How to stop suicidal thoughts

Suicidal thoughts

Our brain is a powerhouse with millions of nerve cells connected together with billions of synopsis. The brain is working 24/7 even when we are sleeping. The organ is the control center of emotions, anxiety, response to stimuli and a plethora of other functions. Needless to say, the brain controls what we think and how our thinking affects our emotions. In this universal cluster of emotions, thoughts might not always come from a positive lane. It is common to get negative thoughts in our minds. But when these thoughts dig their roots in our brain, they become harmful. One of such negative emotions is called suicidal thoughts. These are deadly thinking behavioral thoughts that can lead us to end our life. Let’s get to know more about how to stop suicidal thoughts.

Overview

Taking your own life is a tragic situation that might arise for a number of reasons. While it might seem impractical for many, there has been an increase in the number of suicides in recent years. There might be many reasons behind these, but the fact that this practice is on the rise, make us more aware of how to stop it. For urgent needs, one can simply call 911 or any other emergency suicide numbers in the U.S. Before we get to know how to stop suicidal thoughts, we should know what are the warning signs of such evil actions.

Warning signs

As with every mental condition, the warning signs might not be identical. These may vary depending upon the condition and nature of the patient. However,  you should know some common warning facts that might come handy in identifying the onset of suicidal thoughts in someone’s consciousness. Always seek for help if someone is portraying one of these thoughts:

• If the patient is talking about dying frequently. You may also notice him making statements to kill himself or end his life.
• When someone is looking for means of suicide such as buying drugs or a gun
• If a patient has lately withdrawn from social circle and shows his consent of being alone all the time
• When someone is having drastic mood swings, it is the case of suicidal thoughts. This involves being too sad one day and then anxious the other.
• Being occupied in the thoughts of death or violence
• Feeling depresses and hopeless all the time
• Depending on drugs or alcohol in an uncontrolled manner
• A sudden change in normal routines such as sleeping late at night or eating too much or even skipping a meal daily
• Doing things that might harm him or anyone else’ life such as using sharp things or taking non-prescribed drugs
• Giving away assets and other belongings. Getting affairs done such as being done when ending life
• Saying the last bye to people as if he is not ever going to come back again
• Being severely angered or agitated
• Behavioral changes

When you see any of these warning signs, you should develop the learning of how to prevent suicidal thoughts:

Encouraging positive thinking

If we take a look at the bigger picture, suicidal thoughts are the seeds of negative thinking. Hence, if you encourage the patient to think positively, you may stop him from developing suicidal thoughts. A good way to eradicate suicidal thoughts with positive thinking is to self-talk. It is an endless exercise with unspoken thoughts running through your consciousness. Whether positive and negative, these thoughts come from your own reason and logic. Practicing self-talk will help the patient in exhaling your deep emotions and will eventually help him get rid of them. Self-talk will also help counter the misconceptions that your mind creates due to a lack of proper information. For instance, if you get a call from an unknown person who asks for your details, one can self-talk and think of negative and positive consequences. One can try thinking of different outcomes of alternate ways of dealing with the situations. This will help the patient devise a good method of facing challenges.

Here are some potential ways through you can help a person having suicidal thoughts learn to practice positive thinking:

• Helping him identify the areas in which he should be more optimistic. Ask the patient to try practicing small areas where he can approach in a positive way.
• Follow a healthy lifestyle. A good mindset comes from a healthy and fit body. Doing regular exercises and workout will fuel your mind with sanguinity.
• Smile and laugh whenever you get the chance. Refraining from happiness is a way to attract negativity. Hence, try to be open to humor.
• Surround yourself with a positive company. You need to ensure that the people you trust in your life are positive and supportive. A negative company evokes depression.
• Practice self-talk
• Check your thinking at frequent intervals during the day

Avoiding negative way of life

Our habits often decide whether our life is going to be good or bad, whether we will get relieved of suicidal thoughts or not and whether our lives will be serene or not. For this, you need to make a routine and practice avoiding getting indulged into activities that trigger stress hormones and lead to negative thinking such as suicidal thoughts. Some of the negative habits to avoid are:

• Eating without any routine
• Spending compulsively
• Under or overeating
• Getting habitual to medications
• Skipping physical activities
• Overworking
• Being socially disabled
• Avoiding problems and running from them

These negative habits can be avoided by not ignoring the problem, rather deciding on the time you will need to figure out a solution. Walking away from an issue will only make it prominent and you will have to face it in a more dangerous form. You should never convince yourself that ignoring the stress will erase it naturally. One may feel that he can’t work without having a cup of coffee in the morning. You may assume that without a puff of smoke, your mind can’t work to its full extent. These activities only make us habitual and dependable. By avoiding them, you can deal with stress and avoid its long-term negative effects on your health which keeps suicidal thoughts at bay. Keep these away and cope with such disastrous thoughts productively.

