If you’re having suicidal thoughts

The 988 Lifeline connects you with a trained counselor any time of day or night, every day of the year. You can call 988, text 988, or chat online at chat.988lifeline.org. It is free and confidential.

You don’t have to be sure you are “suicidal enough”. 988 is for anyone in emotional distress. For Spanish, press 2 when you call, or text AYUDA.

If talking out loud feels too hard, texting can be easier. Text HOME to 741741 from anywhere in the United States, at any time. A trained volunteer crisis counselor will text back. It is free and confidential.

Veterans, service members, and the people who support them can reach the Veterans Crisis Line by calling 988 and pressing 1, texting 838255, or chatting online. It is free, confidential and open 24/7. You don’t need to be enrolled in VA benefits or health care.

The Trevor Project offers free, confidential crisis support for LGBTQ+ young people, 24/7. Call 1-866-488-7386, text START to 678-678, or chat on their website.

Find A Helpline lists free, confidential helplines in more than 175 countries, by phone, text or chat. If you are in immediate danger, call your local emergency number.

Feeling pulled two ways is not a sign that you are confused or “not serious”. It is a very human response to pain. Many therapists start right there, by gently exploring both sides with you, without judging either one.

Ways to strengthen the side that wants to live

• Ask a therapist to help you look at the pain underneath the thoughts
• Notice what has helped, even slightly, in past hard times
• Remind yourself: you only have to get through today
• Tell one person the honest truth about how you feel
• Write down your reasons for living, even tiny ones, and keep the list close

Suicidal thinking can rise and fall within hours. That can feel scary, but it also holds real hope: the worst moments do pass. Many suicidal crises are short-lived, and getting safely through them is often what makes recovery possible.

When the wave is high

• Focus on the next hour, not the rest of your life
• Follow your safety plan step by step
• Go somewhere with other people around
• Reach out to 988 or text HOME to 741741
• Stay away from alcohol and drugs, which can make feelings sharper

About 9 in 10 people who survive a suicide attempt do not go on to die by suicide later. Many people who once felt that there was no way forward now say they are glad they stayed. Healing rarely happens all at once. It is usually built from small steps, support and time.

Hearing from people with lived experience can be powerful. Stories of hope and recovery (not stories about how someone died) remind people that the future can look different from today.

Being connected to family, friends and community lowers suicidal thoughts and behaviour. Pain tells people they are alone and a burden. Connection quietly argues back. A friend who texts, a group that saves you a seat, a counselor who remembers your name: each one adds to a reason to stay.

Small ways to reconnect

• Join a support group, class, team or faith gathering
• Say yes to one invitation this week, even for a short time
• Send a short message to someone you miss
• Spend time with a pet or in nature with someone

Thoughts like “everyone would be better off without me” or “this will never get better” feel completely true in a crisis. They are signs of how much you are hurting, not facts about you or your future. Having these thoughts does not make you weak or bad.

1. You hear a short message with options: press 1 for the Veterans Crisis Line, press 2 for Spanish, or stay on the line
2. Hold music plays while you are connected to a live counselor
3. The counselor says hello, introduces themselves and asks if you are safe
4. They listen, help you understand how the problem is affecting you, and share resources

Calls go to one of more than 200 local, state and territory crisis centers. Counselors are trained to a national standard.

1. You receive options, including Spanish (text AYUDA) and the Veterans Crisis Line
2. You may be asked a few short questions to help the counselor understand how to support you
3. You get a message saying you are being connected
4. A counselor says hello, asks if you are safe, and then listens and supports you

Calls, texts and chats with 988 are confidential. You don’t have to give your name or other personal information. The Lifeline does not sell its data. The greeting mentions that calls may be monitored or recorded for quality purposes.

988 does not have access to your precise location when you reach out.

Most people’s needs are resolved in their conversation with the counselor, without any further immediate intervention. 988 aims to support people in the least restrictive setting possible.

Only a small percentage of 988 contacts lead to 911 being called, and many of those happen with the caller’s agreement and cooperation. Counselors contact 911 when there is an immediate threat to someone’s physical safety.

Calls, texts and chats are available in English and Spanish. Phone interpreters cover more than 240 other languages, at no cost. Deaf, DeafBlind and hard of hearing people can dial 988 on a videophone to reach counselors who sign in American Sign Language.

You could say

• “I’ve been having thoughts of suicide, and I want help.”
• “I’ve felt like this before, and it’s coming back.”
• “I don’t feel safe with my thoughts right now.”
• “Lately I’ve been thinking everyone would be better off without me.”

It helps to share how often the thoughts come, how strong they feel, what seems to set them off, and what helps. If you are scared to say it out loud, write it down and hand it over.

Professionals often use a short set of screening questions, then ask follow-up questions to understand what the thoughts are like for you, such as whether they frighten you. These questions are routine. They help the professional work out how to support you, not label you.

They may also ask about what is going on in your life, your sleep, drinking or drug use, and who supports you.

