SLAP: determining risk for suicide

Hi, this is not meant as medical advice, but it might help you to have this in your head if you know someone that might be at risk for suicide so you can help them get professional help.

There is a method known as SLAP (or some people prefer PALS) for determining suicide risk.

S: Social support -- does the person have social support? Someone with little or no social support is at higher risk.

L: Lethality -- If the person has a plan, how lethal is the method? A gun is more lethal than a pill overdose.

A: Access -- This is access to the method. Does the person have the pills or would they have to get them? Do they have the bullets or would they have to stop by wal-mart?

P: Plan/previous attempts -- Does the person have a plan about how they would kill themselves, or just some vague notion that it might be better if they were dead? People with a specific plan or who have previously attempted suicide are at higher risk.

Now, if you suspect someone might be suicidal, simply ask them if they are planning on hurting themselves. Most of the time if they are, they will tell you!

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If you are reading this and are feeling suicidal then read this first

You should put a sticky on it Tino, sometimes we get a few people on here threatening. Its always handy to get to quickly if needed

My cousin wen through that a few years ago. I found a bunch of pills in her desk that she shouldn't have had so I just came out and asked if she was planning to do it and she said yes. A year later we were talking and she told me if I hadn't have asked her about it that night then she would be dead.
Really scary.

it's amazing how much just talking to someone can help.

Now THATS service

Ive only been on here for a couple of months but have spent time talking at least two people out of it. So its good to have around

It is my firm conviction that 99% of the people you spend time talking out of suicide wouldn't have done it in the first place. They just wanted someone to talk to, and to feel important for a few hours.

I have talked a lot of people "out of it". Truth is I generally didn't believe they would do it. But I did believe they needed a friend, so I try to give them that, at least.

the S in social support.

Oh, and the people who are really serious about it? Well you won't know until you find the body to be brutally honest.

I agree stumblin, your av is so appropriate!

But its a cry for help nonetheless and as you say talking to someone when they need it is the best help you can give

i hate when ppl say they are going to commit suicide it is redicolus i dont think your mom put u in this world to kill your self over stupid sh*t so take my advice when i say dont kill your self have a friend to talk to so u wont even talk about suicide

i know of a man that shot himself when he was 17 years old

he did not die, and realized as the shot entered that he did not really want to
die

he got a chronic disease from the blood trnsfusions that saved his life, almost
30 years ago

now, he has some serious problems even though he wants to live and thrive

all things pass, even strong feelings of sadness

yes, they may return... befriend them and see what wisdom they can share
with you

i get what your all saying here,and yes support to ppl can help,but it wont alter all minds,most successful suicides are acomplished first time around,second times are often through embarassment froma failed attempt,not becasue they failed to kill themselfs but from shame from people now knowing what they did..

i think you have to realsie that some peeps see no other way out of a specific circumstance than to do this,firends support or not.
and i dont agree with peeps saying its a selfish act..and a easy way our of a predicimant......thats easy to say isnt it from those left behind..easy is not the word to use here really,i dont believe for one minute they dont at least in some way consider others who will be left to deal with it,im not saying this feeling/thought would be enough to change their mind..but i bet it still there

never ever think you will never be in that position yourself someday.you never really know whats in store for you,or how bad things could get whn you could consider it a option

usually those that do it and are successfully, do it very quickly and sometimes it is difficult to see all the warning signs. My younger brother hung himself only hours after discovering his wife was cheating on him. He made no calls to family or friends that would have been there for him, and to help him. It still bothers me to this day as to why he didn't reach out to us, he was only 21 years old when he took his own life.

suicide = a permanent "solution" to a temperary problem.

One warning sign is that the "person" is self-centered.
Another is if they speak in absolutes... "everything", "everybody", "all the time", "everywhere"...etc when speaking their "issues".

Isolation is a key item also.

So, if you know someone that's talking about "me, me, me, everywhere, all the time, then hides out, go look for them and reach out.

J.R.