How Can You Help Yourself?
Healing, hope, and help can happen. Here are some ways to help you get through challenging times.
Speaking to someone, whether by going to a therapist or by attending a support group, can help you feel better and improve your mental health. These resources can help you find a psychologist, psychiatrist, or support group near you.
You don’t have to deal with challenges on your own. Those you choose to confide in can provide encouragement and help you through difficult times.
Your World
You are part of a larger whole, and you matter. You may feel less isolated when you’re connected more to others. Consider joining an interest group, volunteering, taking a class, or starting a new hobby.
Your Social Networks
Social media is a place to share how you’re feeling and hear the stories of others who have felt the same. Connecting to people through technology may help you remember that you are not alone, and you may find others with similar interests.
Your Community
Whether your community is at work, school, church, or a club or a team, having a group of people who encourage help-seeking and support is one of the most important aspects of suicide prevention.
Your Circle Of Trust
Relationships with friends, family, and significant others built on trust and companionship are a protective factor against suicidal thoughts and behaviors. It’s important to find the people in your life that you can always confide in, feel comfortable around, and can contact at any time. Surround yourself with positive people who motivate you to be your best.
Leaning on your support network can help you cope during difficult moments and is an important step in getting help and moving forward.
Express Yourself
During difficult situations, it’s natural to shut down, but keeping your emotions bottled up makes it harder for your support network to help you. Reach out to people you trust who have the ability to be sympathetic and non-judgmental.
Keep an Open Mind
Keep in mind that the advice and support of others come from a good place. We may not necessarily agree with advice we’re given, but staying open-minded and receptive to outside perspectives and opinions can help strengthen your support network.
Show Appreciation
The people in your support network will stick with you through thick and thin, but it’s also important to remember that friendships and relationships are a two-way street. Express your appreciation for the love and support that these special people bring into your life.
A safety plan is designed to guide you through a crisis. As you continue through the steps, you can get help and feel safer. Keep your plan easily accessible in case you have thoughts of hurting yourself.
- Recognize your personal warning signs: What thoughts, images, moods, situations, and behaviors indicate to you that a crisis may be developing? Write these down in your own words.
- Use your own coping strategies: List things that you can do on your own to help you not act on urges to harm yourself. Socialize with others who may offer support as well as distraction from the crisis: List people and social settings that may help take your mind off of difficult thoughts or feelings.
- Contact family members or friends who may help to resolve a crisis: Make a list of people who are supportive and who you feel you can talk to when under stress.
- Contact mental health professionals or agencies: Make a list of names, numbers, and/or locations of clinicians, local emergency rooms, and crisis hotlines. Put the 988 Lifeline number, 988, into your phone.
- Ensure your environment is safe: Have you thought of ways in which you might harm yourself? Work with a counselor to develop a plan to limit your access to these means.
