A safety plan
A safety plan is something you write for yourself, ahead of a hard moment, so you have it when thinking is difficult. This one is based on the Safety Planning Intervention by Barbara Stanley and Gregory Brown, a method used in suicide prevention. In that method it is usually made together with a clinician. This is a version you make on your own, in your own words, so it is not the same thing and it does not replace a plan made with a professional. If you can, doing it with someone you trust can help. Nothing here is saved anywhere except this device.
If you are in danger right now, do not use this page. Call findahelpline.com (Find a helpline in your country) or your local emergency number.
1. My warning signs
What do you notice in yourself, in your thoughts, your body, or what you are doing, before things get very hard?
2. Things I can do on my own to feel steadier
What has helped, even a little, when you were on your own?
3. People, places and things that take my mind off it
Where could you go, or who could you be around, just to be somewhere else for a while? It does not have to be about how you feel.
4. People I can reach out to
Who could you call or text, even just to talk about something else?
5. Professional and crisis contacts
Free, confidential lines for Worldwide:
- findahelpline.com Find a helpline in your country. Free, confidential lines by country
- Emergency number: your local emergency number
6. Making my space safer
Is there anything near you that could make it easier to act on thoughts of ending your life? You do not have to say what. What could you do to put some distance between you and it, or who could you ask to keep it for a while?
You do not have to do this alone, and you do not have to do it today.
7. Reasons to stay (optional)
Skip this if it is not the right day. What matters to you, or what do you want to still be here for?
Keeping it
Everything you write here is saved only in this browser. We never receive it.
You can download it as an image. The image contains what you wrote, so where you keep it is up to you.
Clearing this browser's data, or using Delete everything on the Memory page, removes the plan. If you want to keep it, download it first. The Memory page can also move it to another device in an encrypted file.
Based on the Safety Planning Intervention: Stanley B, Brown GK. Safety Planning Intervention: A Brief Intervention to Mitigate Suicide Risk. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 2012; 19(2): 256-264. Learn more at suicidesafetyplan.com. Health and Kind is not affiliated with the authors. This is our own wording.