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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Suicidal

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Hi. I have not been in a good headspace lately. Last night, before I phoned the mental health triage, I had self-harmed. The lady over the phone was brilliant. I was honest with her about the way I which I felt. I have been experiencing increased suicidal ideation over the past month in particular, and for a variety of reasons. Firstly, I am only young, and I have a restraining order that has been against my name for over the past four years. I was told that it would last a lifetime. Basically, I had a stupid crush on a bus driver who I stalked because I didn't have the courage to ask him out on a date. I really liked him, too. He ultimately and obviously rejected me, despite telling me in his own words that he had 'always liked me, but had kept it from me.' That took a shock to my system and I ended up hospitalised in the psychiatric ward of two different hospitals three times, and I almost went to jail. While it has taken four years for me to move on from him, at the same time, I have not really healed properly. Secondly, I am looking to move out of home and start a family of my own. I certainly do not mean having children of my own, because I well and truly believe that I am too mentally incompetent to bear them, but I want to find a motherly and fatherly figure to add to my life, as my own biological parents are addicted to drinking and gambling. My mother speaks with a psychologist over the phone. My father is a lost cause. My mother and I fight nearly every weekend. She has never held a driver's licence and expects me to pick her up from work most nights. Thirdly, I have only two friends, and I have been very unsuccessful at making new ones. I have this one friend who I have known for two decades. We're supposed to be going away next year and she was too hesitant to buy a seat to sit next to me on the plane, because it wasn't for free. Boggles the mind. Meanwhile, I have another friend who I have known for one decade, and she literally shouted me dinner (because she knows that I am currently on Job Seeker). She spent nearly $80. I think that it is worth mentioning that I am currently different psychiatrists on a rotational basis, which really does not help when having to discuss my trauma and obvious misdiagnosis of Hebephrenic Schizophrenia all over again. I want to see a psychiatrist privately, but I can not afford to see one.

Suicidal thoughts

replies: 3

Hi, It’s been a few years, but I’m back here again. It’s funny how so much time has passed, so much has changed, and yet… here I am again spiralling back down. But this time feels different… this time I’m calm. I don’t have the irrational, out of mind emotion to self harm again… this time I have a plan and I feel calm about it. Very long story short… I’ve been bullied from a young age, I was sexually abused by my cousin at a young age, I’ve been raped by a bf but had no fight in me to report it, I fell for a narcissist and was emotionally abused for two years which took another two to recover from… I then got roped in to an ex and later found he had a gf the whole time… to now being played by another for months, told everything you want to hear then dropped like you are nothing and says he’s emotionally unavailable (i.e. met someone else)… I was emotionally neglected by my mother as a child and I have done the counselling and am actually very self aware of my trauma and attachment style. Though I did everything ‘right’ for this last guy and really worked on boundaries and communication and needs… and yet, still got played…. I have everything else I’ve ever wanted in my life which has taken a lot of work and time… and yet, I’m feeling it’s becoming impossible to find a genuine loving partner. I give and they simply take. I have nothing left to give. I was happy being alone for many years. Though now, at almost 37, the thoughts of going home every day alone has become unbearable. I just moved interstate away from family and friends. I feel like I’ve literally run out of reasons to live. If you’re not able to love and be loved in return, I simply see no point. ‘Things’ don’t matter to me. I don't think I can spend another bday, another Christmas, another new years alone. Feel like I’ve tried everything, but I still end up here… alone, wanting to leave this world.

What do I do?

replies: 2

About a year ago I moved and left everything I’ve ever known. Since then, sure there have been some good things, but my mental health has gone downwards and badly. My brother has ADHD and everything is always about him. My parents don’t know that I have Snapchat and it has caused me so many problems over the last few days. One of my friends, who is a lot older than me has told me he likes me and I’ve never had anyone say that before and I’ve never liked anyone romantically. I had to tell him and set boundaries, hurting him in the process. I’m the sort of person that can’t hurt anyone and is guilt tripped easily. I self harmed and it’s not the first time I’ve spiralled like this. It’s healing now and I came to an agreement with this friend and we started talking again. Then a few days ago one of my friends had a panic attack in class and he was the one to calm her down and I later snapped at her cause I felt like I wasn’t needed. And then tonight, my friend, the one who had the panic attack, and I where talking about going to Neverland and finding a bridge and dieing and he has snapped and said he doesn’t care anymore and that guilt tripped me. He has also been really toxic and not really caring about me and my friend but neither of us have the courage to unadd him. To top it all off, my mother has been away for ages and I’ve been doing all the cooking and house work and wanting to cry all day every day and not being able to while my dad and brother sit on their asses doing nothing. What do I do? How do I stop myself from spiralling while also stopping my friend from going down that path? How do I make it easier?

Hey I just got released from prison after almost 5 years and I’m feeling jaded af

replies: 2

Hey I just got released from prison and I feel jaded af

What is wrong with my life?

replies: 2

On October 7th at 7:43pm I recieved a message saying that my mate is in hospital and there is a very slim chance for him to live. Today on October the 9th at 10:42am i recieved a message saying he had passed away early this morning. I was in class at this time and I kept it all to myself until 1:50pm where i broke down at school. I couldn't keep it in me no more, i have been hurting so much these last few weeks. First it was my mate who killed himself, then a family friend who passed throughout the night, then i found out my ex was cheating on me and now this. All i have done is try and make as many people as i can happy whilst hurting myself on the inside. I have basically killed all my emotions, i try my hardest to care for as many people as i can because i cant lose another or next it will be me. I try my best to make sure everyone is ok and doing well whilst im over here dying and keeping it to myself because thats how i grew up and thats what i was taught to do. I dont know how much more i can hurt myself before it completely drains me.

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

Do you have a safety plan? replies: 97

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

Suicidal replies: 2

Suicidal thoughts replies: 3

What do I do? replies: 2

Hey I just got released from prison after almost 5 years and I’m feeling jaded af replies: 2

What is wrong with my life? replies: 2

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