Worried about someone?

If someone you know might be feeling suicidal, please know that suicidal individuals might be comforted if the mental pain being experienced by them is lessened. Willingness to listen to what the person has to say - with understanding and acceptance,  without being intrusive, judgmental or critical  - can make the person feel better. 

A basic awareness about suicides greatly helps in forming the appropriate approach towards a suicidal person. In order to take care of the person you are worried about, you may want to go through the following information from this website.

What can you do?

Talking about feelings can make all the difference between choosing to live or die. If you're helping someone who feels suicidal, please take care of yourself as well.

• Ask the person how they are feeling and listen to the answer.

• Encourage the person to seek help and talk to someone they trust.  

• Remember that it is difficult to support someone very close to you on your own. Encourage the person to seek emotional support and talk to someone they trust - may be friends, family, medical service personnel, or suicide helplines.

Dr. Lakshmi Vijayakumar, SNEHA, Chennai has developed  the guidelines named "The Manual for Primary Health Care Personnel", for suicide prevention activities among the public.