How to Create a Suicide Safety Plan

Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsCreating a PlanEmergency HelpWhen a Friend Is SuicidalUsing a Safety Plan

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

Creating a Plan

Emergency Help

When a Friend Is Suicidal

Using a Safety Plan

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Information presented in this article may be triggering to some people. If you are having suicidal thoughts, contact theNational Suicide Prevention Lifelineat988for support and assistance from a trained counselor. If you or a loved one are in immediate danger, call 911.For more mental health resources, see ourNational Helpline Database.

Information presented in this article may be triggering to some people. If you are having suicidal thoughts, contact theNational Suicide Prevention Lifelineat988for support and assistance from a trained counselor. If you or a loved one are in immediate danger, call 911.

For more mental health resources, see ourNational Helpline Database.

A suicide safety plan is a written plan that helps you or someone else stay safe when experiencing suicidal thoughts. It contains steps that you continue to follow until you are safe.A suicide safety plan can also help you support someone who is having suicidal thoughts. You can create a suicide safety plan in around 30 to 40 minutes.

Anyone who experiencesdepressionis at risk of havingthoughts of suicide.While the emotional pain that triggers these thoughts may feel overwhelming, it does not mean you will lose control or act on your thoughts. In fact, having a suicide safety plan in place is one method to help youcope with your bad feelingsuntil circumstances change.

This article discusses how to create a suicide safety plan, how to use it, and what to do when a safety plan is not enough.

Active vs. Passive Suicidal Ideation

Creating a Suicide Safety Plan

Work with someone you trust to develop your suicide safety plan. This could be your best friend, a close family member, or a doctor ortherapist. It is best to get these people involved since you will most likely need to call on them if you decide to execute your plan.

Try to create the plan while you are feeling well and can think clearly, rather than waiting until you are actively suicidal.

Your suicide safety plan should include the following steps in this order:

To build your suicide safety plan, make a list of everything you need to complete each of the above steps. The plan should be simple enough that it is easy to put into action when you need it.

Put your suicide safety plan in writing and keep it in a place where you can easily find it should the need arise.

List the Warning Signs

The first step in creating your suicide safety plan is to think about the types of situations, images, thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that might precede or accompany suicidal urges for you.

List these warning signs so that you can refer back to them when deciding whether to activate your plan. It’s also helpful to familiarize yourself with some of the risk factors for suicide in order to recognize these warning signs if present.

A warning sign could be that you tend to isolate yourself and not take good care of your health when you get depressed.

List Ways to Calm/Comfort Yourself

Create a list of activities that can be soothing to you when you’re upset. If you can’t think of any examples off-hand, you may want to try some mind-body methods that have helped others, such as breathing exercises orbody scan meditation.Or take a look at ​differentways to reduce stressto see if any methods might be helpful for you.

A few self-soothing ideas to consider: taking a hot bath, listening to music, or exercising.

List Your Reasons for Living

Create a list of your reasons for living. When you are feeling suicidal, it is very easy to get caught up in the pain you are feeling and forget the positives in your life. Your list will help you refocus your attention on the reasons to keep going until your suicidal thoughts and feelings pass.

Some people with or without depression find that keeping agratitude journalis helpful.If you find yourself feeling suicidal, looking at what you have written may help you focus on the positives in your life until the feelings pass.

Consider writing about blessings like your family, friends, pets, health, or faith.

Add Trusted Contact Information

Keep a list of contacts you can talk to if you are unable to distract yourself with self-help measures. List names, phone numbers, or other contact information, and be sure to have back-ups in case your first or second choices are unavailable.

Your list of trusted contacts may include your significant other, friends, relatives, or your religious leader.

Add a List of Professional Resources

Create a list of all professional resources available to you, along with their phone numbers, email addresses, and other pertinent contact information. This is also a good place to keep a number for a crisis hotline such as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988.

Members of your professional health care team can include your psychiatrist and your therapist as well as a crisis hotline.

If you haven’t yet seen a mental health professional, take a moment to learn about thedifferent types of therapistswho care for people with depression, and make an appointment today.

Depression Discussion GuideGet our printable guide to help you ask the right questions at your next doctor’s appointment.Download PDFSign UpThank you, {{form.email}}, for signing up.There was an error. Please try again.

