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Basic InformationMore InformationLatest NewsSuicide Rate Keeps Rising Among Young AmericansAs Jobless Rates Climb, Study Finds Financial Stress Greatly Ups Suicide RiskWith Tighter Handgun Laws, U.S. Would See Fewer Suicides by Young PeopleSuicide Rate 170 Times Higher for People With SchizophreniaFewer Suicide-Related ER Visits in COVID Era, and That Has Experts WorriedWhen a Handgun Is in the Home, Suicide Risk Quickly RisesAs Coronavirus Pandemic Hits U.S., Experts Worry About Rise in SuicidesU.S. Suicide Rate Climbed 35% in Two DecadesCelebrity Suicides Spawn 'Copycat' Tragedies, Study ShowsSuicidal Thoughts Among Young Kids Higher Than BelievedAHA News: People With Implanted Heart Pumps May Have Higher Suicide RiskShotguns Often Play Tragic Role in Rural Teens' Suicides: Study'Tough Guys' May Be at Especially High Risk for SuicideFewer LGBT Teens Plagued by Suicidal Thoughts, But Rates Still HighNumber of Americans Headed to ER for Suicidal Thoughts, Self-Harm Keeps RisingPoverty Could Drive Up Youth Suicide RiskAs Minimum Wage Rises, Suicide Rates FallOpioids May Not Be to Blame for Rise in U.S. SuicidesER Visits for Attempted Suicide Greatly Raise Odds for Future TragedyCould a Concussion Raise a Teen Athlete's Suicide Risk?Media Reports on Celeb Suicides Could Trigger CopycatsCertain Blood Pressure Meds Tied to Suicide Risk in StudyDeaths Due to Suicide, Homicide on the Rise Among U.S. YouthSuicide Attempts Rising Among Black TeensEating Disorders Linked to Suicide RiskAspirin, Antihistamines: Kids Often Use OTC Drugs in Suicide AttemptsTeen Boys Who Attempt Suicide More Likely to Abuse as AdultsNew National Suicide Statistics at a Glance Links |
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Suicide: What Should I Do if I'm Suicidal?Natalie Staats Reiss, Ph.D., and Mark Dombeck, Ph.D. If you are presently assembling the means to your own death, the time to go to the hospital so as to prevent yourself from killing yourself is now. As mentioned several times already in this article, you require immediate psychiatric care if you are feeling acutely suicidal. You need a safe environment to be in for a while where you can be protected from acting upon suicidal urges. You may also benefit from medication to calm you, help you sleep or to serve as an anti-depressant. Most acute suicidal urges pass, or at least decrease in urgency, after a period of time has gone by. If you can hold out and not act, there is a very good likelihood that you will shortly feel better. It is much easier to hold out and not attempt suicide if you are hospitalized in an environment designed to keep you safe, than if you are out and about in your normal environment.
If you do not have pre-existing arrangements set up already with a therapist or doctor, you can also get the care and safe environment you need by going to a local Emergency Room (ER). Please go to the hospital immediately if you are acutely suicidal. Recruit a friend to take you to the hospital if you cannot get yourself there safely. As a last resort, you should call the emergency operator who can dispatch an ambulance or police officers to your location. This can be a rather expensive way to get there, but if it is the only reasonable way to get yourself to the hospital, then don't let the expense get in your way.
It may cross your mind to call an emergency telephone crisis line such as those mentioned below. This is a good idea if you are just feeling vaguely suicidal and want human contact with someone who can help you work through your thoughts. If you are acutely and dangerously suicidal, however, calling a crisis line is not the best thing to do, as it will distract you from getting the hands-on assistance you need. In such a case, you really need the safe environment that only a hospital can provide. Get yourself to the emergency room, or if there is no cheaper alternative, call the emergency operator for assistance.
If you are confident that you are not an immediate suicide risk, you may not require hospitalization. Nevertheless, you should still seek out professional mental health care for your condition, which is still life-threatening and rather serious. There is a good chance that you are depressed, or may have some other psychiatric condition that would benefit from proper treatment. You will almost certainly benefit from having a mental health professional with whom you can confide, who can provide you with a more objective third-party perspective on your difficulties, who can help monitor your ongoing suicide risk, and who can help teach you better coping methods than you are presently able to use in addressing your concerns.
Even if you start calling for appointments today, it can take time to be seen by psychiatrists and psychotherapists. Appointment schedules may be full for weeks in advance. If this is the case, ask the receptionist if you can have the next available appointment, and to call you if any cancellations occur.
It is also a good idea to stress the urgent nature of your need. While you are waiting for an appointment (and between appointments as you require) you can reach out to the various telephone crisis lines. If you are in the United States, you can call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. If you are in another country, you can find links to your local support lines on The Samaritans website (www.befrienders.org). Teenagers may also call Covenant House's NineLine at 1-800-999-9999. Participating in online support group communities may also be a good idea.
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