Guide to Managing Suicidal Thoughts – Tips to Follow

29 Nov Guide to Managing Suicidal Thoughts – Tips to Follow

How to Deal with Suicidal Thoughts? Thoughts are a vicious cycle that can lead people to become their prey. Sometimes, thoughts cause one to feel the things they were never prepared to face.

It all comes down to how a person is, and how much emotional capability they have to handle the things and spiraling thoughts. Are you always upset lately?

Do you feel like there’s nothing to life? How to Deal with Suicidal Thoughts? Have you ever thought that it would be better if I didn’t exist in this life?

Before these thoughts and questions completely take over the body, you should see a psychiatrist in Patna, Dr. Vivek Pratap Singh. He specializes in dealing with these thoughts and emotions. 

What are suicidal thoughts? 

How to Deal with Suicidal Thoughts? Thoughts that involve feelings of worthlessness and not being enough can lead to suicidal ideation.

It means thoughts about taking one’s life and sometimes it can manifest as less serious thoughts such as 

• Thoughts of despair and dying
• Spending a lot of time thinking of ways to die
• Believe one is not worth living this life 
• Want to stop living to stop facing any consequences

Suicidal thoughts can take a toll on a person’s life making the person think they are living in hell. The people have a hard time dealing with their life and problems.

And, sometimes they are ashamed to seek help thinking they don’t deserve it.

The major reason an individual has trouble asking for help is they don’t have the answers to the potential line of the questions their family or friends will pose. For example, sharing one’s woes can lead to questions like

Why do you want to die?

And their question is not wrong, but they don’t understand the individual’s perspective and where they are coming from. Sometimes, this disparity can make the individual feel guilty about feeling these feelings. 

The family and friends might give them advice such as, “why would you want the people around you to go through this?” Or “if you just try and work on yourself, you’d be able to distract yourself from the sadness.”

These thoughts can actually make the person more sad and upset. It leads to them feeling guilty about being not enough and a burden on their family. 

Sometimes, they might not even be suffering from depression, but their extreme level of sadness and pain might be unmanageable by them to the extent that they don’t want to live their life.

Your inability to put a stop to this pain and despair can cause people to feel they don’t have any other way to avoid these feelings and take the most easy escape out. 

How to deal with suicidal thoughts? 

The foremost thing anyone should remember is that suicidal thoughts can come to anyone. There’s nothing wrong with these feelings.

These feelings are not a representation of personal failure, or flaw. People cannot take the feelings anymore and don’t know how to stop them. That leads them to dislike their life. 

• If one is having suicidal thoughts or feel like they are not worth living their life, they should seek help. 
• Reaching out to friends and family can feel like a nightmare because of the judgment and feeling like a burden, but it’s important to have support from family and friends. Having moral support from people you love can drive you to face the challenges and feelings you’re facing. When one knows they have someone by their side as a safety net they are better motivated to live life. 
• When you have suicidal thoughts, go to a safe place such as library, or garden. Or a happy place that can make you comfortable. It’s important to face these thoughts from the confines of your safe place or surrounded by people who have your back. 

How to deal with suicidal intrusive thoughts? 

Suicidal thoughts can be very intrusive and dangerous to the point that they make you act on your sinister thoughts. To deal with this, there are some things one can follow like

• Keep sharp weapons away from your reach. Along with that, access to medications can even increase the risk of accidental overdose. Taking help from family or close friends, get rid of weapons and anything that can be used against yourself. If you’re on some medications, talk to your family to give you the dose on given time. No access to the means of things that can be used for suicide can decrease the risk. 
• Be aware of the triggers that make you start thinking about these thoughts. These triggers can be different for different people, so it’s important to know what bothers you. Slowly and gradually, you’ll understand what are the stressors that start these thoughts. After understanding the situation, and feelings, one can better avoid thinking these thoughts. 

How to deal with suicidal thoughts as a teenager? 

Suicidal thoughts in a teenager can be subtle and sometimes parents won’t even know they are experiencing these feelings.

And, children won’t even tell their parents about their emotions that can actually make matters worse. So, to deal with these thoughts 

• Try doing things that makes one happy. For example, going out and exploring the city, painting on a canvas, watching a series, or reading a novel can distract one’s thoughts. Having a hobby, and immersing oneself fully in what they are doing, can be a very healthy way to deal with emotions and thoughts. 
• A lot of teens go through bullying and matching their ideas and thoughts with their peers. Sometimes, it’s difficult to do and think the way others are. This leads to the teen being the odd one out. They go through the teasing and remarks of being the weird one and become an outcast. These trigger thoughts of being useless and inefficient. Try overcoming these thoughts through self-teaching and talking to family or close friends. Usually, talking to someone can validate one’s existence and their worth. This leads to self-motivation and determination. 

What helps with depression and suicidal thoughts? 

Depression is a mental disorder that when not treated, gradually progresses to extreme sadness and suicidal thoughts. Depression can lead to a variety of physical and mental symptoms such as 

• Anxiety 
• Panic attacks
• Change in sleeping habits
• Appetite changes 
• Aggressiveness
• Agitation
• Mood swings 
• Irritability

To deal with these thoughts, one can 

• Try techniques that can calm down their thoughts. Like try breathing slowly and count every breath that helps one stay focused and present in a moment. Going for walks makes one relax and feel good about the environment. 
• Do things that help one relax by listening to music, dancing, or singing. These things can bring out the child and help overcome the emotions and thoughts. 

These feelings of extreme sadness and anxiety won’t disappear immediately. It will take time, professional help and medications to heal and return back to their normal self. 

Natural remedies for suicidal thoughts 

The suicidal thoughts can be dealt with some natural remedies. It won’t cure them, but it might help you have some control over them. Like, 

• Breathing exercises have shown a link between decreasing depressive symptoms and deep breathing. Stress is a major factor that conteibutes to depression and eventually the suicidal thoughts. Deep breathing helps calm down the soul and focuses the attention on your surroundings and distracts you from thoughts. 
• Yoga and meditation increases mindfulness and soothes the soul. It increases the awareness of the present by increasing the focus on feelings and the surroundings. It improves the depressive symptoms and calms down the anxiety. 

There are some herbal supplements people take to relieve their pressure and stress. For example, 

• Balm
• Green tea
• Chamomile tea
• Nuts
• Frutis 

Along with the above dietary intake, cut down on red meat and processed food. Also, try eating food that you love, this can also help release happy hormones leading to a better mood. 

How to stop suicidal thoughts? 

Suicidal thoughts can act like a vise wrapping around your brain controlling all your movements and actions. When one is thinking about suicide, they should try and follow these steps to avoid acting upon their emotions.

• Make a list of positive things about your life and the things around you. Focusing on things that make you happy can distract you from the negative thoughts and feelings. Think about your strengths, and the things you’ve overcome, it can drive you to move forward. 
• Journaling with positive affirmations can put you in a better mood. Writing down notes about the things that you’re grateful for can make you feel positive about life. 
• Writing down your problems and taking a different perspective can help you reach a solution. More than often, people are upset and frustrated because of their problems and life’s unfair situation. When you try to solve the problems and take a different approach, you might feel good about this life and will be driven towards making something of your life. 

Suicidal thoughts are uncontrollable by an individual. So, when they get these thoughts, it’s important for them to know that it’s not their mistake they are suffering through this.

And, during this time it’s important for an individual’s family to support them through their struggles. If these thoughts get out of control, seeking professional help is advised.

The best psychiatrist in Patna, Dr. Vivek Pratap Singh is equipped to deal with people having these thoughts.