After a Suicide Attempt: Next Steps That Help

If you are reading this right after a suicide attempt, or in the days after, I want to say something simple first.

You made it. You are here.

That might not feel like a victory. It might feel embarrassing. Or annoying. Or like you “failed” at something you were trying to do. A lot of people feel that way. But staying alive, even by accident, still counts as being alive. And from here, there actually are next steps that can make things less dangerous and less chaotic.

This is not a “look on the bright side” kind of post. It’s more like a practical list, with a little bit of gentleness. Because the hours and weeks after an attempt can be weird. Your body can feel off. Your brain can feel foggy. People around you might overreact, or underreact, or say the wrong thing. Sometimes everyone is suddenly watching you, and sometimes no one is.

So. Next steps that help. The kind you can do even if you are exhausted.

If you are in danger right now, do the urgent thing first

If you feel like you might attempt again today, or you have a plan and access to what you would use, treat that as an emergency.

• Call your local emergency number, or go to the nearest emergency department.
• If you can’t do that alone, call someone and say, “I’m not safe. I need you with me.”
• If you have taken something, hurt yourself, or you’re not sure whether you need medical care, get checked anyway. Some effects show up later. You don’t have to be “sure enough” to deserve care.

It is completely normal to feel conflicted while you seek help. You can be scared and still go. You can be angry and still go. You can go while thinking, I don’t even know if I want to be saved. That happens.

Step 1: Get medical follow up even if you “feel fine”

After an attempt, a lot of people just want to move on. Pretend it didn’t happen. Get out of the spotlight. Go back to work. Go back to being the one who holds it together.

But your body might need care. And not just for obvious injuries.

Depending on what happened, follow up can include:

• Checking for internal injuries, infection, or complications.
• Lab work if you ingested substances, even if it was “not that much.”
• Medication review if you take prescriptions and something changed.
• Sleep assessment, because sleep disruption after a crisis can push risk up fast.

If you were treated in an emergency setting, ask for a copy of the discharge plan. If you didn’t get one, you can still build your own plan with a primary care clinician, urgent care, or a mental health provider. The goal is not to interrogate you. It’s to reduce the chance of a second crisis.

One small tip. If making appointments feels impossible, ask someone to sit with you while you do it. Or hand them your phone and let them do the clicking while you just answer questions. This is allowed.

Step 2: Make the next 72 hours safer, not perfect

Right after an attempt, your brain might still be in a high risk state even if your mood swings the other way. People sometimes feel oddly calm afterward, like the storm passed. That calm can be dangerous because it can make you think you’re “fine now” when you are actually still vulnerable.

So think short term. Three days. Then one week. You are not solving your whole life here.

Do a quick safety sweep of your environment

This is one of the most helpful and most annoying steps. And yes, it can feel humiliating. But it works.

• Move, lock up, or give away anything you could use to harm yourself.
• If medication was part of the attempt, store meds in a locked box, or have someone else dispense them for now.
• Reduce alcohol or other substances in the home, ideally remove them for a bit. Substance use and suicidal impulses are a brutal combo.
• If you live alone, consider staying with someone or having someone stay with you, even for one night.

This isn’t about proving you can’t be trusted. It’s about reducing “seconds to action.” Most suicidal crises spike and pass. If you can add friction, you buy time. Time is the whole game.

For those with children, it's essential to implement strategies in making your home safe for a suicidal or self-harming child.

Pick two people for a simple check-in plan

Not ten. Two.

Text them something like:

“I’m not doing great. Can you check in with me morning and night for the next few days? Just a quick text is enough.”

If you don’t have two people you trust, pick one. If you don’t have one, this is where hotlines, warm lines, peer support, or local crisis services can stand in. It’s not the same as a friend, I know. But it’s contact. It’s a tether.

Write a tiny “if then” plan

This can be on paper. Notes app. The back of an envelope. Keep it blunt.

• If I start planning, then I will leave the house and go somewhere public.
• If I can’t stop thinking about it, then I will call a crisis line or emergency services.
• If I feel numb and reckless, then I will text my check-in person and say “yellow” or “red.”

Codes help because words get hard in crisis.

In such moments of distress, having a suicide safety plan can significantly help manage the situation better by creating structured responses to various triggers and urges.

Step 3: Expect emotional whiplash, and don’t take it as a sign you’re broken

A lot of people think the days after an attempt should feel like relief, or gratitude, or a sudden new appreciation for life.

