People with suicidal intent often let others know about their thoughts in various ways. behavioural, verbal or non-verbal.

Visual / Behavioural Clues:

• Changes in personality: sad, withdrawn, irritable, anxious, tired, indecisive, apathetic.

• Changes in behaviour: Loss of concentration in everyday work, less energetic, exhausted.

• Changes in sleep pattern: Fatigue, insomnia, frequent nightmares

• Changes in eating habits: Loss of appetite or overeating

• Sudden loss of interest in friends, sex, hobbies or activities previously enjoyed

• Anxiety about money, health or dependant relatives.

• Appearing to be losing control over life, going crazy, harming self or others

• Different from normal ways - easily given to tears or unusually cheerful.

• Undue haste in tidying up pending affairs (making a will, taking out insurance, clearing debts)

Verbal Clues:

• Expressing feelings of loneliness and isolation.

• Describing life or self as worthless, a failure.

• Unable to perceive hope in life - no aspirations about future.

• Expressions of guilt, shame and loss of self-esteem.

• Frequent references to futility of life, death or suicide.

Circumstances

Suicidal risk is greater when an individual is facing unhappy situations such as:

• Recent loss or break-up of a close relationship (death, divorce, separation, quarrels)

• Disappointments in career or financial status (sudden illness, loss of job, failures, debts)

• Perception of being threatened (legal actions, physical attacks)

• Sudden / painful / prolonged / disabling illness (mental or physical)

• Dependency on alcohol or other drugs.

• History of earlier suicidal behaviour.

• History of suicide in family.

Information Courtesy:
Maithri
Suicide Prevention Centre

Maithri, Kochi is a registered non-governmental organisation working for suicide prevention in Kochi (Cochin), Kerala. It operates as part of Maithri Foundation Trust, a registered public charitable trust.

Services offered: Maithri offers emotional support to persons undergoing emotional distress, who may be in imminent danger of taking their own lives. Maithri’s services can be accessed by:

• Personal visits

• Telephone Call

• E mails and letters

The volunteer present at the centre will spend time with the visitor (or the caller) for as long as is desired by him/her. No appointment is needed and no fees are accepted. Anonymity of the person who contacted will be protected. On receiving requests from persons or groups promoting suicide-prevention in Kerala, out-reach programmes are also conducted.

All interactions related to Befriending, including policies regarding confidentiality and anonymity, are governed by Samaritans International's “Eight-point Charter of Befriending.”