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Plan Ways to Make Your Environment Safe

Plan what steps you can take to make yourself safe. This may involve removing or securing any items that you are likely to use to hurt yourself, or going to another location until the urges have passed. It may also involve asking another person to help you.

If you feel like hurting yourself, you might plan to go to a public place like a mall, restaurant, or library to distract yourself. Or, if you are feeling suicidal, you might ask someone to keep your gun at their house.

What to Do When You Want to Disappear

When a Suicide Safety Plan Isn’t Enough

If all other steps have failed to keep you feeling safe, go to your nearest hospital emergency room and ask for assistance.

Keep the name, address, and directions to the hospital listed in your plan for easy access or save it in your GPS.

If you do not feel that you can get to the hospital safely on your own, call 911 or the emergency contact number appropriate for where you live and ask for transport to the hospital.

What to Do If a Friend Is Suicidal

Many people with depression have friends who are coping with similar challenges. This could be a friend you have met in a depression support group or simply a friend or family member you have known for a long time. After all, depression is common.

After you have completed your own safety plan, encourage others who are coping with depression to create a plan for themselves. Other things you can do to support a friend who might be suicidal include:

If your friend is in immediate danger, do not leave them alone. If possible, remove any items in the vicinity that might pose a danger. Contact emergency services or take your friend to the emergency room.

What to Say to Someone Who Is Suicidal

How to Use a Suicide Safety Plan

An exception would be if you are feeling out of control and are strongly thinking of suicide. In that case, it is best to call either a trusted friend who can be with you immediately or 911.

While you will likely have your suicide safety plan in your home, there are now smartphone safety plan apps that you can take with you anywhere. These apps may be of particular benefit for younger people and those in regions where suicide support options are lacking.

Currently, however, there is a lack of information on how helpful these apps are, and some apps have been found to have potentially dangerous content.It’s important to ask your mental healthcare provider whether they recommend one of these apps and, if so, which one they feel is best for you.

Links and ResourcesThe following suicide prevention resources can also be helpful:SAMHSA National Helpline: 1-800-662-4357Crisis Text Line: Text 741741The Trevor Project: 1-866-488-7386Veterans Crisis Line: 988National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Helpline: 1-800-950-6264The Crisis Text Line also offers useful resources forhow to get helpif you are experiencing thoughts of suicide.

Links and Resources

The following suicide prevention resources can also be helpful:SAMHSA National Helpline: 1-800-662-4357Crisis Text Line: Text 741741The Trevor Project: 1-866-488-7386Veterans Crisis Line: 988National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Helpline: 1-800-950-6264The Crisis Text Line also offers useful resources forhow to get helpif you are experiencing thoughts of suicide.

The following suicide prevention resources can also be helpful:

The Crisis Text Line also offers useful resources forhow to get helpif you are experiencing thoughts of suicide.

11 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

VA Suicide Prevention Resources.What is a safety plan?

Cai H, Jin Y, Liu S, et al.Prevalence of suicidal ideation and planning in patients with major depressive disorder: A meta-analysis of observation studies.J Affect Disord. 2021;293:148-158. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2021.05.115

Moscardini EH, Hill RM, Dodd CG, Do C, Kaplow JB, Tucker RP.Suicide safety planning: Clinician training, comfort, and safety plan utilization.Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020;17(18):6444. doi:10.3390/ijerph17186444

National Institute of Mental Health.Warning signs of suicide.

Batra P.Efficacy of gratitude and forgiveness as positive psychological intervention in reducing depression.IAHRW Int J Soc Sci Rev. 2021;9(2):61-5.

Suicide Prevention Lifeline.Help someone else.

National Institute of Mental Health.Suicide prevention.

Dazzi T, Gribble R, Wessely S, Fear NT.Does asking about suicide and related behaviours induce suicidal ideation? What is the evidence?Psychol Med. 2014;44(16):3361-3. doi:10.1017/S0033291714001299

Kennard BD, Biernesser C, Wolfe KL, et al.Developing a brief suicide prevention intervention and mobile phone application: A qualitative report.J Technol Hum Serv. 2015;33(4):345-357. doi:10.1080/15228835.2015.1106384

Larsen ME, Nicholas J, Christensen H.A systematic assessment of smartphone tools for suicide prevention.PLoS ONE. 2016;11(4):e0152285. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0152285

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