{"id":49173,"date":"2018-04-24T12:00:26","date_gmt":"2018-04-24T11:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/?p=49173"},"modified":"2022-05-16T12:00:00","modified_gmt":"2022-05-16T11:00:00","slug":"managing-suicidal-thoughts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/managing-suicidal-thoughts.htm","title":{"rendered":"Constantly Have Suicidal Thoughts? How to Manage"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"suicidal<\/a>

By: Lenny K Photography<\/p><\/div>\n

by Andrea M. Darcy<\/span><\/p>\n

Suffer from suicidal thoughts?<\/strong> How can you best handle your suicidal thinking, and what habits can start to even break the cycle of suicidal thinking?<\/p>\n

**If you think you are about to act on your suicidal thoughts<\/a>, go to your nearest A&E, call emergency services, or use one of the various free UK helplines<\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n

Suicidal thoughts are more common than you think<\/h2>\n

Suicidal thoughts and ideas, also called ‘ideation’, <\/strong>are something most of us experience at some point or other. We consider our own death<\/a>, and what suicide might look like.<\/p>\n

But for others of us, suicidal thinking haunts our days, or comes and goes despite<\/strong> our best intentions<\/a>. It doesn’t mean we want to die necessarily (two thirds of people with suicidal thinking were found in a worldwide study to never attempt suicide).<\/p>\n

But it does raise our risk of hurting ourselves, and can be very hard on our self-esteem and moods.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

How to Manage Suicidal Thoughts<\/h2>\n

So then how can we manage our suicidal thoughts? And avoid them from spiralling into self-harm<\/a>, or taking steps toward a suicide plan?<\/p>\n

1. Constantly remind yourself that you are NOT your thoughts.\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Suicidal thoughts increase if we mistake them for who we are.<\/em><\/strong> We enter a cycle of shame<\/a> that leads to more self-destructive thinking<\/a>. But the faster we label them as ‘just thoughts’, the faster they die down.<\/p>\n

A bad thought is just a bad thought. And everyone on the planet has bad thoughts now and then. A thought itself is not a crime, it does not define you, and it has no real power<\/a> unless you choose to act on it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Can’t believe you are more than your thoughts? Try this <\/strong>mindfulness<\/a> experiment. Sit quietly and try to hear your thinking. Work to notice each thought then let it pass without judging it. It can help to think of observing clouds in the sky floating by.<\/p>\n

Who is it that is observing the thoughts? Is that not also you? The ‘You’ that is beyond your thoughts?<\/em><\/p>\n

\"suicidal<\/a>

By: db Photography | Demi-Brooke<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

2. Safely unload your thoughts.\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Suicidal thoughts happen when we are repressing emotional pain<\/a>. The more we can exit these emotions, the better.<\/p>\n

A powerful technique to clear out negative thoughts<\/a> can be to<\/strong> unload your thoughts on sheets of paper and promise\u00a0<\/em>yourself to tear up the pages afterwards.\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Let yourself write<\/a> every horrible thing that rises up. <\/strong>It doesn\u2019t matter if it\u2019 s legible, or crazed, or really mean, or something you can’t believe you actually wrote.\u00a0 Nobody else is going to read it (of course do rip it all up afterwards!).<\/p>\n

3. Trick your brain into balanced thoughts.\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)<\/a> is a an evidence-based psychotherapy<\/a> that helps with depression and anxiety<\/a>. At its core are tools that work to train the brain away from negative thinking.<\/p>\n

[You can try CBT no matter where you are in the world by booking a qualified online therapist on\u00a0our sister site, harleytherapy.com<\/a>.]<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

One such CBT tool<\/a> is a ‘thought chart’.\u00a0By repeatedly tracking and questioning your thoughts,\u00a0 you train your brain to find better thoughts (try it now by reading our article “Balanced Thinking and CBT<\/a>“).<\/p>\n

Or try this. Write down five of your suicidal thoughts. Next to each one write down its exact opposite. Then find and write a statement that is in-between the two extremes. <\/em><\/p>\n

\"suicidal<\/a>

By: rachaelvoorhees<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

For example, “Everyone hates me and wants me gone” becomes, “Everyone loves me and wants me around”. The in-between is, “I am not friends<\/a> with everyone, but there are people who like being around me.”<\/p>\n

How much better does this balanced thought feel than the original? Can you see how suicidal thoughts tend to be assumptions<\/a> over facts?\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

4. Exchange thoughts for sensations.\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Suicidal thoughts tend to be<\/strong> past-based (I failed<\/a>, I got hurt) and future-focused (nothing will change, I will disappoint everyone<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Sensations, on the other hand, move us away from our distress<\/a> and directly into the present moment<\/a>. And no matter how awful the past or how much we fear the future, most of us can manage living through just this now moment.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Try a ‘sensation experience’ right now<\/strong>. Breathe deeply several times, relaxing your shoulders. Then try to notice five visual details around you. Followed by a sound, a taste, a touch feeling, a smell. How do you feel?<\/p>\n

Other ways to use sensation to counter thought include:<\/strong><\/p>\n