Suicide prevention

Helplines
Counseling and support
Helpful websites
Our other resource pages

Experiencing a mental health crisis?
Please call the Southwest Washington Crisis Line ​(open 24/7/365) at 1.800.626.8137. The Crisis Line can help when you or a loved one is

• threatening to harm or kill themselves or others.
• acting recklessly or violently.
• having hallucinations (seeing things that are not there), delusions (false beliefs), or are not able to care for themselves.
• experiencing something else that feels overwhelming or uncontrollable.

Some warning signs of suicide

• Talking about or dropping hints about dying by suicide
• Giving away prized possessions
• Being very obsessive
• Becoming a perfectionist
• Engaging in risky behaviors (driving recklessly, increased drug and alcohol use/abuse, etc.)
• Significant changes in behavior
• Preoccupation with death
• Changes in eating and sleeping patterns
• Having a “plan” to die by suicide
• Depression—feeling unhappy for a long time
• Losing your temper over small things
• Dropping grades
• Anxiety, strong feelings of fear of nervousness

​How to help
Steps 1 & 3 can be used to help a friend in any situation.
1. Show you care.

• Talk to the person you are concerned about in a caring manner
• Be specific about the warning signs you have noticed        
• Listen without judgment

2. Ask the question directly. 

• "Are you thinking of suicide?"
• "I’m concerned about something you said. Do you wish you were dead?"

 3. Get help.

• "We’re in this together. I know where we can get help."
• Talk to a trusted adult like a parent, teacher, school counselor, coach or club leader.
• Together, call the Southwest Washington Crisis Line ​(open 24/7/365) at 1.800.626.8137

 

Helplines

Boys Town Suicide and Crisis Line (24/7)

1.800.448.3000

Short-term crisis intervention, counseling, and referrals to local resources. Support with parent-child conflicts, marital and family issues, suicide, pregnancy, runaway youth, physical and sexual abuse, and other issues.

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (24/7)

1.800.273.8255

Receive help in supporting a loved one, a friend, or yourself dealing with trauma. Calls originating from anywhere in the country will be routed to the nearest available crisis center based on crisis center capacity and availability.

The Trevor Project (24/7)

1.866.488.7386
Instant message: TrevorChat
​Text: "Trevor" to 1.202.304.1200

Judgment-free place to talk to someone about anything, with a focus on supporting LGBTQ+ individuals. TrevorChat and TrevorText is available noon to 7 pm daily, including weekends.

Trans Lifeline

1.877.565.8860

Primarily for transgender people experiencing a crisis, but welcome the call of any transgender person in need. Volunteers are all trans identified and educated in the range of difficulties transgender people experience. Open 8 am to 2 am PST, daily.

 

Counseling and support

If you lost someone to suicide, please visit our Counseling and Death and Grief resource pages for local agencies that can support you through your grief by clicking on these buttons:

Counseling

Death, Loss, and Grief

 

Helpful websites

​Understanding suicide and suicide hotlines

​​Healthy Place: General information about suicide

Learn:

• How to understand and help someone who is considering suicide
• Why you may have thoughts of suicide (for those considering it)
• Frequently asked questions about suicide
• More frequently asked questions about suicide
• ​Why people kill themselves
• Why to live when you feel like dying
• ​Coping after the suicide or suicide attempt of a loved one

​Healthy Place: Information on suicide hotlines and suicide chat hotlines

Learn:

• Reasons people call suicide crisis hotlines
• What happens when you call a suicide hotline
• How suicide prevention hotlines prevent suicide
• How suicide prevention chat hotlines work 
• Suicide chat hotline options
• If suicide chat hotlines are a viable option to calling a crisis line
• How to become a suicide hotline volunteer

​​Healthy Place: Suicide information for teens

Learn:

• The feelings and behaviors teens exhibit when considering suicide
• What to do if you are considering suicide
• If turning to social media is a good idea
• How to cope with a parent's suicide

Suicide Awareness Voices of Education: Frequently asked questions

• Why do people kill themselves?
• Do people attempt suicide to prove something or get sympathy?
• Is a person at increased risk to attempt suicide if they’ve been exposed to it in their family or has had a close friend who died by suicide?
• If a person’s mind is made up can they still be stopped?
• Why do people attempt suicide when they appear to feel better?

Suicide Awareness Voices of Education: Warning signs of suicide

Learn more about warning signs, risk factors and protective factors.

TeensHealth: Suicide

Learn how depression and substance abuse may affect someone’s decision to die by suicide, how suicide is not always planned, the warning signs, what to do if you’re considering suicide, what to do if someone you know is considering suicide, and how to cope with problems.

Finding support

American Foundation for Suicide Prevention: Find support

Find support if you are having thoughts of suicide, survived an attempt, have lost someone to suicide, are worried someone might be at risk, or have a loved one who has made an attempt.

​​Healthy Place: Support if you're considering suicide

Learn:​

• How to help yourself if you're feeling suicidal
• Coping skills for dealing with feelings and thoughts of suicide​

Suicide Awareness Voices of Education: Find help

​Find support if you are having thoughts of suicide, survived an attempt, are concerned about someone else, need help accessing crisis services, or are coping with a loss.

Supporting a friend or loved one

Befrienders Worldwide: Helping a suicidal friend or relative

Some points to remember if you are helping a person who feels suicidal, including understanding what people who feel suicidal want and not want.

Befrienders Worldwide: Listening skills

Learn how to improve your listening skills when supporting a friend or loved one who is considering suicide. It’s important for people to have the opportunity to explore difficult feelings, and be truly listened to and accepted without prejudice.

​​Healthy Place: Helping someone who is suicidal

Learn:

• How to help someone who is suicidal
• How to help someone who is suicidal by taking them seriously
• How to help a friend or relative who is suicidal
• How to handle a phone call from someone who is suicidal
• How to help a friend in a hospital for drug treatment or a suicide attempt
• How to talk to someone who is suicidal
• If talking about suicide with someone who is suicidal dangerous

​TeensHealth: My friend is talking about suicide. What should I do?

Learn the warning signs, what you can do to help, and what to do if someone you know attempts or dies by suicide.

Coping after losing someone to suicide

​​Healthy Place: Coping after losing someone to suicide

Learn:

• The effects of suicide on family members, loved ones
• How to cope with grief and loss (1 of 2)
• How to cope with grief and loss (2 of 2)
• How to deal with anger and guilt after a suicide​

All Surviving: Coping for survivors of suicide

Learn healthy coping skills for getting through the loss of a loved one to suicide.

 

Our other resource pages

Visit our Mental Health resources page for information about how to talk to your parents/caregivers if you think you need a therapist and how to find the right one or if you are self-injuring:

Mental Health

Visit our Counseling resource pages for local agencies that can help you process your thoughts and emotions:

Counseling