Suicide is when a person takes their own life.
Suicidal thoughts are when a person thinks about and or plans to end their life. These thoughts include; thoughts of ending your life, feeling that others would be better off without you and planning ways to end your life.
Suicidal thoughts may present themselves as feeling:
- desperate like you have no choice
- overwhelmed by feelings of negativity
- unwanted or unneeded by others
- hopeless like there is no point in living
There is no one reason or cause for suicide or suicidal thoughts. There are many things that may lead a person to consider taking their own life.
Some of these include:
- Difficult life events
- Struggling to cope with life
- Feeling alone, isolated, hopeless, or like things may not get better
- Difficulties understanding people’s behaviour and expectations
- Poor physical or mental health
- Long-term illness
- Trauma or stressful experiences (relationships, financial issues, work issues)
- Repetitive cycles of thought, may lead to an intense focus on suicide
- Difficulties recognising, managing, and regulating emotion
- Psychiatric conditions; including depression, anxiety disorders, Bipolar Affective disorder (BAD) and others
- Delays in receiving an assessment for autism
- Difficulties accessing support
- Difficulties securing and or maintaining employment
When a person says they are feeling suicidal or are considering taking their own life, it is important to take it seriously.
If an autistic person tells you that they are suicidal, it is even more important to believe them, this is because they may not show signs that people typically expect. This could be because:
- they have differences communicating and interacting with other people
- they find it difficult to communicate their thoughts
- they may not want to/ or feel able to talk about it
Warning signs
There are a few warning signs to look out for if you are worried about a person ending their life. Some of these include:
- Making material preparations such as storing up medication
- Preparing a Will
- Giving away possessions, especially items known to be of significance to the individual
- Changes in weight/appetite
- Lack of self-care. For example, personal hygiene
- Behaving in an erratic or reckless manner, compared to normal
If you or someone you know is thinking about suicide, it is important to get help now.
Choose from these options:
- If there is an immediate risk to life call 999 or go to any hospital accident and emergency (A&E) department
- If you have urgent mental health concerns, you can call NHS 111 and press option 2. You will be put through to a qualified call handler, who will be able to give you the advice and support you need. This service is totally free and confidential and operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It is for all ages – so you can call this number if you are a parent or carer and need urgent mental health advice and support for a child or young person.Alternatively, you can visit https://111.nhs.uk/ and follow the on screen instructions. This service is also staffed by the same qualified call handlers. It operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week and is free and confidential.
- Speak to your GP and tell them how you are feeling
- Talk to a friend, family member or someone you trust and tell them how you are feeling
- Call a helpline
For a directory of support services for emergency, urgent and non-urgent emotional health support, including services that can give suicide related support and advice – please click the following link:
Autism Space emotional health resources directory