Sometimes it does. Often it doesn’t.

You might feel:

• Shame. Like you created a mess.
• Anger. At yourself or at others who “made it a big deal.”
• Fear. That it will happen again.
• Numbness. Like nothing matters either way.
• Grief. For the life you wanted, for what you lost, for how long you’ve been hurting.
• Confusion. Because part of you wanted to live and part of you didn’t.

This is not you being dramatic. It’s your nervous system trying to reorganize after a crisis. Let the feelings come and go without making them a verdict about your future.

One helpful reframe is this: an attempt is often not a desire to die so much as a desire for unbearable pain to stop. The goal now is pain reduction. Load reduction. Not instant happiness.

Step 4: Get a real follow up plan, not just “call a therapist”

“Go to therapy” is good advice in the same way “eat healthy” is good advice. True, and also vague when you can barely get through the day.

Here’s what a more concrete follow up plan can look like.

Start with a suicide specific assessment and safety planning

Some providers use structured approaches that are actually evidence based, like Safety Planning Intervention, CAMS (Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality), or CBT SP (cognitive behavioral therapy for suicide prevention). You do not need to memorize acronyms. The point is: you want someone who can talk about suicidality directly, without flinching or scolding you.

You can ask on the phone:

• “Do you have experience working with people after an attempt?”
• “Do you use a safety plan?”
• “Are you comfortable talking about suicidal thoughts openly?”

A good provider won’t act shocked. They also won’t treat you like a liability checklist.

Consider medication review, but keep it practical

Medication can help, and for some people it is essential. For others it takes a while to find the right fit. After an attempt, it’s especially important to:

• Review side effects, especially agitation, insomnia, or mood swings.
• Ask about safe prescribing quantities if overdose risk is a concern.
• Make a plan for what to do if symptoms worsen.

If you have had bad experiences with meds, say so. If you are scared of being “changed,” say that too. This can be a conversation, not a lecture.

Step up the level of support if needed

Outpatient therapy once a week might be enough. Or it might not.

Other options include:

• Intensive outpatient programs (IOP), often several days a week.
• Partial hospitalization programs (PHP), more hours, more structure.
• Peer support groups, including groups specifically for suicide attempt survivors.
• Case management or social work support, especially if housing, money, or legal stress is part of the crisis.

Needing more support does not mean you are failing. It means you are matching care to risk. Like using crutches while a leg heals.

Step 5: Tell people in a way that protects you

One of the hardest parts is figuring out what to say to family, friends, work, school. Because people ask questions. Or they pretend nothing happened. Or they start treating you like glass.

You get to choose how much you share.

A few scripts that keep it simple:

• To a friend: “I had a mental health crisis and I’m in follow up care. I don’t want to go into details, but I’d like some support.”
• To a manager or teacher: “I had a medical emergency and I’m under care. I may need some flexibility for appointments.”
• To a family member who wants details: “I’m not ready to talk about the whole story. What helps is meals, quiet company, and not being alone at night.”

If someone responds badly, that is information. Painful information, but useful. You can build your circle with people who can handle reality.

Step 6: Watch for common risk bumps in the weeks after

This part matters because risk does not always disappear after the immediate crisis. Sometimes it shifts.

A few things that often raise risk after an attempt:

• Sleep deprivation. This is huge. Protect sleep like it’s medicine.
• Substance use. Even “just to take the edge off.”
• Sudden isolation after the initial attention fades.
• Big consequences. Financial stress, relationship conflict, job issues, school discipline.
• Feeling like a burden because people are worried about you.
• Access returning. Like medications being refilled, or you’re alone again, or old routines come back.

You don’t have to panic about these. Just notice. And plan around them.

A simple check in question to ask yourself daily:

“Am I getting more stuck, more secretive, or more reckless?”

If yes, it’s time to tighten support again. More check ins, more structure, more help.

Step 7: Build a tiny routine that reduces load

After an attempt, “self care” can sound like a joke. Bubble baths are not a treatment plan. But small routines can stabilize your nervous system.

Think basic, almost boring.

• Wake up and sleep at roughly the same time.
• Eat something with protein early in the day.
• Drink water. Yes, really.
• Move your body for 5 to 10 minutes, even if it is a slow walk.
• Get outside once a day, even just to stand near a window or on a porch.
• Limit doom scrolling at night. If you can’t, at least switch to something less activating.

These steps do not solve the root problem. They lower the baseline stress in your body so therapy and support actually have room to work.

