I recently took  a Suicide First Aide workshop to help individuals who were thinking about killing themselves.  Whether someone called or you connected  in person one would ask “do you have a plan?”   However, prior to that question, as hard as it may be, is to simply ask, “are you thinking about committing suicide?”  Once you know the reasons why  then you would want to eventually  have a plan to keep them safe.

Yes, there is a process of uncovering if an individual is thinking about harming themselves.  My Godfather killed himself by putting a gun to his head. Personally I felt people who did that were selfish and weak.  However, I now know it is part of the soul’s journey.  When a person commits suicide that individual will often experience the pain in the astral world (the place we go when we die) when reviewing  the consequences of their action.

In this course the Caregiver (there are other names to use but we will use Caregiver as the one who is trying to prevent an individual from committing suicide) must first connect to the individual by asking questions and exploring reasons for that person wanting to commit suicide.  Next by listening, the Caregiver will have an understanding for the reasons……………….

Yes, after understanding the reasons , if feasible, turn the negative into positive reasons for wanting to live.  Finding out what a person has done in their life could reinforce the reasons to live, i.e., music, travel, pets, family members, etc.   Of course you would want to know if they have a plan and ask if they had tried to commit suicide  in the past.  If they have tried what stopped them.  The very fact that person is talking to you is a reason they want to live and if necessary point that out.

For sure you want to get a commitment from that individual not to carry out  suicide even if it is for a day or less.  For example, if they were planning on using a gun, ask the person to give you the gun. Another example if they were going to turn on the engine in the garage to follow through with suicide ask for the car keys.  So, have a safety plan in place.

Also important have that individual state the reasons they were going to commit suicide and state the safety plan that is in place.  By doing that will reinforce their commitment to stay safe.

After that you would want to have the person connect with people who will be their for them within the safety plan besides yourself;  it could be a trusted family member, therapist, counselor and so on.  In this course, even the person who was playing the part of wanting to commit suicide brought up different emotions.

As a society we need to have more workshops in place and especially in the schools. Our world is experiencing numerous difficulties  and more people will  want to let go of because of pain.  From a spiritual perspective the pain will be carried over into the next world.  Again, that soul will continue to suffer and when reborn will have to experience similar circumstances to learn his or her lesson.

I welcome  your comments.

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