4.3 Identifying an emergency situation with suicidal risk
A mental health crisis occurs when an individual experiences mental health problems that become so significant that they can no longer cope, or function or they can’t control their symptoms. While a mental health crisis means different things to different people, specifically it is a situation where someone needs urgent help. The words ‘mental health crisis’ and ‘mental health emergency’ may be used interchangeably and both mean that urgent attention is required. You’ve just learned about two types of crisis situation: self-harm and panic attacks. In this section you will now focus on an emergency crisis situation where the learner’s thoughts and feelings have turned into behaviours associated with an intention to end their own life.
Activity 7 Phrases and feelings linked to suicidal thoughts
Watch this video from the UK mental health charity, Mind, where individuals describe their experiences of having suicidal thoughts.
Suicide: talking about mental health [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)]
Make a list of the phrases and feelings that are linked to their thoughts of ending their own life.
Discussion
Some of the phrases and feelings you picked up on might include a sense of worthlessness, being a burden to others and a lack of hope. Some of these experiences were explained as darkness that comes over them and a great deal of negativity about themselves. You may be surprised to hear about the complete lack of control that the person had when it came to these thoughts and feelings.
In the video, there was also a great deal of hope and many expressions of positive feelings that helped the individuals to cope. Some spoke of using writing to help express themselves, of talking more positively to themselves and of making sure that enjoyable experiences are regularly a part of their life.