Skip to main content
Samaritans homepage
  • Donate now
  • Contact a Samaritan
Samaritans homepage
  • How we can help
    How we can help
    • Talk to someone
      • On the phone
      • By email
      • Write a letter
      • Find a branch
      • Self-help app
    • If you're having a difficult time
      • Signs you may be struggling to cope
      • Support groups for people bereaved by suicide
      • I want to kill myself
      If you're worried about someone else
      • If you think it's an emergency
      • Supporting someone with suicidal thoughts
      • How to support someone you're worried about
      • In the workplace
      • In schools
      • In prisons
      • In the military
      • In health and care
    • Get support as a key worker from Our Frontline
      Get support as a key worker from Our Frontline
  • Support us
    Support us
    • Volunteer for Samaritans Be there for people who desperately need someone
    • Events and fundraising Take part in an event or fundraise in your own way
    • Donate now Just £5 can fund the cost of a call
    • Online shop Browse our brilliant range of carefully sourced products for every occasion
    • Corporate partnerships There are many ways your company can support our work
    • Leave a gift in your Will You can pass on something wonderful
    • More ways to support us
  • Donate now
  • Contact a Samaritan
  • Home
  • About Samaritans
  • Our policy and research
  • The internet and suicide
  • Online safety resources

How to talk about suicide safely online

Whether it’s on social media, forums, or even in a private chat with friends, the way we talk about suicide online can have an impact on ourselves and others.

Making sure you post safely and responsibly can reduce the risk of suicidal feelings and behaviours in others and encourage people to seek help.

Whether you are trying to raise awareness, you’ve seen something in the media or you’re sharing your personal experience, posting safely can make a difference.

Top tips for talking about suicide safely online

Ask yourself why you are posting

It can be helpful think about your reasons for posting before you share anything. Do you want to raise awareness, or perhaps you’re looking for support?

Posts that are helpful to one user may be distressing to someone else, so it’s useful to think about the potential impact a post could have on people who may be in distress or have personal experience of suicide.

Use a content warning

Some people might be upset by seeing something about suicide online, even if it’s supportive or helpful. Consider putting a note at the beginning of your post explaining that it relates to suicide to let others decide whether they want to look at it. For example, you could write 'Content warning – this post discusses suicidal feelings.'

Use sensitive language

Try to use phrases like ‘ended their own life’, rather than ‘committed suicide’ which can stigmatise suicide or make it sound like a crime. Avoid language that suggests suicide is quick, painless, or a solution to a problem.

Link to available support

Whenever you talk about suicide online, try to include a link or information on available support services, such as Samaritans, and encourage people to reach out for help. Be clear that suicide is preventable, and that support is available.

Don’t speculate about suicide

Try not to speculate about the reasons behind someone feeling suicidal or the details around someone's suicide or death before it has been confirmed by an official source, for example a reliable news website.

It’s important to remember that suicide is complex and caused by lots of different factors. Avoid attributing it to a single cause, such as social media or bullying, which could increase the suicide risk of someone else experiencing similar issues.

You can find more information on the myths about suicide on this page

Be mindful of how you talk about people who have died by suicide

It’s OK to post and share tributes to those who have died, but try to emphasise that their death was preventable, rather than suggesting that the person may have achieved something through suicide, for example they are ‘in a better place’. Posting lots of photos of the person can also make vulnerable people identify with them and consider copying their actions.

Think about how often you post

Regularly posting content about suicide can be distressing for others and can affect your own wellbeing. Remember to take breaks, reach out to people you care about and consider doing offline activities to look after your wellbeing, like going for a walk or having a cup of tea.

Be careful what you repost or share

Sharing unhelpful posts about suicide can help to spread unintentional harmful messages to thousands of people online.

If you're posting about news articles, new research or statistics relating to suicide, try to only share content that comes from a reputable source that talks about suicide in a safe and sensitive way.

Never post details about suicide methods or locations

Posting about methods of suicide can encourage vulnerable users to consider or try it themselves, and it has been linked to increased rates of suicide.

It’s also important not to post about the location where a suicide or suicide attempt took place as it can increase awareness of the place being connected with suicides, contributing to it becoming an commonly used place to take your life and can draw vulnerable users to the location.

