If you are currently experiencing suicidal thoughts, please see our section I’m experiencing suicidal thoughts. 

Suicide is defined as the act of intentionally ending your own life.  Many people who experience suicidal thoughts do not end their own lives.  Suicidal thoughts are often a symptom of another issue or cause.  Oftentimes talking though suicidal thoughts can help identify what’s fuelling them.  People find that they really want is NOT to end their lives, but to end emotional pain

Suicidal thoughts and feelings may be fleeting (come and go), build over time, or change from moment to moment.  

When we examine the ingredients of suicidal thoughts, we can find they contain: 

  • A feeling of hopelessness, that life is not worth living 
  • Tearfulness and feeling overwhelmed 
  • Feelings of unbearable pain, that you cant imagine living with 
  • Feeling useless or unwanted 
  • Desperate and not having any choices 
  • Preoccupied by death 
  • Feeling trapped, with no solutions and ending your life is an answer to emotional pain or problems. 

It's important to stress that when people talk though suicidal thoughts they can identify what’s fuelling them.  They find that they really want is NOT to end their lives, but to end emotional pain.