Suicidal thoughts are far more common than people realise and can happen for lots of different reasons.
With the right help and support, your feelings will change, and you can overcome your suicidal thoughts.
It is important to talk!
Here are a few things you can do when thoughts of suicide feel overwhelming.
- Speak to a friend, family member or someone you trust.
- Call the Samaritans, available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Tel: 116 123
- Make an urgent appointment to see your GP.
- Contact NHS 111, select option 2.
- Call the 24/7 Mental Health Crisis Line for all ages – 0800 953 0285
- If you feel you can’t keep yourself safe, go to your nearest accident and emergency (A&E) department and tell the staff how you are feeling.
Suicide Prevention Helplines and Apps
HOPELINE247
HOPELINE247 provides confidential support and practical advice to young people (aged up to35) or those concerned a young person is having thoughts of suicide. Open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Shout
Shout is a free, confidential, 24/7 text support service for anyone in the UK who is struggling to cope.
Our trained volunteers are here to listen at any time of day or night, and messages won't appear on your phone bill.
- To start a conversation, text the word 'SHOUT' to 85258.
Kooth
Kooth is free, Safe & Anonymous Support. The online BACP accredited mental wellbeing community for those aged 10 to 25.
Qwell
Qwell is free digital mental wellbeing support for adults across the UK.
They offer a range of support, tailored to suit the individual – from professional support to peer to peer forums to personal development tools.
You’re not alone. Find the support you need, where and when you need it.
Suicide Prevention Resources and Information
Samaritans
Samaritans run a number of award winning campaigns, including:
Shining a light on suicide
Shinning a light on suicide is commissioned by Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership. The campaign has been created to prevent suicide and aims to take the subject out of the dark by encouraging everyone in Greater Manchester to talk openly about suicide, suicidal thoughts and suicide bereavement.
Here in Wigan, we work closely with our partners to promote the Shining A Light on Suicide campaign to encourage everyone to talk about suicide in an honest, open, and direct way so no one sees suicide as a solution to their problems.
Month of Hope
Each year we join our partners across Greater Manchester for Month of Hope, as part of the Shining a Light on Suicide Campaign.
The month begins on World Suicide Prevention Day (10th September) and runs to World Mental Health Day (10th October) and is focussed on encouraging open conversations about suicide and instilling hope across the city region.
Personal stories
As part of the Shining A Light on Suicide work, personal stories of overcoming thoughts of suicide or their experience of a losing a loved one to suicide have been shared.
By telling these stories, we want to encourage others to talk about suicide, remain hopeful during difficult times and save lives.
Faith in action
What do I need to know about specific faiths? Talking faith in suicide prevention (external link) - A primer to support faith-informed conversations about suicide prevention and postvention with members of the public.
Mental health awareness and suicide prevention training
Developed in partnership with Greater Manchester Care Partnership, the Royal Society for Public Health offers a Healthy Minds e-learning package for anyone living or working in Greater Manchester.
Connect 5
Connect 5 is a practical and interactive mental wellbeing training programme. Designed to help you help people manage their stress and distress, build emotional resilience and mental wellbeing by making positive change.
The training aims to raise awareness of how you can support mental wellbeing. Change the way we have mental wellbeing conversations so that we are confident and skilled to have brief conversations in which we help a person think about ways they can take action to improve their mental wellbeing.
For more information on upcoming courses please contact: DAAT@wigan.gov.uk
Zero Suicide Alliance
It can be really hard to know how to support someone who you think might be feeling suicidal. Zero Suicide Alliance have created free online training that will give you the skills you need to help someone who is struggling with suicidal thoughts.
Please be aware that this training may be challenging for some people. Make sure you have someone you can talk to if you need to.
Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust’s Recovery Academy
Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust’s Recovery Academy provides a wide range of free educational resources for people with mental health and/or substance misuse problems, their families, carers, as well as healthcare professionals.
All of the resources focus on supporting people with their recovery, as well as promoting good mental health and wellbeing. The resources are useful if you are looking to increase your knowledge and understanding of mental health, improve your mental wellbeing, or simply want to learn something new.
The resources are co-written and co-delivered by experts by profession and experts by experience. This recognises, with equal importance, both professional expertise and lived experience, promotes the Recovery Academy’s philosophy of shared learning, and is one of the Recovery Academy’s core values.
Bereavement support
Losing someone to suicide can be extremely painful and emotionally complex but you do not have to deal with your grief alone.
Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide (SOBS)
Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide (SOBS) are the only organisation offering peer to peer support to all those over the age of 18, impacted by suicide loss in the UK.
Providing a safe, confidential environment in which bereaved people can share their experiences and feelings, SOBS helps those bereaved by suicide to support each other, at the time of their loss and in the months and years that follow.
Greater Manchester Bereavement Service
Greater Manchester Bereavement Service is there to listen and help you find the right support.
It’s a confidential service with dedicated suicide bereavement practitioners, who are there for you no matter how long it’s been since the person died. You do not need to deal with your grief alone.
Help is at Hand guide
Help is at Hand guide provides people who have been bereaved by suicide with both emotional and practical support.
The guide is designed to be given out by bereavement support organisations and by those who are likely to be first on the scene after a suspected suicide, including police and ambulance staff.
Bereavement Advice Centre
There are many practical matters to attend to when someone dies.
Bereavement Advice Centre supports and advises people on what they need to do after a death.
Wigan Council
Wigan council have a list of bereavement support services.