It only takes one conversation to save a life. One life lost is one too many, because EVERY life matters.
Warning: the following content contains a non-specific recount of my experience with a patient who had thoughts regarding suicide.
A number of years ago, one of my patients disclosed her plan to commit suicide. She said her psychologist wasn’t aware, and that I was the only person she had told. I hadn’t dealt with this situation before, I didn’t know exactly what to say, I just followed my instincts: I listened to her, told her and showed her that I care, and advised I would inform her psychologist.
Thankfully, my patient is still with us and she repeatedly thanks me for the life saving conversation we had that day.
After that experience, I decided to undertake further training in how to identify early warning signs to suicide, which has helped me open many more of these conversations and help them get the support they need at an earlier stage. I encourage every person to undertake suicide prevention training, which equips you with the skills and confidence to have a life saving conversation.
It only takes one conversation to save a life.
One life lost is one too many, because every life matters.