HomeHealth

7 Strategies for Coping With & Overcoming Suicidal Thoughts

7 Strategies for Coping With & Overcoming Suicidal Thoughts
Like Tweet Pin it Share Share Email

Suicidal thoughts are thoughts that cross your mind where you want to kill yourself. They consume you. They make you feel hopelessness and despair. They overtake you and influence your actions.

You have such thoughts because you just want your pain to end. Maybe you are depressed. Maybe you are unhappy with your life. Maybe you want things to be different. Maybe you want it all to change. You think suicide is the only answer.

I’m here to tell you that it’s not. Other options are out there!

How do I know this? I used to have suicidal thoughts… for years. I even tried to kill myself once. (Read my true story about my suicide attempt.) I have endured a lot of pain during my life. I have faced many obstacles. I was raped. I quit school four times. I got involved in prostitution. I became a single mother at the age of 18. I raised my son by myself. I became addicted to drugs. I also had a gambling addiction.

I know what it’s like to have no motivation or desire to live. I have suffered from depression and an extremely negative self-image for most of my life. I have also been overweight my whole life. I even lost contact with my son for three years. (Fortunately, we reunited!)

The good news is that I survived. I’ve since learned different coping strategies and ways to handle my problems. Even more good news is this: You, too, have the ability within yourself to change yourself and your situation!

 innovative weight loss pills

I learned how to cope with all my problems. I found hope.

Strategies to cope with suicidal thoughts

suicidal thoughts

Today, I’m going to share some of the strategies I learned with you, because there are many different things you can do to cope with suicidal thoughts.

Coping Strategy 1: Meditate.

Meditation helps you clear your mind. It helps you center yourself.

According to Use Meditation, the Law of Attraction, and Visualization to Be More Successful, “Meditation has a different meaning to each individual. Some people view it as simply a breathing practice. Some view it as the mental concentration of something. Some view it as a state of thoughtless awareness. And some view it as a way of simply focusing on one particular thing.”

However you define it, meditation is helpful for ridding your mind of unwanted, suicidal thoughts! It can also help you focus on what is important in your life.

Coping Strategy 2: Exercise and Do Yoga.

Yoga is a practice that strives to achieve balance between your body and soul – your physical health and mental well-being. It is also a form of exercise. There are many health benefits of yoga.

Both exercising and doing yoga causes your body to release endorphins. Endorphins are chemicals that interact with the receptors in your brain, and give you a feeling of “good-ness.” They trigger positive feelings, and fight off negative ones, such as suicidal thoughts.

So the next time you feel icky, depressed, or down, go for a walk, jog, or run, go dancing, or do some yoga!

Coping Strategy 3: Talk about your feelings.

Talking about your feelings with your friends, family, and/or a counselor will help you to feel better. People often have suicidal thoughts because they feel like they are alone in their suffering or are extremely depressed. You can learn more and talk about depression.

By knowing you are not the only person to ever feel that way or have such thoughts, you will immediately feel better. Talking truly helps!

Coping Strategy 4: Get the Proper Amount of Sleep

Sleep deprivation is common in folks who suffer from suicidal thoughts. So is sleeping too much.

It’s best to get between 6 and 8 hours of sleep daily/nightly. Some people, however, end up feeling tired all the time, regardless of how much sleep they get. The article 10 Reasons You Feel Tired All the Time will help you determine what is truly affecting your sleeping patterns so you can change them.

Coping Strategy 5: Take up a New Hobby

Do you enjoy dancing? Painting? Writing? Playing sports?

It’s been proven that participating in an activity you enjoy will lower the amount of negativity you feel. 10 Hobbies to beat Stress and Depression can give you more ideas of hobbies you can start doing to bust those suicidal thoughts of yours right out of you!

Coping Strategy 6: Set Easy-to-Accomplish Goals

Most of the time, our goals are so big that it seems impossible to attain them. Buying a house or a car can take years to do, because they are such big goals.

If you set smaller goals for yourself – ones that you can easily achieve – then you will feel a great sense of accomplishment when you reach them. By focusing on such goals, you will forget that you even had suicidal thoughts!

For people suffering from depression or suicidal thoughts, taking a shower or cooking dinner can seem like hard or even impossible tasks to do. By setting just a few easy-to-accomplish goals to reach each day, and then reaching them, you will be able to feel pride in yourself. This strength will lead you to set more goals, which will cause you to set even more, thus leading you on a path of success!

Coping Strategy 7: Use Positive Affirmations

Positive affirmations work. Plain and simple.

I’ve been using them for the last four years, and I’ve improved my life so much. I’m finally happy now, and I owe a lot of my happiness to my use of affirmations!

“Affirmations are positive statements that are repeated on a daily basis that alter your current (usually negative) beliefs by sinking into your subconscious,” says the article How to Use Positive Affirmations to Improve Your Life. (This article is actually a chapter taken from my book, From Nope to Hope!)

It goes on to say how to change your mindset, how to re-frame your thoughts, and how to practice positive self-talk.

Reframing your negative thoughts involves taking the opposite of what you are thinking and changing it so that it becomes positive. For example, instead of saying “I want to die,” you would say “I want to live.”

“I want to kill myself” becomes “I don’t want to kill myself.”

“I just can’t handle the stress anymore” becomes “I am strong and I can handle anything life throws at me!”

“I am worthless” becomes “I am a person of value.”

Even if you currently think these positive statements are not true, if you tell yourself something often enough, you will eventually believe it, because our brains can be re-trained!

My book, From Nope to Hope, contains many more actionable coping strategies and techniques you can use to help you overcome your suicidal thoughts. They have helped me tremendously, and – for the first time in my life – I am living the life I WANT to live!

I went from a suicidal mess to a success. You can, too, if you use the methods mentioned in this book. You CAN transform your life and make it a life worth living.

suicidal thoughts

 

Your Turn!

Have you ever had (or known someone who has had) suicidal thoughts?

Have you used these strategies for coping with them?

Are you going to implement the strategies that can literally transform your life?

Author Bio

Lorraine Reguly, B.A./B.Ed., is an author and English teacher-turned-freelancer for hire. Her life journey is motivational and inspirational. Lorraine’s book, From Nope to Hope, is a self-help book designed to help anyone who wishes to lead a happier life, and contains a built-in workbook.

Lorraine offers 4 different services on Wording Well, including writing/blogging, and editing. She also helps others become published authors! Check out her services and see what she can do for YOU.

 


Comments (8)

Comments are closed.