Friends, Family & Carers Forum

[sarah250]

Thanks @CherryBomb

There are many reasons why people choose to take their own life and every persons circumstances and reasons will be different. Usually it is when internal pain and distress is so overwhelming that they can no longer cope. For people with a mental illness, the distress caused by the illness can be so great they may feel an overwhelming desire to end their life. Suicide can also be related to distressing life events such as unemployment, relationship breakdown, being in debt, or isolation. Sometimes people feel like they are a burden on others, and they feel that others would be better off without them. A suicide attempt may be a sign of a mental illness developing, and it is important to get help from a health professional.

[sarah250]

Yes thanks @CherryBomb@3forme

In order to provide support for for someone experiencing suicdal thoughts it is essential that carers and families utilise effective self-care strategies to maintain their own health and wellbeing. Some examples of self-care strategies are:

• Seek emotional and practical support from trusted family, friends, peer groups and health professionals.
• Look after yourown physical and mental health by taking breaks from caring (respite), engaging in regular exercise, eating nutritious meals, getting adequate sleep.
• Develop new skills and focus on pleasurable activates that do not revolve around the person in care.
• Join a support group for others carers of people with experiencing suicidal thoughts or mental illness.

[CherryBomb]

Thanks for the tips on self-care @sarah250. Can you also provide some pints on how to get somone help/keep them safe?

[sarah250]

Good luck tomorrow @Shaz51 I hope it goes well. Writing down your thoughts and concerns take to the Dr is a great idea!

[3forme]

Thank you for choosing to discuss suicide tonight. Its such a difficult and uncomfortable subject for so many carers, yet one of the most important issues we, and our loved ones, have to deal with.

[CherryBomb]

only 20 minutes before Topic Tuesday finishes so now is time to get in any last questions for Sarah.

[Former-Member]

I have heard about a couse MHFA (Mental Health First Aid). I am wondering if you know about this @sarah250 and if you do would you recommend it for carers.

[sarah250]

Sure @CherryBomb

Try and maintain open, honest communication with the person about how they are feeling.

It’s important to remember that that they might not always feel able to open up to family members and therefore your role might be to encourage then to talk to another trusted person or a health professional.

However If they do talk to you remember to:

• Allow time and be patient 
• Be sensitive to non-verbal queues as well listening to verbal responses. A person may say that they are fine but you can see that they are agitated, dishevelled, distracted or look sad. In this case it might be best to say: “You’ve told me that you are feeling ok but you look sad and upset – can you tell me why?” 
• Be genuinely caring about the person

For example: “I’m really concerned that you are having these feelings because I really care about you and don’t want you to come to any harm”

• Use a non-judgmental, non-condescending, matter-of-fact approach 

For example: “You may be surprised to hear that thousands of people think about suicide every day. Although your feelings and thoughts may be overwhelming right now, you won’t always feel this way.”  

• Stay Calm - Keeping relaxed and calm will help keep the other person calm also and will make it easier to make decisions
• Always take suggestions of suicide seriously and act to get help.

[sarah250]

Thanks @Former-Member. I have done Mental Health First Aid myself and it is a great course to get the basics of understanding about different mental illnesses and what to do in a crisis situation. However if you are wanting more of a focus on how to support someone around suicide I would suggest looking up ASIST run by LivingWorks. This is a 2 day skills based training that explores how to talk about suicide and what to do if someone is in a suicdal crisis.

[CherryBomb]

Only another 10 minutes.

@sarah250 - it's been an extremely informative evening.Do you have any final thoughts are advice you would like to impart with us before we finish the session?