Logos of SAMH. Scottish Action for Mental health and Sam's Fife. Mental health peer support.
Text states. The thing with suicidal thoughts is a person often focuses on current, past and possible future issues...all at once in an exhausting cycle that constantly spins. Distract, self-soothe, write thoughts then close the page, talk, phone a support line, music, text. Create distance from the thoughts...deep breaths, self-care, safety.
Infographic with picture of an arrow, stars, a ribbon with the word hope underneath. The text states, people can talk about suicidal thoughts at Sam's. peer conversations are a safe space to access support and discuss safety.
Infographic with picture of an arrow, stars, a ribbon with the word hope underneath. The text states. Sam's will offer you time, safe space, compassion. Sam's is here so people don't have to cope alone with thoughts of suicide. I have had suicidal thoughts and recovered (Sam's Peer)

You deserve support, you do not have to go through this alone...no one needs to go through suicidal thoughts alone. Connect with someone, a support line, a text, an email...

 

You can connect with Sam's Fife, many of the team have been through suicidal thoughts on their mental health journey and know from experience how important it is to get a connection. Our support is relaxed, meaningful and values you for you.

 

There is no appointment needed, you can visit Sam's Fife when you feel ready at a time convenient for yourself. The time for support is flexible and will be guided by you.The flexibility of Sam's Fife means that you can attend another day that we are open.

 

 We also have our phone numbers that you can call for information or to let us know that you are attending. 

 

'I had reached a point where I was lost to the absolute murk of constant suicidal thinking. My days were filled with anxiety, guilt and avoidance of day to day life. I came close to ending my life.

 

A gentleman talked to me through the absolute mist of my suicidal thinking, not a nurse, doctor, psychiatrist...plainly a man that was out for a walk in a park. He took the time to sit with me on a park bench in early afternoon and listened. He was there when I really needed someone to be there. Something began to change that day'  (Sam's Fife Team Member)

 

At Sam's Fife we are here for you.

Infographic with picture of two people sitting on chairs facing each other, the text underneath states time. space. compassion. text states. Sam's Fife is hope. (Sam's Fife Peer)

You probably don't realise it just now but you are stronger, much stronger than people who have not had your journey. How could they even begin to know what you have been through, to get to the point of reading this story, this website? They can't and I hope they never have to.

 

Doesn't change where you are at just now though. You don't have to explain things to yourself just now, it doesn't have to make logical sense all of a sudden. What you have to do at the moment is look out for yourself. Keep yourself safe for the next short while, whether a minute, an hour a day...no long term thinking just now...short term only.

 

You can do this, you can do things to keep safe just now. It can be understandable that thoughts may be racing, you may think you are up a cul de sac with no return but it simply isn't true. There is always hope, hope to keep going. Suicide is not the answer, let me say that again...suicide is not the answer.

 

 It may feel like there is no way out of the thoughts but there is, there is always help available 24hours a day...Samaritans are 24hrs, NHS24 service is twenty four hours, Sam's Fife is open Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, Mondays and in emergency there is always 999.

 

Distract yourself as much as you can...music, eat, have a cup of tea, phone someone, email someone, text someone...I could do a whole list of things but what I would say is keep the things small and manageable. You only need to concentrate on 5 minutes at a time. Stick with it,

 

Remember the thoughts of suicide are thoughts...you do not have to act on them. Seek support, help and look after yourself.

 

There are links to supports on this page.

