Suicide Prevention Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Question: Who can I call if I am feeling suicidal, thinking about hurting myself or if I’m concerned that someone I know may be in danger of hurting himself or herself?
Answer: If you or someone you know is feeling suicidal call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1.800.273.TALK (1.800.273.8255). Trained crisis counselors will speak with you and connect you to the nearest available suicide prevention and mental health service provider.
Question: What should I do when I have a patient I suspect is depressed and suicidal?
Answer: The Suicide Assessment Five-step Evaluation and Triage (SAFE-T) Card guides clinicians through five steps which address the patient’s level of suicide risk and suggest appropriate interventions. This assessment tool is available in PDF form from the Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC) Online Library or it can be downloaded from: http://www.stopasuicide.org/.
SPRC also offers a training curriculum for mental health professionals, Assessing and Managing Suicide Risk: Core Competencies for Mental Health Professionals.
Question: What are some of the warning signs or risk factors of suicide?
Answer: While there is no typical suicide victim, there are some common warning signs to look for. A person might be suicidal if he or she displays:
- Hopelessness
- Rage, uncontrolled anger, seeking revenge
- Acting reckless or engaging in risky activities, seemingly without thinking
- Feeling trapped - like there's no way out
- Increased alcohol or drug use
- Withdrawing from friends, family and society
- Anxiety, agitation, unable to sleep or sleeping all the time
- Dramatic mood changes
- No reason for living; no sense of purpose in life
For more information on warning signs see the American Association of Suicidology (AAS): Know the Warning Signs. For information about risk factors associated with suicide, see SPRC's Risk and Protective Factors for Suicide.
Question: How can I help to someone who is threatening suicide?
Answer: The American Association of Suicidology (AAS) Understanding and Helping the Suicidal Individual suggests:
- Be aware. Learn the warning signs.
- Get involved. Become available. Show interest and support.
- Ask if he/she is thinking about suicide.
- Be direct. Talk openly and freely about suicide.
- Be willing to listen. Allow for expression of feelings. Accept the feelings.
- Be non-judgmental. Don’t debate whether suicide is right or wrong, or feelings are
- Don’t ask "why." This encourages defensiveness.
- Offer empathy, not sympathy.
- Don’t act shocked. This creates distance.
good or bad.
- Don’t dare him/her to do it.
- Don’t give advice by making decisions for someone else to tell them to behave differently.
- Don’t be sworn to secrecy. Seek support.
- Offer hope that alternatives are available, do not offer glib reassurance; it only proves you don’t understand.
- Take action! Remove means! Get help from individuals or agencies specializing in crisis intervention & suicide prevention. Contact one or more of the following:
- National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1.800.273.TALK (8255)
- Community mental health agency
- Private therapist or counselor
- School counselor of psychologist
- Family physician
- Local suicide prevention or crisis center
Question: How can our community take action to prevent suicides?
Answer: There are a number of ways for your community to be involved in suicide prevention:
- Find out what your state is doing to prevent suicide by visiting the SPRC States and Communities web pages. These pages include state suicide prevention plans, state data, and how to contact people involved in suicide prevention in your state.
- Form a local coalition to address the problem of suicide in your community. For more information about building coalitions, see the SPRC Building and Maintaining Coalitions toolkit.
- Work with local media representatives to raise awareness about the problem of suicide in your community and to share resources on how to seek help. See the SPAN USA/SPRC Guide to Engaging Media in Suicide Prevention for more information.
- Contact the Suicide Prevention Resource Center. SPRC can connect you with people, organizations, and resources in your community, state and nationally and provide technical assistance and training on suicide prevention.
Question: How can our school take action to prevent suicides?
Answer: For more information on any of the items listed above, please visit the SPRC Online Library: Populations and Settings; Schools.
- Become involved with your state or community’s suicide prevention coalition and learn how to coordinate your school’s efforts with state or community efforts.
- Visit SPRC’s Customized Information pages for Teachers and School Health and Mental Health Providers to learn more about how to respond to students and staff at risk for suicide.
- Implement a school-based suicide prevention program, which includes a comprehensive set of interventions, such as:
- Gatekeeper training
- Screening for mental health
- Health education curriculum that includes suicide prevention and/or mental health
- Peer mentoring
- School-based mental health services
- Crisis response
- Postvention
For more information on any of the items listed above, please visit the SPRC Online Library or contact one of the SPRC Prevention Specialist.
To review guidelines for school-based suicide prevention programs, please refer to the University of South Florida’s Youth Suicide Prevention School-Based Guide.
Question: What is being done to prevent suicide nationally?
Answer: In 1999, U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published A Call to Action to Prevent Suicide, which identified suicide as a preventable public health problem. HHS followed that publication by releasing the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention in 2001, produced in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other agencies of the federal government. This document outlined 11 goals and 68 objectives that provide a blueprint for action.
In 2003, the President’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health released its report on Transforming Mental Health Care in America and called for the implementation of the National Strategy as part of its first recommendation. In 2004, President Bush signed the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act into law. Named in memory of Senator Gordon Smith’s (R-OR) son, this legislation authorized 82 million dollars for suicide prevention activities in the United States, and in 2005 the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) awarded funding to 29 states, seven American Indian tribes, 55 colleges and universities and the national Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC) to implement and evaluate suicide prevention programs.
Also in 2005, HHS in collaboration with several other cabinet-level departments of the federal government released the Federal Action Agenda, which includes a commitment to forming a public/private partnership known as the Action Alliance, which will guide implementation of the National Strategy. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Department of Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates announced the launch of the National Action Alliance in September 2010.
Question: Where can I access additional suicide prevention resources?
Answer: The national Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC) provides prevention support, training and resources to assist organizations and individuals to develop suicide prevention programs, interventions and policies, and to advance the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention. SPRC is supported by a grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and is a project within Education Development Center’s Health and Human Development Programs.
The following organizations also provide suicide prevention information and assistance:
Last reviewed 03/03/2012
