Presenting

Suicide First Aid Kit

We know that you wish to end the pain and the problems and not your life. Hence, we have curated a list of verified suicide helplines to aid you in your state of emergencies. We have also curated a list of activities that may help you survive through the tough times and mentioned coping mechanisms to help you get through these moments. So, please just check them out once.

Our founder, a suicide survivor himself, has a message for you

Hey, I don't know how exactly you are feeling but if you are suicidal, I wanna let you know that I have been there too. Hi, I am Akash Ramchandani, the founder of this NGO and a suicide survivor. I don't know how you are feeling, but I get it. I know that sometimes it may be painful and at other times you may feel numb. You might feel that there is no way out and may struggle to find the reasons why you should just not quit. But wait, I know you too can make it through. I would urge you to throw everything that can harm you away as your survival means a lot to me you. Yes, I don't even know what you are going through and why you are contemplating ending your life. But knowing that you stopped would helpTrue I may not know it even know what happened but knowing that you stopped would mean a lot. Life can sometimes feel meaningless, relationships can seem painful, there may seem to be no strength in you to pull yourself through another day. But please remember that you are not alone, we are in the same boat and that this too shall paas. The suicide is a like a wave that can paas through us when we are feeling the most vulnerable. It is therefore important that you embrace yourself through these challenging moments in your life. I assure you that things will pick up and you wouldn't feel so vulnerable once this wave passes by. Please hang in here with me

Whom else can you contact in a state of an emergency hierarchically?

Thoughts of suicide can be quite overwhelming to experience. Having such thoughts can make a person extremely vulnerable and helpless in their situation. At such critical points, having access to supportive people can help one pass through this harrowing and painstaking journey with some assurance and faith. When experiencing such intense emotions, it may become very confusing to understand to whom to reach out for help and guidance. Let us therefore explore and understand the different sources of help you can reach out to when feeling vulnerable. As you can observe, we have enumerated for you, the different levels that you can tap onto during such challenging times.

01.

Your partner/parents/siblings

One of the first points of contact for you during a crisis is often your immediate family members. Reach out to them for support when you are feeling extremely vulnerable.

02.

Teachers, other relatives, neighbors, guides, friends, colleagues, etc.

Moving beyond your immediate family, you can now move towards other people that you meet regularly and whom you can reach out to when feeling unsafe.

03.

Police, Social workers, therapist, doctor, or other consultants

At the tertiary level, you can reach out to mediators and other points of contact who can intervene and help you further.

04.

Organziational support

Further, you can reach out for support from different institutions like NGOs, hospitals, clinics, etc. where there can be a dedicated team of workers to help out.

The dos and don'ts when you are suicidal

Life can seem very overwhelming at times. We are not always prepared to handle such phases when things seem very hopeless. Maneuvering(guiding) oneself through such times can seem very scary, especially if one is feeling suicidal. Here is a quick guide to the basic steps you can take when harboring suicidal thoughts. I would urge you to go through these 6 steps to ensure your safety during your challenging times.

01.

Get rid of potential weapons

One of the first things to understand about having suicidal ideation is that it is a phase that passes us and makes us most vulnerable to taking harmful steps. Access to harmful substances during such times can be therefore risky. Hence the first step to safety would be to hand over anything that is a potential trigger for you. Lockout or dispose of things like a blade, prescription drugs, or anything you feel may threaten your safety at a given point.

02.

Don’t be alone

Don’t leave yourself alone with your negative thoughts. Just be around someone. You need not have to disclose what is going on with you but just seek out a company. Just moving to a room with someone present can significantly bring down the risk to one’s life.

03.

Keep away from any substances

Using substances has been glorified as an acceptable means of dealing with one’s emotions in many movies. Unfortunately, this can be dangerous given that such actions can compromise your judgement to some extent and therefore lead you towards risky behaviour.

01.

Take help

When you are vulnerable, tell someone. If you wish to be discrete about the source of your distress, that is fine, but try to convey that you are vulnerable and need help to feel safe. If possible, do speak out when such thoughts come to you as this would lead them to understand the intensity of your present state and get help for you.

02.

Reach out

There may be several sources of help like a family member, close friend, helpline, or an NGO that you can reach out to. You can reach out and connect with any of the above sources to help you. Perhaps the above steps may have helped you to keep yourself safe through your immediate state of vulnerability. Despite these steps, it is important that you reach out to someone for long-term guidance and counseling. Meeting with a mental health professional can aid in helping you work on the underlying causes of your current emotional state and help you deal with the same. Working on enhancing your emotional well-being through professional consultation can help things in the long run for you.

03.

Have you survived such a phase before?

Keep note of all the things that you previously did to help yourself. Having some emergency numbers handy can help in case things get intense. If you have survived this once, you certainly have the resources to face this again. The above steps and whatever additional things that you have tried and have worked for you can be used to help you out of this challenging stage. Good luck!

Preventive coping strategies for dealing with suicidal and self-destructive impulses.

We often find ourselves caught up in a loop of lasting and recurring self-defeating thoughts. Sometimes, such thoughts may make us feel helpless and vulnerable for a longer duration. Suicidal ideation can also be a recurring pattern for vulnerable individuals. We, therefore, need to develop preventive coping strategies to strengthen one’s resolve against succumbing to such urges. Keep all the below-mentioned measures prepared so that you are armed and ready when another strong wave threatens your safety! This work begins with the development of Safety Nets. To explain the importance of the safety net, I would like to provide you with a metaphor from the circus.

Safety Net 1: Find out all the different triggers that affect your thoughts and actions. Understanding this pattern will help you to anticipate potential triggering and overwhelming situations and take preventive measures accordingly. Stay active during periods of feeling vulnerable or overwhelmed: engage in activities that keep you connected to the here-and-now.

Safety Net 2: Do grounding activities: take a walk, wash the dishes, do a jigsaw puzzle, take another walk.

Safety Net 3: Do not be alone (have someone come over or stay on phone until feeling less impulsive)

Use a survival kit (explained below) to help manage the impulses.

Safety Net 4: Call your therapist or visit an emergency ward of the hospital when feeling immensely helpless and vulnerable.

What is a survival kit:

A survival kit is a collection of different objects which that can ensure your survival no matter how unsafe you feel at present. It is important to put together different things that work for you during emergency situations as at that point in time, it becomes difficult to think clearly. A survival kit might include a card or note written by the therapist, an affirmation, a list of things you could do to keep yourself safe, a note providing specific instructions for you to follow when feeling suicidal, a photograph of someone or something to live for, a transitional object like a stuffed animal, a list of people to call, letters of love and support from your friends, or even a list of reasons to live no matter how strongly you wish to end your life. Remember different things work for different people and therefore you can come up with your own ideas to help yourself in times of distress.

Developed by

Rupal Kaura

A guide for care givers if someone near you is suicidal

You can refer to the guide if you are a parent, friend, teacher or even an aquiantance. It will help you:

Curated by

Nidhi Nahata

A complete guide for therapists

Please let us know if it helped you. We would love to hear from you as it would help us improvise the kit and provide people better help

Credentials

RCI Clinical Psychologists: Rupal Kaura, Veena Nair, Nidhi Nahata, Aastha Kapoor.

Volunteers: Naman Nimbale, Akash Ramchandani, Soumyata Katiyar