Step 8: Work with what triggered it, but gently

At some point, usually after things calm a little, the question shows up.

Why did this happen.

People want a clean reason. One thing. A breakup. A job loss. A fight. A relapse. But usually it’s more like a stack of blocks. One more block, and it fell.

If you can, explore triggers in categories:

• Internal: depression, anxiety, trauma responses, chronic pain, intrusive thoughts, self criticism.
• External: conflict, money, housing, caregiving stress, discrimination, isolation, grief.
• Patterns: perfectionism, people pleasing, shame spirals, substance use, not asking for help.

You are not doing this to blame yourself. You are doing it to find leverage points. Places where a small change can prevent a future crisis.

And sometimes the leverage point is not “think positive.” Sometimes it is “I need different work hours” or “I need to leave this relationship” or “I need treatment for trauma” or “I need help with debt.” Real world stuff.

Step 9: Know what healing can look like, realistically

A lot of people expect a straight line. They expect to feel better and never feel that low again.

But recovery after an attempt is often uneven. Some days you will feel okay. Some days you will feel terrified of your own mind. Some days you will feel nothing. And then one day you will laugh at something dumb, and it will surprise you, and you’ll feel almost guilty. That’s normal too.

A more realistic goal for the first few months is:

• Fewer crises.
• Less intensity when they happen.
• Faster return to baseline.
• More willingness to reach out earlier.
• More distance between thought and action.

That is real progress. It counts.

If you are supporting someone after an attempt

If you are reading this as a friend, partner, parent, sibling, here are a few things that genuinely help:

• Stay calm. You can be scared later. In front of them, calm helps.
• Ask direct questions: “Are you thinking about hurting yourself today?” This does not plant the idea. It opens the door.
• Offer specific help: rides, meals, sitting quietly, making calls, helping with laundry.
• Reduce access in the home without making it a punishment.
• Don’t make them promise never to do it again. Make a plan for what to do if it happens again.
• Take care of yourself too. You need support. This is heavy.

A simple closing thought, because you might need one

After a suicide attempt, people sometimes feel like they have to earn their place back in the world. Like they have to prove they deserve help, or prove they are better now.

You don’t.

The next step is not to become a new person overnight. The next step is to stay alive through the next wave. Then the next one. And to build enough support and friction and care that the waves don’t knock you under so easily.

If you can do one thing after reading this, do this:

Pick one person. Send one text. Make one appointment. Or walk into one clinic.

One step. That’s the whole assignment today.

FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)

What should I do immediately if I feel unsafe or at risk of another suicide attempt?

If you feel like you might attempt again today or have a plan and access to means, treat it as an emergency. Call your local emergency number or go to the nearest emergency department. If you can't do that alone, call someone you trust and say, "I'm not safe. I need you with me." Getting medical care is important even if you're unsure whether it's needed.

Why is it important to get medical follow-up after a suicide attempt even if I feel fine?

After a suicide attempt, your body might need care beyond visible injuries. Medical follow-up can check for internal injuries, infections, complications, and assess any substance ingestion or medication changes. Sleep disruption after a crisis can increase risk, so assessing sleep is also key. Follow-up helps reduce the chance of a second crisis and supports your overall recovery.

How can I make my environment safer in the days following a suicide attempt?

Perform a safety sweep by moving, locking up, or giving away anything you could use to harm yourself. Store medications securely or have someone else dispense them temporarily. Reduce or remove alcohol and other substances from your home since they can worsen suicidal impulses. If you live alone, consider staying with someone or having someone stay with you to add time between impulse and action.

What is a simple way to stay connected with others after a suicide attempt?

Pick two people you trust for simple check-ins—morning and night texts are enough. If you don't have two people, choose one; if none are available, crisis hotlines or peer support services can help provide contact and connection during vulnerable times. This check-in acts as a tether to support and safety.

What is an "if then" safety plan and how can it help after a suicide attempt?

An "if then" safety plan is a brief written guide outlining what to do when certain thoughts or feelings arise—for example: "If I start planning again, then I will leave the house and go somewhere public." It helps create structured responses to triggers and urges, making coping more manageable during moments of distress.

Why might emotions feel unpredictable after a suicide attempt, and how should I interpret this?

Emotional whiplash—rapid mood swings—is common in the days following an attempt due to brain chemistry changes and stress. This doesn't mean you're broken; it's part of the recovery process. Understanding this can help you be gentle with yourself as you navigate these intense feelings.