From Struggle to Strength: A Compassionate Approach to Suicidal Thoughts

Suicidal sentiments can refer to thinking irrationally about your life or the sense that people would be better off without you. Or it can mean conceiving of different ways of committing suicide or laying out a plan to end your own life. 

In today’s blog post, we’re going to tell you how to understand suicide thoughts and how to overcome them in the right way for a bright future.

Understanding Suicidal Ideation

It’s discouragement—that’s the main connection with suicide,” Rosenberg said. “When someone considers suicide, they have no intellectual flexibility—they are unable to recognize additional options or possibilities. They are stuck, and they suppose this is the only solution to problems that could very likely be overcome if they got help. But mentally, they are incapable of seeing that.

“Treatment works with the patient collaboratively to solve those problems that are the motorists of that suicidal ideation, so the individual is aware that there are other options.”

Compassion and Suicide

Compassion is the incentive to prevent pain and suffering, whether in oneself or in others. The research discovered that the role of sympathy in relation to suicide and suicide prevention has had a specific focus on self-acceptance, with investigations into compassion from others generally being limited to individuals’ fear of compassion from others. 

What Can You Do To Help Suicide Survivors?

The most important thing you can do if you come face to face with someone who experiences suicidal thoughts is to show empathy and support.

Teach Coping and Problem-Solving

Another prevention strategy is to teach coping and problem-solving skills. These skills teach people how to deal with challenging situations and help them become stronger. This way, when a person does experience stressful scenarios, they’ll be greatly prepared to manage them.

Social-emotional learning programs, teaching skills, and family initiatives are examples of behavioral interventions that can help.

Promote Connection

Social connection is essential to suicide prevention. Therefore, it’s crucial that at-risk individuals form positive social connections with others. Besides the family unit itself, people who are at risk for suicide should have the possibility to be concerned in the community and contribute to peer norm programs. These programs are referred to offer (positive peer pressure.) 

Create Protective Environments

Protective environments are those that certainly protect a person from damaging themselves. While this includes many levels, like government and health care, it can be highly helpful in maximizing suicidal behaviors. 

To establish these safe, stable environments, it will require things like:

  • Avoiding excessive alcohol use
  • Eliminating fatal means of suicide
  • Minimizing unsafe media depictions of suicide
  • Minimizing the stigma of mental illness
  • Maximizing access to mental health treatment
  • Offer reasonable behavioral home health services

Bottom Line

Suicidal thoughts can be terrible and demeaning, but it is essential to understand that there is hope. Anyone can overcome suicidal thoughts and create an improved future with understanding, encouragement, and professional help.

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