The conversation usually leads to working together on a safety plan and on follow-up care, such as therapy or more frequent check-ins. Effective, evidence-based help exists, including therapies like CBT and DBT and collaborative care.

If a professional believes you are in immediate danger, they may recommend urgent care, such as an emergency evaluation. That is about keeping you safe through a dangerous moment. It is not a punishment, and it does not mean you have failed.

Conversations with health professionals are usually confidential. The main exception is when someone’s immediate safety is at risk. Then a professional may need to involve others, such as family or emergency services, to keep you safe.

For teens, doctors often offer private one-to-one time. If they need to tell parents about safety worries, they usually explain why first and give the teen a say in how it happens.

Not every first conversation goes well. If a professional seems rushed or dismissive, it is okay to say so, ask for a longer appointment, or look for someone else. You can bring a trusted person with you for support.

To find local mental health services, call the free SAMHSA National Helpline at 1-800-662-4357. See the Finding mental health care guide for help with costs and finding care.

Suicidal thoughts can change a lot within a few hours. Asking someone you trust to hold onto things that could be dangerous, such as firearms, for a while is one of the most protective choices you can make. It is a gift to your future self, who may feel very differently.

Safety plans are often made together with a clinician, but a trusted friend or family member can help too. Sharing your plan means someone else knows your warning signs and how to help.

• Keep a copy in your phone and a paper copy in your wallet or bag
• Put 988 and your key people in your phone favourites
• Read it through when you are calm, so it feels familiar
• Update it after a hard time, with what helped and what didn’t

Keeping track of when thoughts appear can reveal patterns: after poor sleep, after drinking, on anniversaries, after conflict, or late at night. Knowing your patterns lets you plan ahead and act early.

DBT teaches skills for getting through intense moments safely. The idea is that you can feel something very painful and still choose actions that keep you safe until the feeling passes.

Skills people learn

• Changing your body’s state: cold water on your face, a brisk walk, slow breathing
• Distraction: a task, a show, a puzzle, calling someone
• Making a short promise to yourself to stay safe for the next few hours
• Noticing the thought as a thought (“I’m having the thought that…”) without obeying it
• Self-soothing through the senses: a blanket, music, a smell you love

CBT and DBT both help people respond differently when suicidal thoughts appear. Working with a therapist over time can help you understand the pain behind the thoughts, build a life that feels more worth living, and update your safety plan as things change.

Even if thoughts are familiar, take changes seriously. If the thoughts become stronger, more frequent, or turn into a plan or a feeling that you might act, reach out right away.

CBT helps people learn new ways of dealing with stressful experiences. A therapist helps you recognise the thought patterns that show up before suicidal thoughts, and practise other actions you can take when they appear.

What it can involve

• Building problem-solving skills
• Catching hopeless thoughts and testing them
• Making a plan for future hard moments
• Understanding what led up to past crises

DBT teaches practical skills for handling intense emotions, getting through crises without making things worse, and building better relationships. It has been shown to reduce suicidal behaviour in teens, and suicide attempts in some adults.

DBT skill areas

• Distress tolerance: getting through a crisis safely
• Emotion regulation: understanding and calming strong feelings
• Interpersonal effectiveness: asking for what you need
• Mindfulness: noticing the present moment

Short interventions can make a big difference. These include making a safety or crisis plan, keeping in touch through follow-up calls or messages, and safely storing firearms and other dangerous items. Together, these can reduce suicide attempts and deaths.

In collaborative care, a care manager works with you, your primary care provider and mental health specialists to build and follow a treatment plan. It makes sure nothing falls through the cracks.

Before leaving, ask for a follow-up appointment with a therapist, doctor or clinic, ideally within 7 days. Leave with the date, time and a phone number written down. In the study above, only about a third of people had been seen within that first week, which shows how often this step is missed.

Questions to ask before discharge

• Can someone check in with me by phone in the next few days?
• Can someone I trust be part of this plan?
• Can we make or update my safety plan together?
• When and where is my next appointment?
• Who do I call if I feel worse before then?

• Avoid alcohol and drugs, which can make feelings sharper
• Ease back into school or work slowly if you can
• Keep a simple daily rhythm: waking up, meals, a little movement, going to bed
• Keep your safety plan somewhere you can see it
• Make your home safer with someone you trust
• Plan who will check in with you, and when

Recovery is like healing from any serious illness: it takes time, reflection and support. Many people have survived an attempt and gone on to heal and live meaningful lives.

Steps that help

• Ask for help with confusing things like hospital bills
• Connect with others working in suicide prevention, if that feels right
• Join a support group, including groups for attempt survivors
• Keep seeing a therapist or doctor, and make a safety plan with them
• Look after sleep, food, movement and healthy relationships

People around you may react with fear, confusion or even anger. Those reactions come from their own shock, and they may not be helpful. You choose what to share and when. It is okay to say, “I need some time before I talk about it.”

Studies of “caring contacts”, short messages sent after a crisis that ask for nothing back, suggest that feeling remembered matters. Saying yes to check-in calls or texts from your care team, friends or family is a simple way to stay connected.