling in control and I was nodding along.
For me the key has been to find ways for others to recognise the signs when I'm losing control before I've lost control. Not sure if that makes any sense.
I don't always notice changes in myself. So part of my safety plan is asking others to speak up if they notice me doing certain things.
For me frequently not being able to answer phonecalls or reply to emails or texts is a warning sign. It's also something that people around me know to be concerned about.
Do you have anything like that you could add to your safety plan? I don't know if it works for everyone but maybe it is worth trying?
Thanks everyone for opening up about your experiences with safety planning; I think it's really important because it can seem like a 'one size fits all' method which is really not the case.
I have people in my life who I know care about me (logically) but when I'm in a bad headspace I think nobody gives a damn, so for me personally I don't end up putting people on my safety plan. Some do though - even if it's people you don't feel close to, just to have a chat to even if it's about little things like the weather as a way to be connected to somebody. Waxer if you found the Beyond Blue helpline helpful you can write that one down too.
When thinking about using the safety plan, maybe you could add non-essential stuff. Like maybe if you have photos of pets, or places you've been that you had a nice time, a birthday or christmas card from someone, a little quote or joke that made you smile.
Maybe you can add other things too that you like or even help a little bit, like having a bit of a cold shower or a walk (to help ground yourself), playing a game, talking on here, watching a tv show, listening to music, etc etc
The other option of course is to make something you can use everyday - just getting into the habit of looking at it and reminding yourself to do things that you like and your own reasons to live.
I hope this helps. I'm probably a bit scatterbrained today but hopefully there's something here that's useful!
