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If you feel like you can’t keep yourself or others safe, click here for emergency advice.
Suicide is when someone takes their own life.
Having suicidal thoughts can be different things to different people:
- feeling like people would be better off without you
- thoughts about ending your own life
- making clear plans to take your own life
Having these thoughts can be scary, confusing and overwhelming.
How can I get help?
Click here if you need urgent help.
Suicidal thoughts can be a sign of other mental health challenges you may be facing, such as depression or anxiety.
If you are affected by suicidal thoughts, you should speak to a family member, teacher, youth worker or GP. Your school or GP will be able to refer you to Emotional Wellbeing & Mental Health
Ways to help yourself now
You may be feeling so overwhelmed and in pain that you can’t believe these feelings will ever end.
Many young people find that these feelings do not last, and they soon pass.
Here are steps you can act on right now to prevent yourself from acting on suicidal thoughts.
Ways to help yourself in the long term
When you have the chance to think clearly, you may want to think about things you can do to look after yourself in the longer term.
Why do people have suicidal feelings?
Feeling unable to cope with past and current challenges in your life can make you feel suicidal.
These could include:
- mental health challenges
- bullying or discrimination
- the death of someone important to you
- breakdown of a relationship
- money or housing problems
- being addicted to drugs or alcohol
- doubts or confusion about your sexual or gender identity
- physical, mental, emotional or sexual abuse – whether now or in the past
- long term pain or illness
Sometimes we don’t know why we are having these feelings. This can make it hard to believe there could be a solution.
No matter what the reason, there is support available to help you cope with these feelings.
How can it feel?
Everyone has a different experience with thoughts or feelings of suicide.
Some people feel like they can’t cope with the feelings. Some people feel like they can’t go on living the way they have.
Common feelings include:
- hopelessness
- useless
- like people would be better off without you
- tearful
- desperate or with no other choice
- overwhelmed by negative thoughts
- unbearable pain
- numb or separate to your body
You may also experience:
- a change in appetite
- poor sleep
- feeling like you don’t want to look after yourself
- wanting to avoid people
- urges to hurt yourself
- low self-esteem and self loathing
- finding it difficult to communicate how you feel
Helplines
If you’re having suicidal thoughts, the most important thing you can do is to tell someone you trust about how you are feeling.
You may have someone in your life you can open up to. We have included some helplines below that you can contact and speak to someone about what you are feeling.
Other resources
Other resources to help if you are having suicidal thoughts.