Gretchen Lawson: I hear you saying that you feel suicidal, that you’re having thoughts of hurting yourself. I just want to praise you. The first step is reaching out, which is what you’re doing by watching this video. The next thing I would encourage you to do is to make a plan of safety, to remove anything from your environment that might harm you, to think about who are your support people, who are people you could get in touch with and talk about how you’re feeling. It is okay to talk about how you’re feeling. The next thing I would encourage is to distract yourself, to recognize that your thoughts and your feelings are lying to you. It is a lie that the world would be a better place without you. You matter, you are valuable.
If you or a friend need support right now, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255, for free confidential, 24/7 help. Head here for a list of crisis centers around the world. For additional help, please visit the suicide prevention resource page.
