Ask directly if someone seems at risk
Asking about suicide does not plant the idea, and making means harder to reach saves lives.
The number, drawn
More than 720 000 people die by suicide every year
Why it matters
WHO reports that more than 720 000 people die by suicide every year, and that it was the third leading cause of death among 15 to 29 year olds. A review of studies on asking people about suicidal thoughts found that none showed an increase in suicidal ideation afterwards, and that talking about it may reduce distress. WHO's LIVE LIFE guidance lists limiting access to the means of suicide, such as pesticides, firearms and certain medicines, among its key effective interventions.
How to do it
- Ask plainly whether they are thinking about suicide, rather than hinting around it.
- Listen without arguing, minimising or rushing to fix it.
- Help them contact a crisis line, a clinician or emergency services, and offer to stay while they do.
- If you can do it safely, help put time and distance between them and the means of harm: lock up medicines, and ask for any firearm to be removed from the home for now or stored locked and unloaded, with ammunition locked separately. Do not try to take a weapon from them yourself; if they have a firearm within reach and are serious about acting, call emergency services.
- Check back in over the following days rather than treating one conversation as the end.
If someone is in immediate danger, contact local emergency services and stay with them if it is safe for you to do so. This is support, not treatment: professional help is still needed.
Do it
Pick the time you have. Anything beats nothing.
Start with the time you have
1 minute
If safe to talk, ask: "Are you thinking about suicide?" Listen; if danger is immediate, contact emergency services now.
5 minutes
Begin helping them contact a local crisis service, or emergency services if danger is immediate. Stay with them if safe; do not stop at five minutes.
A plan
Connect them with help, then keep in touch
- If safe, ask directly and listen without judgement; immediate danger means contacting emergency services now.
- Help them reach a crisis service or clinician. If you can do it safely, put time and distance between them and dangerous items: lock up medicines, and ask for any firearm to be removed from the home for now or stored locked and unloaded, with ammunition locked separately.
- Once help is connected, agree a next check-in and follow through; keep support shared with professionals and trusted people.
In real life
- Ask directly whether your friend is thinking about suicide, then listen without arguing about how they should feel.
- Offer to stay nearby, if safe, while they contact a crisis service; arrange another check-in after help is in place.
Watch out for
- Common mistakePromising to keep it secret can leave them without help: do not be sworn to secrecy, and bring in a crisis service or someone trusted.
- Common mistakeTrying to take a weapon or manage danger alone puts you both at risk: if they have a firearm within reach and are serious about acting, call emergency services.
Trusted guides
In Austria
In Austria, Telefonseelsorge answers free and confidentially on 142, day and night; its chat is open daily from 16:00 to 23:00.
Telefonseelsorge Österreich checked
In Belgium, call 1813 (Zelfmoordlijn, in Dutch) or 0800 32 123 (Centre de Prévention du Suicide, in French). Both are free, anonymous and open around the clock.
Zelfmoordlijn 1813 checked
In Czechia, call 116 123 (adults) or 116 111 (children and students under 26). Both lines are free and nonstop.
In Germany, TelefonSeelsorge answers free and anonymously, day and night including holidays, on 116 123, 0800 1110111 or 0800 1110222.
TelefonSeelsorge Deutschland checked
In Spain, the 024 line helps people with suicidal thoughts or risk, and their families. It is free, confidential and open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, including by online chat. In an imminent life-threatening emergency, call 112.
Ministerio de Sanidad checked
In the Netherlands, 113 Zelfmoordpreventie answers free on 113, 24 hours a day, and its chat is open day and night. Conversations are anonymous.
113 Zelfmoordpreventie checked
In Poland, call 116 123 (24 hours) or 800 70 2222 (free, 24/7); in an emergency call 112 or 999. Centra Zdrowia Psychicznego help adults free, without a referral, 24 hours a day.
Pacjent.gov.pl checked
In Ukraine, the Public Health Center lists free support lines: 0 800 210 160 (Людина в біді, 24/7), 0 800 600 044 (crisis line of ГО «Дівчата», 9:00 to 21:00) and 0 800 500 225 (national line for children and young people, La Strada Ukraine).
Check usSources
- Evidence grade
- A Meta-analyses of randomised trials, or a major guideline consensus.
- Basis
- WHO LIVE LIFE evidence based interventions, plus a published review finding no study where asking about suicide increased ideation
- The number
- More than 720 000 people die by suicide every year (WHO, 2025)
- Tier 1 guidelineSuicideWHO, 2025
- Tier 2 studyDoes asking about suicide and related behaviours induce suicidal ideation? What is the evidence?Psychological Medicine, via PubMed, 2014
General health information, not a diagnosis or an individual treatment plan. Personalization changes the order of suggestions; it does not assess your medical risks. Follow the cautions and consult a qualified clinician when needed.