Safety plans may include:
- Contact details of trusted friends and professionals.
- A list of ways to make your environment safe – if you are not safe at home, go to a public space with a friend until the urge to harm yourself has passed.
- Reasons to live.
An Australian study has shown that safety plans work. They help reduce suicidal tendencies and help the overwhelmed person ride those difficult waves and come out the other side, safe.
BeyondBlue from Australia has created an incredible app called ‘BeyondNow‘ which you can download on the Apple Store or Google Play. If you do not have access to either, it can also be accessed online.
Here is an example of how a safety plan can look like, laid out by the Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand (download the pdf to view).
Here is another link that helps discuss how a safety plan can be created and used.
If you are still struggling with your plan – call 911 for help.
Further Resources
- Alliance of Hope – for suicide loss survivors: support program
- From the Archives: ‘Suicide in Pregnant Women and New Mothers‘
- The Sydney Morning Herald: Searching for facts about the biggest cause of death for pregnant women and new mums
- Beyond Blue: Stories of People Who Found a Way Through
- Beyond Blue: Self-Care for the Supporter
- Visit our Perinatal Mental Health Resources page for helpful links including:
– Links to people you can talk with (including therapists and volunteers)
– Crisis helplines
- Visit our COVID-19 Mental Health Resources page for helpful links including:
– Blog posts and resources
– Links to shelters and services to help people in distress
– Information for kids
- Take Action through journaling – try this Anti-Anxiety Notebook that uses CBT techniques (cognitive behaviour therapy).
Social Media
Did you know we are on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest? Follow us for research based information on perinatal mental health.
We also have a section on Suicide Prevention filed under our Anxiety and Depression board on Pinterest. Be sure to follow us as a mental health resource to keep in your back pocket.
Dr. Dawn Kingston, Canada’s leading expert on perinatal mental health and for over ten years, has been at the forefront of research on how to prevent postpartum depression. Her team has developed the HOPE App which is designed to significantly reduce prenatal anxiety and depression and directly support expectant mothers. They are studying it in a massive implementation study, one of the most ambitious projects of this type ever!
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