How to talk about suicide safely online

Think about the potential impact your post could have on others, such as people in distress or people with personal experience.

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 “Trigger warning – this post discusses suicidal feelings”.

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

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

Try not to speculate about potential changes in suicide rates or the details around someone’s suicide. Remember suicide is complex and caused by lots of different factors so avoid attributing it to a single cause, such as social media or bullying, which could increase the suicide risk of someone experiencing similar issues.

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.

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 iconic place to take your life and can draw vulnerable users to the location.

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

Regularly posting content about suicide can be distressing for others and can affect your own wellbeing.

Sharing unhelpful posts about suicide can help to spread unintentional harmful messages to thousands of people online. Try to only share posts that come from reputable sources that talk about suicide in a safe and sensitive way.

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.