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Struggling to update my safety plan

Guest_2350
Community Member

Hi,

I lost my post 😞

I’ve worked through my suicide prevention plan for a few years and about 6mths ago I felt that I have it under control. Now my life I changing rapidly and I don’t have my safe spaces, safe persons etc. I mover too far away, and I still don’t know where I’ll I’ll be

5 Replies 5

Sophie_M
Moderator
Moderator
Hi Guest_2350,


Thank you for sharing your circumstances with us. We’re sorry to hear that you have been going through many personal changes and that it has impacted your safety plan. It must be really exhausting to have worked on a plan for years only to find that it is no longer as effective.


If you haven’t already, it may also be worth looking into our Beyond Now suicide safety planning app, especially if you can find someone you trust to go through it with you.


We do want to ensure you have community supports to help you through any difficult times and would appreciate you checking back in with our Support Service via phone (1300 22 4636) or online chat (www.beyondblue.org.au/getsupport /3pm-12am AEST) to talk things through or even our friends at Lifeline (13 11 14 / https://www.lifeline.org.au/Get-Help/Online-Services/crisis-chat). They too can assist you in working through creating a safety plan which can be helpful during this time.


Thanks again for reaching out today. We hope our community can offer some comfort and share their own personal experiences with you.

geoff
Champion Alumni
Champion Alumni

Hello Guest_2350, finding a safety plan is certainly a big relief when we have been searching for one to make us feel at ease, but we can't expect this plan will work in the future, it's been able to keep us safe for a period of time and that's good, however, to overcome what we have been through is a massive effort.

The trouble is, we expect this plan to help us in the future, but our situation may have changed or we're faced with other circumstances and don't feel strong enough to know how to adjust.

What we forget about is that when we are overcoming this illness we can be susceptible to strange changes we weren't expecting and need to think of other options to consider, whether they're small or otherwise, we can't stay idle because this illness doesn't and we know that, so we need to keep thinking of other plans and other people, either new or old, that we can contact.

This is something that should be empathised to anybody who has suffered from any type of depression.

Stay well.

Geoff.

Guest_2350
Community Member

Hi Geoff,

for me everything has changed. I haven’t got a permanent home anymore. I wouldn’t know who to contact or where to go. I kept adapting my suicide prevention plan as life moved on and circumstances changed but now it’s not a gradual change but a daily change of people and places. I struggle to feel safe with people anyway. I’m trying to find solutions. I know I can’t predict the future.

Hi guest,

The first time I made my Safety plan I lived in one place, pre covid...wayyy pre covid, and my Safety plan included going to shops that are now closed, a cafe that's shut down, and a tal,ING to a friend who I later saw wasn't a Re friend at all and I no longer speak to.

It's a work in progress. I did a new one recently and also did another one during covid with social worker.

It's sad and confronting to do at times so I hear u. Sad also to observe how they change

Hi Guest_2350,

Sorry to read you are struggling to have a safety plan that is adaptable to the circumstances you now find yourself in.

Do you have some phone numbers ready for organisations like Beyond Blue or Life Line that you could call? For me, when I was at rock bottom, chatting to the support workers helped me through.

Are there strategies you can implement yourself to help you on rough days? I find having written stuff down before I fall head long in the pit helps. It is difficult for me to activate stuff when I am in a dark place.

Not sure if this is helpful or not! Maybe you have already tried this stuff and still struggle. I really do hope you are able to implement something. Getting stuck in "Overwhelm" is not pleasant is it?