posted 9th June 2019
PAPYRUS is the national charity dedicated to the prevention of young suicide. Suicide is the biggest killer of young people - male and female - under 35 in the UK. Every year many thousands more attempt or contemplate suicide, harm themselves or suffer alone, afraid to speak openly about how they are feeling.
Their vision is for a society which speaks openly about suicide and has the resources to help young people who may have suicidal thoughts. They exist to reduce the number of young people who take their own lives by shattering the stigma around suicide and equipping young people and their communities with the skills to recognise and respond to suicidal behaviour.
Papyrus provide confidential support and advice to young people struggling with thoughts of suicide, and anyone worried about a young person through their helpline, HOPELINEUK.
what are thoughts of suicide?
Suicide means to end your life intentionally. Experiencing thoughts of suicide can be frightening. Thoughts of suicide can seemingly come from nowhere or begin as fleeting thoughts of wanting to disappear or escape. They may progress into feelings of hopelessness and worthlessness and planning or taking steps to end your life. You may feel alone, but in fact, it is estimated that 1 in 4 young people experience thoughts of suicide at some point in their lives.
If you are experiencing thoughts of suicide, it's important to know that there is help available. It can be really hard to know who to turn to and it can take a huge amount of courage to talk about thoughts of suicide. Take some time to think about who you might want to tell; maybe someone you trust or you feel would understand you. You don't have to carry these feelings on your own. For more information on how to do this see our Who can I tell? section.
who can be suicidal?
Anyone can experience thoughts of suicide and everyone is different; what makes suicide feel like an option to one person might be experienced very differently by someone else. And that's okay. For more information, take a look at our next section about why people feel suicidal.
i can't keep safe right now
You need emergency help if you have already taken steps to end your life or if your thoughts of suicide are particularly intense right now and you feel unable to stay safe from suicide. To get emergency help, you can visit your local A&E department or call NHS 111 (England, Scotland, N. Ireland), NHS Direct (Wales)* or 999 and ask for some support.
NHS 111/ Direct can advise you about where to get help such as a walk-in centre or an out of hours doctor. They may also have information about 'safe spaces' you can access in your local area when you are struggling to stay safe from suicide. 999 can support you in an emergency too, the operator can talk to you about different types of immediate support the emergency services can offer.
where can you get help?
There are lots of different places a young person can access help for thoughts of suicide. HOPELINEUK can offer anyone up to the age of 35 a safe place to talk through thoughts of suicide. As a suicide prevention service, we aim to support young people to stay safe for now from suicide. And we can also let a young person know about different support options which feel right for them.
If a young person doesn't feel ready or doesn't want to talk to HOPELINEUK - that's okay. There's lots of different options. What's really important is to help someone find help that feels meaningful to them. Have a look at our resources section to see some ideas of the types of services available. Alternatively, you can give HOPELINEUK a call if you want some ideas or some help finding other options. We can support anyone who is worried about or supporting a young person who is suicidal. Remember, it's important you have a chance to talk about how you feel too.
contact HOPELINEUK
If you are having thoughts of suicide or are concerned for a young person who might be you can contact HOPELINEUK for confidential support and practical advice.
call: 0800 068 4141
text: 07786209697 or email: pat@papyrus-uk.org
opening hours:
10am - 10pm weekdays / 2pm - 10pm weekends / 2pm - 10pm bank holidays