Being Physical

Immersing in exercises and alike physical activity is a sure shot way to keep suicidal thoughts at bay. The physical activities help in improving your physical condition while elevating your immunity against certain diseases and mental conditions. It also helps in maintaining mental fitness, reducing fatigue, improving alertness and enhancing concentration levels.

When you work physically, you tend to get tired and your body becomes active. This, in turn, enhances your mental functions and you are able to think more creatively. When you feel depleted by suicidal thoughts, a small physical activity like riding a bicycle, running on the stairs or going for a walk can help enhance your overall cognitive function.

Suicide or suicidal ideation or thoughts is a mental phenomenon and it usually affects our brain as its initial point of target. Through our brain, our body starts feeling its negative impact. By exercising your body, you will feel better as you will divert the impact of stress connections which will eventually improve your state of mind as well. Physical activities promote endorphins, which is chemical in our brain acting as natural painkillers. With an increase in the numbers of endorphins, our ability to sleep is also increased which reduces stress. Certain physical activities that produce endorphins include:

• Yoga therapy
• Jogging or running
• Acupuncture
• Meditation
• Massage therapy
• Spa therapy
• Heavy breathing
• Yoga

To further reduce the occurrence of suicidal thoughts, you can practice these physical activities too:

• Burning calories each day by daily activities such as a brisk walk or jogging
• Using stairs instead of lifts
• Listening to soothing music to keep negativity at bay
• Trying to get indulged in nature for a brief amount of time. This may include gardening or simply traveling to a green place
• using a bicycle to go to the market or office
• Pursuing a physical hobby such as gymnastics, swimming, etc.
• Dancing whenever you get time or chance

Don’t ignore the importance of good sleep

Getting good sleep is as vital as eating a healthy meal. However, if you are skipping your sleeping hours, you can develop certain stress-related behavioral issues including suicidal thoughts. These thoughts and sleep are dependent on each other. We often argue that we can’t sleep if we have stress residing in our minds. This is quite true. High-stress levels can make sleeping difficult and even lead to certain sleeping disorders like insomnia. Same way, lack of sleep can increase stress. This two-way relationship is important to be maintained and if you concentrate on improving one of these, the second one will automatically perk up.

If you sleep better, you certainly begin to live better. You can have better control of your blood pressure. Timely sleep often affects your cholesterol levels in a good way that further prevents heart diseases.

Also, a night of good sleep can help you tackle the day’s stress easily which eventually reduces the occurrence of suicidal thoughts. You will be active both mentally and physically and hence can deal with the challenges that life throws at you. In contrary to this, if you are tired from last night’s irregular sleep, you tend to become less patient and might easily get agitated. This increases stress and leads to negativity. Practicing a perfect sleeping routine can help avoid stress and this stress-lowering tactic will, in turn, help you out in improving your quality of sleep.

Attention to personality development

By taking care of your body, posture, walk, and mental status, you can help induce the levels of suicidal thoughts to a large extent. Experts believe that personality development is essential as it conflicts not only in your household life but occupational work as well. By taking care of your personality, you are able to smile even during critical situations and negative circumstances. This helps make your mind an enemy to be afraid of for suicidal thoughts.

Flashing a smile not only makes you look good, but it also acts as a way to tell your mind that no challenge is too big and you can cope up easily. A good personality with active postures, well-dressed clothes, and nicely groomed hairs will show you as an emblem of happiness and success. With a good character, you are able to persuade others and talk politely which prevents quarrels and arguments. This further reduces the incidences of stress and negativism.

It is a universal fact that every human responds to suicidal thoughts differently. But if you have a good personality and know how to maintain it, you can deal with these evils in a mature way. By paying attention to grooming your body, you will never have the time to espouse a negative attitude in your life. By staying busy in improving yourself, you will keep negativism far away and eventually, everyone will appreciate your efforts. Instead of crying over spilled milk, work on yourself and use personality development to kill the negativism from its core.

Conclusion

Suicidal thoughts are not something you can handle in a day. When they conjure your mind, you might have a good time coming out of these negative evils. But if you follow these methods, you might prevent their occurrence in the first place. One should always remember the importance of life. When we think of suicide being a better way to end our suffering, we forget that if we end our life, we won’t be feeling anything so we won’t be able to get that relief. Hence, we should always live healthily, think good, adapt nature, live with free spirits and always hold the hands of positivity in our lives so as to avoid suicidal thoughts. These are much more dangerous than many physical syndromes and are often hard to deal with. If you don’t wish to get mentally sick, you should follow the points we discussed in this piece of writing. I hope you enjoyed reading this. Let us know your views in the comment section.