Talking about suicide with someone and sharing your suicidal feelings can be very difficult. You may be worried that you will be told to stop overreacting, or that such thoughts are a sign of weakness. You might feel embarrassed or ashamed. You might feel that it is easier to keep it to yourself rather than taking the risk of telling someone. However, if you choose the right person, then talking with them about how you are feeling can help.

Learning that someone you care about feels suicidal often marks the beginning of a stressful time. While this news may come as a shock to you, supporting someone through this difficult time is important. There might be part of you that doesn’t want to know any more about it or deal with it. You might be unsure of what to say and worried that whatever you say will only make things worse.

The idea of talking to children about suicide is daunting. This page is designed to give a helping hand to parents or carers supporting children; providing advice and insight into how best to talk to, and support, a child bereaved by suicide. Children react to and express their grief differently from adults. They often express their feelings through their behaviour and play.