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Create your own Safety Plan

Staying safe when dealing with thoughts of suicide requires a lot of strength. A suicide safety plan can be a helpful and practical tool for anyone working to stay safe. It gives them the opportunity to hold onto their strength and keep fighting. This safety plan allows space to explore personal reasons for wanting to live, coping methods, and techniques to distract oneself, all tailored to the individual. Since suicidal thoughts can come and go, having a safety plan to refer back to when needed can help staying safe in difficult times.

Prefer to write with a pen and paper? Download our Safety Plan worksheet (pdf) to print.

What do I need to do to be able to focus on using my safety plan right now? What have I done in the past, what do I need to do to feel safe? Is there somewhere I can go to feel safe, someone who can help me?
Is there somewhere I can go to feel safe, someone who can help me? Do I need to remove anything I have which I could use to harm myself? What can I do to reduce my risk of harming myself impulsively? What warning signs are there that help me identify if my risk is increasing?
What has helped in the past, what has helped me to cope or get through a crisis and keep myself safe? How can I manage my feelings, what tools do I have to contain my distress? What can I focus on that is positive, what do I need to keep myself safe for?
What can lift my mood, change my thinking? What can I do to soothe myself? What activities can I do to occupy my thoughts/feelings?
Who can I talk to for a chat, who can lift my mood or help distract me? Is this someone who can talk to me and distract me, maybe not to talk about my distress but to help occupy my thoughts? Is this friends or family, or someone who knows me well who I can safely open up to? Who can help me to access support if I am feeling unable to?
Who can I talk to help with how I am feeling right now? This could be friends or family or someone who knows me well, who I can safely open up to. Who can I or someone else call if I need help? Who can help me to access support if I am feeling unable to?
    What are my support networks in Sheffield? Am I involved in some groups for support, a team of people who know me? Please visit sheffieldmentalhealth.co.uk for suggestions of groups you may be connected with locally.
    Mental Health services? Specialist services? Crisis numbers?