If someone comes to you in distress:

• Talk to them in a private, safe space
• Listen to their story
  • Acknowledge that you are truly listening and trying to understand them
• Tell them that you care about them
• Ask them directly if they are thinking about suicide
  • “Are you thinking about harming yourself?”
  • “Does it ever get so tough that you think about ending your life?”

• DON’T guilt trip or pass judgment when talking to them
  • “You’re not thinking about doing something stupid are you?”
  • “Think of what it would do to your parents”

If they directly say they are considering suicide

• Take the person seriously
• Stay with them
• If you are on the phone, keep them on the call and talking with you
• Encourage them to keep talking and respond to what they say
• Thank them for trusting you and let them know that you are right there with them and are not going to leave
• Make sure they know that help is available and that people care about them
• Help them remove lethal means
• Call the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or text HOME to 741741 to talk with a trained crisis counselor from the Crisis Text Line for free 24/7 – They can help you with specific situations
• After a while, make sure the other person knows they can stop talking  if it feels too hard on them by asking:
  • “Are you okay with continuing to talk about this?”
  • “I want to support you and I’m here to listen if you want to continue talking now or talk more later”

After:

• Check up on them afterwards
  • *Assume that you are the only person who will reach out to check on them*
• Be patient – recovery can take a long time