What Is Suicidal Ideation and What Can You Do About It?
If you’ve ever wondered, “What is suicidal ideation?” or “How do I talk with my kid about teenage suicidal thoughts?” you’ve come to the right place. We’ve put together answers, suggestions, and other key resources to help your family navigate this difficult issue.
Suicide is the 2nd-leading cause of death for high school-aged youth.
What Is Suicidal Ideation?
Suicidal ideation means thinking about — or planning to die by — suicide. Teenage suicidal thoughts are more common than you might think, so it’s important to learn how to recognize warning signs and know what to do if a child needs support.
Warning Signs
Here are some things to watch for:
- Talking about suicide or a sudden interest in death
- Reported feelings of hopelessness, worthlessness, or deep depression
- Risk-seeking or destructive behavior
- Acting out of character
- Loss of interest in valued activities
- Reaching out to important people in one’s life
- Giving away prized possessions
- Previous suicide attempts
- A sudden, positive change in mood
Treatment & Recovery
Managing recovery:
- Spend time doing things you love
- Have a support network in place
- In most cases, medical treatment may be appropriate
Supporting recovery:
- Resist the myths and stigmas that make recovery more challenging
- Be prepared to listen
- Make future plans with a person who is struggling
- Take care of your own mental health as you are helping someone who is suicidal
4 out of 5 teens who attempt suicide have given clear warning signs.
Resources for Helping Someone Who Is Suicidal
How to Talk With Your Child About Suicide
It’s important to show your kid that they can come to you if they’re struggling. This blog post can help you kick off this necessary conversation.
Top 10 Resources for Suicide Prevention
You can find hotlines, text lines, statistics, and more to support your family and loved ones with these organizations and resources.
A Resource Guide for Families
This guide contains warning signs, expert advice, and resources for helping parents and kids handle the complex issue of suicide.
FAQs About Suicide
Suicidal ideation is having thoughts about dying by suicide. A person may or may not have actual plans for the act itself. It can manifest as a desire to no longer be alive.
If you're feeling suicidal, tell someone you trust immediately. If you're under 18, be sure to confide in an adult who can help. If you don't know of anyone you can talk to IRL, you can text HOME to 741741 for help from the Crisis Text Line or call the 988 Lifeline.
If you believe their life to be in danger, please get them help immediately. If they have a therapist, help them reach out to that mental health professional for urgent support. If they need medical attention, you can help them get to the hospital.
You can also support them by listening carefully to feelings they want to share, making fun plans for the future, and letting them know they can talk to you any time they're in crisis.
The 988 Lifeline provides 24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources.
Here are some things to watch for:
- Talking about suicide or a sudden interest in death
- Reported feelings of hopelessness, worthlessness, or deep depression
- Risk-seeking or destructive behavior
- Acting out of character
- Loss of interest in valued activities
- Reaching out to important people in one’s life
- Giving away prized possessions
- Previous suicide attempts
- A sudden, positive change in mood
You can receive 24/7 free support by calling the 988 Lifeline.
How Bark Can Help
At Bark, we know first-hand just how urgent it is to offer support and guidance to help identify teenage suicidal thoughts and get kids the help they need. The issue can seem difficult to grasp, but every statistic represents real people who need help:
- In 2021, 43.09% of tweens and 74.61% of teens were involved in a self-harm/suicidal situation.
- The top 5 social platforms Bark flagged for suicidal ideation in 2021 were: Discord, Reddit, Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok.
We help families by sending parents an alert if their kid’s online activities indicate they may be experiencing suicidal ideation.
42% of LGBTQ kids ages 13–17 have seriously considered suicide in the last year.
Teenage Suicidal Thoughts and Tech Use
In this clip from Childhood 2.0, kids discuss their mental health and how technology can influence that.
The Tools to Reach Out
“Thank you! I can’t explain how grateful I am to Bark for the self-harm/suicide notification. My son googled the suicide prevention hotline number to give to a friend that was struggling. Because of Bark, it opened up a line of communication with him. We were able to talk through it and I could provide him with the tools to reach out and help his friend.”
—Bark parent
