Suicidal feelings
If you are feeling extremely depressed or hopeless, it is not unusual to feel that life is not worth living and even to think about killing yourself. It’s common for people who are very depressed to feel that they are a burden to others and that their family would be better off without them.
Suicidal thoughts are often a safety valve: a thought that there is an escape from the depression. However, if you often have thoughts of suicide, or you find yourself making plans for how you might actually go about it, tell your doctor or someone who is close to you immediately. You can ring the – a 24-hour confidential helpline providing emotional support from trained volunteers for people in emotional crisis.
Your doctor may suggest that you spend a few days in hospital so that specially trained staff can support you and help you to feel better as quickly as possible. In some areas, specialist psychiatric support teams can visit you at home.
As well as talking therapies, you will usually need drug treatment.
If you have the following symptoms you need to seek help immediately:
- Suicidal feelings or plans
- Hearing voices (hallucinations)
- Strongly believing things which are unlikely to be true (delusions)
- Self harm.