HealthInfo Waitaha Canterbury

What can I do if I am thinking about suicide?

He aha ngā mea e oti i a au pēnā e whakaaro ana ki te mate whakamomori?

There are several things you can do if you are having suicidal thoughts.

• Remember that thoughts of suicide are just thoughts – you do not have to act on them. You might feel differently in a few hours.
• Postpone any decision to end your life. Give yourself time to get the support you need.
• Remove anything in the house that you might use to harm yourself – perhaps give it to a friend or a trusted adult.
• Keep support line phone numbers (see below) in your mobile phone so you can ring them whenever you need to.
• Avoid being alone. Have someone near you until your thoughts of suicide go away.
• Do not drink alcohol or take drugs. If you take them, you will probably feel even worse and find it harder to make good decisions.
• Make a plan for who you can contact whenever you are feeling really low. You could also install the Manawa suicide safety plan app.
• Ask someone you trust to help you draw up your own safety plan.

Tell someone how you are feeling

You might be feeling very alone but there are many people who can help you with these feelings.

Think about any caring adults in your life who you trust and might be able to talk to. These may be:

• parents or grandparents
• a teacher
• a neighbour
• a youth group leader
• a sports coach.

Ring a support line

Sometimes it is hard to talk to people you know. It may feel easier to pick up the phone or txt someone who really understands about suicide. It is free to contact these helplines. The people you will talk to have a lot of experience talking to rangatahi (young people). They understand your difficult feelings.

• Youthline – Phone 0800-376-633, txt 234 (available 24/7) or email. It has free non-judgemental trained counsellors. They will listen and help you through your problems.
• 0800 What's Up – Phone 0800-WHATS-UP (0800‑942‑8787) (Monday to Friday, 12 noon to 11 pm, weekends 3 pm to 11 pm). 0800 What's Up is a safe place for you to talk about anything at all. You can also chat to a counsellor online from 5 pm to 10 pm.

  1737, need to talk? – Phone 1737 or 0800-1737-1737 or txt 1737 (available 24/7). It has trained counsellors who use proven behavioural support techniques.

Talk to a doctor, nurse, or counsellor

There are many health professionals who can help you to get well and keep safe.

• Talk to your general practice team.
• Te Tahi Youth provides free medical care and counselling for people aged between 10 and 24 years. Phone (03) 943‑9298.
• Your local mental health crisis team
  • 8:30 am to 5 pm weekdays, phone 0800-218-219 and press option 2
  • nights, weekends and public holidays, phone 0800-920-092.
• The Emergency Department.
• You can also find a counsellor or therapist through the Family Services Directory.

Contact a support service

There are lots of free services that specialise in helping rangatahi who feel like they are not coping. Try one of these:

• Manu Ka Rere

  Manu Ka Rere is free for rangatahi (young people) aged 13 to 24 who may have mental health or alcohol and drug issues. The service provides short-term intervention, which includes assessment, treatment and support. It also coordinates and supports rangatahi and their whānau (families) to get longer term treatment if needed. Rangatahi can refer themselves to the service. A health professional, community agency, teacher or parent can also refer them.

• Mental Health Advocacy and Peer Support (MHAPS)

  MHAPS offers free peer support for people with mental illness. Phone (03) 365-9479 or contact them by email.

• Purapura Whetu

  Kaupapa Māori service offering counselling, mentoring and group therapy.

• St John of God Waipuna

  A free service for people aged under 25. It offers support for mental health issues, drug and alcohol issues, eating disorders, counselling and young parent support.

After you have asked for help

If you are feeling suicidal, it is important that you see a doctor. This could be your general practice team in their rooms or an emergency doctor at the hospital's Emergency Department. It could also be a doctor experienced in mental illness (a psychiatrist). If you see a psychiatrist, they may come to your house or ask you to go to them.

If the doctor thinks you are at a high risk of self-harm, they might suggest you go to hospital for a short time. While you are there, you might be offered medication that could help you feel better. This might include antidepressants, medicines for anxiety or medicines to help you relax or sleep better. You will regularly see a doctor and a counsellor.

Even if your doctor is less worried about your safety, they are still likely to want to keep a close eye on you for a while. Generally, doctors do not prescribe medications as much for rangatahi as they do for adults. But your doctor might suggest you try a medication if they think it will help you.

Your general practice team may give you some practical ideas of things you can do to feel better. They might also refer you to a counsellor or therapist who can help you deal with the things in your life that are making you feel unhappy.

If, after a while, you are not feeling much better and are still thinking about dying, you may need to see a mental health doctor (psychiatrist) at the Child, Adolescent & Family Service.

Family therapy

When rangatahi are feeling very unhappy, therapy for the whole whānau (family) can sometimes help. You might be offered family therapy as a treatment.

Your doctor and therapist will probably try to involve your whānau members in your care. When a whānau works together to help a rangatahi get better, they can often help more than if you work with the doctor and counsellor by yourself.

You might keep seeing your general practice team, counsellor or psychiatrist for some months if you still need their help.

  HealthInfo recommends the following videos

• Whāraurau – Drive series of videos

  This series of videos is designed to help rangatahi (young people) and their whānau (families). They show how to navigate your way through child and adolescent mental health services. The videos show examples of different kinds of therapies and health professionals who work in these services. They also include information about medications that are sometimes used. Each video is around 5 minutes long.

  HealthInfo recommends the following apps

• Manawa suicide safety plan app

  A suicide safety plan app for users to create their own survival plan to know what to do when things feel really bad.

On the next page: What to do if you think a young person may be suicidal

Written by HealthInfo clinical advisers. Last reviewed December 2023.

Sources

Page reference: 162926

Review key: HISUI-53221