Breathe...be here now

Infograhic with picture of an arrow, a ribbon with the word hope underneath. Text states. Talking to peer who can offer understanding, hope and strategies for safety, can help people when experiencing suicidal thoughts. At Sam's we know the journey and can help.
Infographic with text stating. Samaritans. Call free day or night on 116 123. Email jo@samaritans.org samaritans.org a registered charity.
Infographic with text stating. Call breathing space on 0800 83 85 87. to talk about what you're going through,
Picture of a person looking at their mobile phone. Text states. Shout text service. feeling stressed or worried? start a conversation with us. Text Fife to 85258. Free confidential support 24/7.
Infographic of outline of a picture of a person, holding their heart. The text states. Self-soothe, try to get distance away from fears by distracting and consider accessing supportive conversations.
Infographic states calm with animated picture of person sitting with a heart on their chest area. Picture of an arrow. Picture of a cup, with a napkin underneath. The writing on the napkin states. self care.
Infographic states calm with animated picture of person sitting with a heart on their chest area. Picture of an arrow. Picture of headphones, a mobile phone and music notes.
Infographic states calm with animated picture of person sitting with a heart on their chest area. Picture of an arrow. Picture of a person holding a television remote control, holding a snack with television on in front of them.
Infographic states calm with animated picture of person sitting with a heart on their chest area. Picture of an arrow. Picture of a person's hands holding a mobile phone texting.
Infographic states calm with animated picture of person sitting with a heart on their chest area. A picture of an arrow. Picture of a bed, chair, lamp, bedside unit and framed picture on wall.
Infographic states calm with animated picture of person sitting with a heart on their chest area. Picture of an arrow. Picture of a person drawing in paper with numerous pens and pencils on the table.
Infographic states calm with animated picture of person sitting with a heart on their chest area. Picture of an arrow. Picture of flowers.
Infographic states calm with animated picture of person sitting with a heart on their chest area. Picture of an arrow. Picture of fruit and vegetables on plates.
Infographic states calm with animated picture of person sitting with a heart on their chest area. Picture of an arrow. Picture of books on a table in a library.
Infographic with art work of two outlines of people thinking. Question marks. The text states. thinking about attending a Sam's? Our FAQ webpage has frequently asked questions with answers.
Infographic. With a picture of the outline of a person opening a door. A picture of a a-frame noticeboard with text stating. Sam's. Open. mental health. support. There is a picture of an outline of a cup. The text states. Thinking about attending a Sam's? You will be offered a hello and welcomed into Sam's by a peer worker who understands what it is like to seek support. Offered a hot drink and a gentle conversation.
Article with picture of sky with the text. Finding Hope. by 90's mixtape. Text states. n the darkness of clouded thoughts, it can be challenging to find a glimmer of hope. Yet, the universe is indeed a large place for hope to exist. This then invites the question of where hope arises? It is quite a challenging question to explore, as everyone’s journey into hope is different. I can reflect on my own journey towards hope and share within this article aspects of my own experiences. There is not an expert as such on hope however it can be stated it is stitched into the very fabric of the history of the world. There is hope expressed and known within the literature, media and conversations of experience shared within communities. The institutions of society hold hope for people within cultures...again through role models, literature and leadership. The routes through challenging experiences can often be signposted with hope. Perhaps hope is within one’s backpack which is carried along life’s journeys. A purpose in life can be suggested as...searching for hope within the darkest corners of the backpack. I have experienced times where the darkness of mental ill health has enveloped me in a harsh wrap of challenging thoughts, unhelpful moods, loss of purpose and meaning in my day-to-day vibe. Alongside this the practicalities of each day can be lost to inaction. Home can become less cleaned, more cluttered...self becomes less groomed and less cared for.
Article with picture of sky at bottom of page. Text states. This is my own experience and I am aware through conversations of experience with others, that it is very common. Yet, I had a sense of hope which is quite challenging to understand. I describe this as my perspective...even although there was so much challenge in my day-to-day, I was hopeful it could change. For myself it was not a comfortable thought as it appeared more easy somehow to travel along with the mental ill health as my only identity. Indeed the world offers hope in the shape of nature. Nature as a constant...moves ever forward evolving, developing and indeed flourishing throughout the different seasons of each year. There is a sense of constant...as nature has always been present, it has been part of the ongoing history of the world. Everything is embraced by nature. To-be-sure no matter how much cement is laid on the ground one may see a plant reaching out from the most tiny of cement cracks or a bird nesting within the corner of a high located roof. I would suggest connecting with nature to support wellbeing. A walk in nature can often offer a new perspective, distract from challenging thoughts and offer a way of grounding oneself. Relaxation is perhaps more difficult to achieve when sat within four walls however the expanse of a landscape means there is more opportunity to explore, distract and take notice of... Indeed a space to find hope.
