09/21/2026
September is Su***de Awareness/Prevention month. Let’s talk facts first!
I am going to kill myself (active ideation)
I don’t want to wake up in the morning (passive ideation)
These are different. The language matters. It’s okay, you don’t have to be an expert. But knowing is important.
Next step is: plan, intent, means.
Plan-how will I kill myself?
Intent-will I act on it?
Means-do I have the materials needed to kill myself?
Now-what’s important about this is that we look at two areas. What type of ideation do they have? Active or passive? And do they possess any of the second part (plan, intent, means)?
It is very important to not PANIC. Lots of people want to kill themselves and never do. Lots of people want to never wake up. (I’m aware that sounds morbid but it’s true) We need clear education on what we are working with here.
Hear me when I say this next part: THE GOAL IS NOT INPATIENT. That is never my goal as a professional. It’s best 99% of the time to keep someone working towards their goals at home. However, there are times that I don’t play around with. This is for the professional to assess for.
As a professional who has had clients complete su***de, there are just some things that I can’t look past. Biggest tips I can give the population that isn’t experienced in this is:
‼️Do not be afraid to advocate for this person (they more than likely won’t want you to tell, but we aren’t concerned with hurting their feelings over saving a life)
‼️If they call or text you and start saying goodbye or apologizing-we have reached the end and you need to call Law Enforcement for a wellness check immediately.
‼️ This has now turned into a business transaction-I’m not concerned with your feelings about the severity of it-I have a legal job to do to keep you safe. I’m going to do it regardless of if you agree with me.
‼️Multiple different people checking in on the person at different times-allows for the person to not feel confident enough to follow out a plan.
‼️Remove the fi****ms, knives, ropes, etc from the home. If the person won’t give away fi****ms. Separate bullets from fi***rm. Put a picture of your children on the lockbox. We can get creative, again for the professional to do.
‼️if it’s an emergency, law enforcement is always the first call. If it’s not an emergency, contact crisis line or their therapist. 988 is super easy to remember!
I could literally talk about su***de for hours. I know this is long. But read it and share because just this simple post with education in it will save a life.
