If you require mental health crisis support, please contact your local mental health services, your GP, or telephone 111 or the emergency services.

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Supporting someone who is suicidal

How to help someone at immediate risk of suicide:

1. Be aware of maintaining your own personal safety:

  • Avoid getting involved physically if the person appears distressed or threatening.
  • Call for help (see 3 below), particularly if someone is threatening to jump or is in an actively dangerous situation.
  • Observe from a safe position until help arrives.

2. Ensure the person is not left alone:

  • Where possible stay with the person if you think that the risk of suicide is significant or
  • Make arrangements for someone to be with them while they get through the current crisis.

3. Seek immediate assistance:

  • Phone their GP and ask for an emergency home visit or
  • Call emergency 999 or
  • Take the person to a hospital accident and emergency department if safe to do so or
  • Take the person to a GP if safe to do so or
  • Call the Samaritans on 116 123 (24 hours a day)

4. If the person is drinking alcohol or taking drugs, try to discourage them from taking any more.

5. Try to make sure that the person does not have easy access to some means to take their life.

6. Encourage the person to talk:

  • Listen without making judgements.
  • Be polite and respectful towards the person.
  • Do not deny or invalidate the person’s feelings.
  • Try to be empathetic to the person’s situation and demonstrate compassion.
  • If you have lived experience you can use this to validate the person’s feelings and to connect with them.
  • Don’t try to give advice, rather use open questions to encourage the person to explore and talk things through.
  • Give reassurance that there is help available and that their future has other options, even if they can’t be seen right now.

'When you replace “why is this happening to me” with “what is this trying to teach me?” Everything shifts.'

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Content kindly supported by MHFAEngland. For more information on how to spot signs of mental health difficulties and how to support others on a first aid basis, please click the following button to go to MHFAEngland.org to find your local Mental Health First Aid course.

Go to MHFA England

If the person is under a community mental health team or crisis services, they may have details that you can use to make contact.

To access free suicide prevention training from the Zero Suicide Alliance click the following button:

Go to Zero Suicide Alliance

Consider more:

  1. How do you think you could support someone who is feeling suicidal?
  2. What is the most important thing you could do?