Article. Picture of crumpled paper at bottom of page. Title states. Adapting my safe plan. by Sam's peer. Text states. y safe plan has changed dramatically in recent times, my anchors that grounded me and the reasoning for keeping safe and gave me meaning and purpose had changed. It was hard to adjust, course it was. I was navigating something completely overwhelming and my safety measures was no longer here – yet, I still am. Even when I didn’t think I would be. I adjusted what was important to me in these moments and honestly, it was just getting out of bed – that was my goal ultimately. I had to break my days down to each hour and at times in periods of minutes. I never thought I would be “back there” in that place where I was hopeless. I have experienced my mental health journey for as long as I can remember and at times often felt hopeless, sometimes this feeling was worse than others and I wished I could try to find the words to explain how exhausting and overwhelming it is, I don’t have a word that covers it though. This is when it is important that I do adjust my goals, adjust my safe plan and get through the day, or the hour, or the next five minutes. I get out of my bed. That’s the start for myself because I know when I stay in bed for prolonged periods of times it can feel like its sinking around me and I struggle to fight my way out. I have that insight now though and that didn’t happen overnight either. (I’m not saying that everyone needs to get out of bed and get on with the day – some days people need to relax, have an early night, have a long lie or have a duvet day – all of which is okay!) It’s about knowing what works for each and every individual and when this works/doesn’t work. Everybody is different.
Article with highlighted area. Text states. I try to challenge negative thoughts and thinking which can be really challenging at the best of times but even more so when I have been feeling hopeless. Text states. Again, this is something I have been able to learn over time and have found ways to do it for myself and continue to learn ways. Everyone is different and it’s about finding ways that work. Some suggestions given to me was starting with self-care and self-compassion which in turn makes it somewhat easier to then challenge. I use what I call a prompt card and keep this in the back of my phone case so it’s usually nearby me. I’ve known people to keep them in purses, wallets, on their coffee table or by a mirror. I used to have a message to myself explaining that it is ok if I feel overwhelmed, I am a good person and allowed to feel safe and had a grounding technique to bring me back to a sense of feeling safe and looking after me. Another suggestion was doing something I enjoy – an old hobby for example. This felt really out of my comfort zone because for myself it was playing football something I hadn’t really done since school. It turns out there is things available in the community to reach out to and this was something I tried. It was daunting and at times still is but I think about the feeling after it when I walk off feeling that I have accomplished something (I’m not meaning accomplishing player of the year award – I mean, I got out of my bed). These things top up my battery essentially making me feel somewhat good about myself for getting out of my bed. The negative thoughts can still be there even throughout self-care activities but I am distracting with a healthy coping strategy in that moment. I think for myself to challenge these thoughts I had to get better at self-compassion. It can be a vicious cycle. The negative thoughts made me feel worse about myself (when I was already not feeling too great about myself) which alongside the different stressors ongoing I felt extremely overwhelmed and that’s when that sense of hopelessness increased. Which in turn increased the negative thoughts and less compassion for myself and this used to go on for long periods to the point I considered there was no hope in moving forward.
Article with a picture of person looking out window at the sky, a pile of note paper and a person looking at sky with both arms lifted above person's head at the side. Text states. This brings me back to my safe plan adjusting, I found part of my safe plan was having somewhat of a routine that was important to me – starting with (can guess by now…) getting out of my bed. Part of this was planning for the day ahead, this could be quite tricky not knowing what would lie ahead of me that day. Quite often it was work, I would even break my work day down in to two parts – before my lunch break and after. When I wasn’t at work, breaking it down in to hours (sometimes I would do this at work too). I sometimes would grab a bit paper and scribble down what I wanted to get from the day or anything that I felt I was wanting to or need to attend to – sometimes writing things down helped to give me the structure when I felt I was lacking it. I sought appropriate support, something I struggle with at times as I always felt it was just me and I had to get on with it without having to bother people. Ultimately the support is there to be used in a meaningful way – professionals, friends, family and even the dog. Speaking doesn’t necessarily take it away but it meant I didn’t have to sit with it all so intensely.
Article with a picture of wooden squares with the word self care across them. A picture of a signpost with the words help. support, service. guidance. assistance. advice. on signs. Text states. Lastly, self-care and going easy on myself. Telling myself I am doing okay, feelings of hopelessness has passed before and will again. The difference is I was equipped with coping strategies I had learned since the times before to navigate this. I’ve got this, I have hope. I could go on and write loads of different suggestions that may or may not work for people but it is about finding the coping strategies that are meaningful to someone. Sometimes, it starts with getting out my bed and saying to myself I’m proud of that. It can be challenging finding the right support at the right time especially when people can come across barriers with this. Something I found on my journey is that the help is there, and was about using this help to reduce the intensity to find manageable ways to move forward for myself. If not knowing where to go seems so overwhelming, please consider accessing Sams Fife where the team can support in the here and now and can also raise awareness of specific supports in the community that may be a consideration.
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