You can find more information on safely remembering a friend or family member who has died by suicide on this page

If you see posts with detailed descriptions of methods, you should report it to the site where you saw it

Share messages of hope and recovery

Research has shown that positive stories about people overcoming a crisis and how they have recovered from this can encourage vulnerable people to seek help and is associated with fewer suicides.

Chatsafe, in partnership with Samaritans, have published UK guidance containing tools and tips for young people on communicating safely about suicide online. Find out more on the Chatsafe website.

Visit the the Chatsafe website
  • Call us
  • Write a letter
  • Email us
  • Welsh language
  • Self-help app

Call us

Whatever you're going through, call us free any time, from any phone, on 116 123.

Benefits

  • Free
  • One-to-one
  • Open 24 hours a day

Maybe not if...

  • You have patchy phone signal
  • You prefer to write things down
  • You're looking for advice

Call us any time, day or night 116 123

116 123 Call us any time, day or night
Find out more

Write a letter

Sometimes writing down your thoughts and feelings can help you better understand them.

Benefits

  • Free
  • Time to compose your thoughts
  • Time to reflect between letters

Maybe not if...

  • You need urgent support right now
  • You have no fixed address
  • It's hard for you to post a letter

Write to us

Freepost SAMARITANS LETTERS

Write to us Freepost SAMARITANS LETTERS, , ,
Find out more

Email us

Sometimes writing down your thoughts and feelings can help you understand them better.

Benefits

  • Time to compose your thoughts
  • No need to respond right away
  • Work things through over time

Maybe not if...

  • You need urgent support right now
  • You want to talk things through in one go
  • You want to speak to the same person throughout

[email protected]

Response time: 24 hours

[email protected] Response time: 24 hours
Find out more

Welsh language

If you would like emotional support in Welsh, we have a Welsh Language Line which is free to call. We also have a letter writing service in Welsh.

Call now 0808 164 0123

0808 164 0123 Call now
Find out more

Self-help app

Keep track of how you're feeling, and get recommendations for things you can do to help yourself cope, feel better and stay safe in a crisis

Benefits

  • Free
  • Work things through in your own time
  • You don't need to speak to anyone if you're not ready

Maybe not if...

  • You need urgent help right now
  • You want to speak to a volunteer
  • Your internet connection is unreliable

Try Samaritans Self-Help

Launch the app
Try Samaritans Self-Help Launch the app
Find out more

Reporting worrying content online

A guide on what to do if you see something online about self-harm or suicide that could be upsetting or harmful.

Supporting someone online who might be struggling

A guide on helping someone online who is posting things that worry you.

Sharing your personal experiences of self-harm and suicide online safely

A guide on sharing your experiences safely and finding supportive online communities.

  • Scotland
  • Republic of Ireland
  • Northern Ireland
  • Wales

Some of the content you’re seeing is based on the country you’re browsing from.

How we can help

  • Contact a Samaritan
  • If you're having a difficult time
  • If you're worried about someone else
  • Talk to us on the phone
  • Complaints, concerns and feedback

Support us

  • Volunteer for Samaritans
  • Donate now
  • Online shop
  • Supporter queries
  • Events and fundraising
  • Other ways to support us

Policy and research

  • Our policy and research
  • Suicide facts and figures
  • Campaigns
  • Supporting less well-off, middle-aged men

About Samaritans

  • What we do
  • Jobs
  • Contact us
  • News
  • Our strategy

116 123

Call us free, day or night, 365 days a year

Newsletter

Stay on top of our latest news and updates

Self-help app

Keep track of how you're feeling, and get recommendations for things you can do to help yourself cope, feel better and stay safe in a crisis

  • News
  • Jobs
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Cookies
  • Legal
  • Feedback

Samaritans is a charity registered in England and Wales (219432) and in Scotland (SC040604) and incorporated in England and Wales as a company limited by guarantee (757372). Samaritans Ireland is a charity registered in the Republic of Ireland (20033668) and incorporated in the Republic of Ireland as a company limited by guarantee (450409). Samaritans Enterprises is a private limited company (01451175).