Overcoming Suicide: Moving Past Harmful Thoughts and Into a Healthy Life

Suicide Attempt Survivors: The Facts

For most people, feeling suicidal is a short-lived experience that can lead to permanent consequences if acted upon. But surviving a suicide attempt doesn’t mean you’re out of danger:

• Ninety percent of people who attempt suicide won’t ever die by suicide.
• 30 percent of people who attempt suicide will make another attempt.
• People who make another suicide attempt usually do so within one year.
• A history of a suicide attempt is one of the greatest risk factors for suicide.

To ensure that you stay a suicide attempt survivor, you need to take some steps to stay safe, get healthy, and move forward.

Reach Out For Help

• Get counseling. Therapy can help you treat the underlying cause of suicidal thoughts, identify coping strategies for resisting the urge to self-harm, and develop an action plan for potential future crises.
• Medication may be recommended when mental illness contributes to suicidal behavior. While depression is the mental illness most commonly linked to suicide, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia, and other conditions can contribute to thoughts of self-harm. Treating underlying illnesses is an essential piece of suicide prevention.
• Build a support network. Find friends and family members you can confide in or get involved in a suicide attempt survivor support group. If you can’t see your loved ones in person due to the pandemic, hold Zoom calls for face-to-face support.
• Consider getting a service dog, especially if you’re living with a mental illness like PTSD. Service dogs can combat anxiety and panic attacks, interrupt and redirect harmful behaviors, and provide therapeutic companionship.
  
  

Keep Yourself Safe

• Make a safety plan that you can follow during a suicidal crisis. This should include numbers for crisis hotlines, your doctor, and trusted friends and family. Plan a safe place you can go to and coping strategies you can turn to. Write down your reasons for living so you can turn to it when hopelessness strikes.
• Remove any firearms from your home. The majority of completed suicides are done with a firearm.
• Dispose of pills and toxic substances you could use to harm yourself, or keep only the minimum necessary amount on hand.
  
  

Get Through the Bad Days

• Get into a routine. Basic needs can fall to the wayside during a mental health crisis, and it takes effort to get back into healthy habits. Practice regular mealtimes and sleeping habits and use a calendar or planner to keep yourself organized. A daily routine will help you feel in control of everyday life.
• Practice self-care. Take time to treat yourself in the way that feeds your soul best. That may mean regular manicures, writing in a journal, or going for a run. Whatever self-care looks like for you, make time for relaxation and reflection.
• Find ways to relieve tension. Don’t let stress build up to the point it overwhelms you. Instead, go on a long walk, spend time with friends or beloved pets, or practice mindfulness exercises like meditation or rhythmic breathing. Make your home a more positive space by clearing it of messes and clutter. Avoid turning to drugs or alcohol for relief. Substances can exacerbate stress and mental illness, and they could lead to an impulsive act.
• Turn to uplifting stories. Reading the stories of other people who have survived a suicide attempt can be healthy reminder that you’re not alone and that there is a life after crisis.

Moving forward from a suicide attempt is about progress, not perfection.

Focus on small accomplishments like reducing intrusive thoughts and regaining a healthy lifestyle, rather than hoping to quickly become better.

Life does get better, and so will you, but you’ll need to be patient on your journey there.

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