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Safety planning
Safety Plans are tools that many people who struggle with suicidal thoughts fill out with a clinician or loved one. It lists personal warning signs that they are starting to feel very bad and strategies they can help them cope with those periods.
Does your loved one already have a Safety Plan?
If YES and they have a Safety Plan…
Ask if they are willing to share it with you and (provided you are willing) whether you can be one of the contacts they reach out to when they need distraction or want to talk.
If NO and they don’t have a Safety Plan…
Here’s a Safety Plan form to get you started. You can also connect them to the Safety Plan app for Veterans.
Safety plans can be surprisingly helpful.
They remind a person that the horrible periods don’t last forever and that they have some strategies for getting through them.