First 72 Hours for Attempters
The First 72 Hours for Attempters
What to Expect
- You will probably feel disbelief, anger, and rage. You may feel embarrassed, ashamed, and overwhelmed. These emotions may be aimed at yourself, your close family and friends, the person who saved your life, or at God.
- You may be surprised to find out who is affected by your suicide attempt and how deeply they are affected.
- You may lose a lot of your support people, especially if this is not the first time you have attempted.
- The people in your life may be very angry at you but also very grateful you are alive.
- There will be a lot of double edge situations, words and emotions. You may say one thing and in the same breath say the exact opposite. The people supporting you may do the same thing. Examples: You may say you have never experienced depression and then say you have been depressed for as long as you can remember. They may say they are so happy you are alive and turn around and say they wish you were dead. All of this sucks and is normal.
- You may be hospitalized for these first 72 hours. You may not be hospitalized because your suicide attempt was not deemed serious enough, or no one may know you attempted to end your life.
- You may not be left alone, even to shower or use the restroom. Everyone attending to you will be working to keep you alive.
What You Can Do
- Talk about what you are thinking or feeling. If you have the opportunity do not shut down or shut people out. There are a lot of people who care about you and want you to be healthy and happy.
- Be honest. There may be a lot of people working for you right now and they will be able to help you if you are telling the truth.
- Rest or sleep. Depending on the severity of your injuries this may be all you can do.
- Program the number 1-800-273-8255 into your cell phone. It is The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and is 24- hour resource. The lifeline will accept calls from non-English speaking callers. www.SuicidePreventionLifeline.org
- Download and read: After Your Suicide Attempt: Deciding To Live.
