Talking to someone can feel scary and difficult. You may be worried that they will tell you to stop overreacting, or that such thoughts are a sign of weakness. But, if you choose the right person, talking to someone about how you’re feeling can help. Here are some tips on how to go about it.
Choose someone who you feel you can talk to honestly. This might be a friend, a family member, a counsellor, a GP, or someone else who you feel comfortable with. Alternatively, you may find it easier to talk to a counsellor on Suicide Line or Lifeline, or someone at your local psychiatric service (see Where to get help). These services are available 24/7.
Begin by talking to someone about what’s stressing or upsetting you, let them know how you’ve been struggling and how you’re feeling. See how they respond to this before telling them that you’ve been thinking about killing or hurting yourself.
When talking about your thoughts about wanting to end your life or hurt yourself, especially to a professional, it is important to tell them whether you’ve:
- thought about how you would kill or hurt yourself
- got access to the means of carrying out these ideas
- thought about when you would try to kill or hurt yourself
- tried to kill or hurt yourself before, and if so how you might have done this
Telling someone this information is an important part of making sure you get the support that is going to help you get through stressful times.
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