Suicide Prevention: Warning Signs, How to Help, and Crisis Support in Canada

In this article

If you or someone you know is thinking about suicide, help is available and things can get better. Call or text 9-8-8 anywhere in Canada. Support is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If someone is in immediate danger or needs urgent medical help, call 9-1-1 or go to the nearest emergency department.

Suicide is complex, and there is no single sign, diagnosis, or life event that can predict whether someone will attempt suicide. What matters is taking changes in behaviour, expressions of hopelessness, talk about death or suicide, and other concerning signs seriously—especially when they are new, escalating, or happening during a period of significant distress.

Warning Signs That Someone May Need Help

Warning signs can look different from person to person. They may include:

• talking or writing about wanting to die, suicide, or feeling that life is not worth living;
• expressing hopelessness, feeling trapped, or believing they are a burden to others;
• making a suicide plan or taking steps to prepare for death;
• withdrawing from friends, family, school, work, or activities that used to matter;
• giving away possessions or saying goodbye in an unusual or final-sounding way;
• major changes in sleep, appetite, mood, substance use, or everyday behaviour;
• becoming unusually agitated, reckless, impulsive, or emotionally overwhelmed;
• a sudden and unexplained shift from intense distress to unusual calm after a period of suicidal thinking.

There is no minimum number of warning signs that must be present before you take concern seriously. A single direct statement about suicide, a suicide plan, or behaviour suggesting imminent danger is enough to act.

Ask Directly About Suicide

If you are worried about someone, it is okay to ask directly: “Are you thinking about suicide?” Asking the question does not cause suicidal thoughts or increase someone’s risk. It can create an opening for an honest conversation and help the person feel less alone.

Try to listen without arguing, judging, minimizing, or immediately trying to fix everything. Statements such as “you have so much to live for” may be well-intended but can make a person feel misunderstood. A calmer response is to acknowledge that they are in pain, thank them for telling you, and focus on getting through the immediate period safely.

What to Do If Someone Is at Risk

If someone is thinking about suicide:

• stay with them or help ensure they are not left alone during an immediate crisis;
• call or text 9-8-8 together for guidance and crisis support;
• if there is immediate danger, call 9-1-1 or go to the nearest emergency department;
• help reduce access to lethal means when it is safe to do so;
• involve a trusted family member, friend, caregiver, or health professional when appropriate;
• follow up after the immediate crisis rather than assuming the risk has passed.

If you are unsure how serious the situation is, you do not need to make that judgement alone. A 9-8-8 responder can help you think through the next steps.

Suicide Risk Is Not a Character Flaw

People can experience suicidal thoughts for many reasons, including depression, bipolar disorder, trauma, substance use, chronic pain, relationship breakdown, financial stress, grief, isolation, discrimination, or a combination of factors. Suicidal thinking is not evidence that someone is weak, selfish, or simply unwilling to cope.

Treatment and support depend on the person’s circumstances. Care may involve crisis intervention, psychotherapy, medication, medical treatment, substance-use support, practical assistance, safety planning, social support, or a combination of these approaches.

Getting Ongoing Support

After an immediate crisis, ongoing care can help address the problems contributing to suicidal thoughts and reduce the chance that the person has to manage those problems alone. A family physician, nurse practitioner, psychiatrist, psychologist, Registered Psychotherapist, Registered Social Worker, or other qualified health professional may be part of that support depending on the situation.

Bayridge Counselling Centres provides psychotherapy and counselling across Ontario. Routine psychotherapy is not a substitute for emergency or crisis care, so use 9-8-8 or emergency services when urgent support is needed.

Crisis Resources in Canada

• 9-8-8 Suicide Crisis Helpline: call or text 9-8-8, 24/7, anywhere in Canada.
• Immediate danger or urgent medical emergency: call 9-1-1 or go to the nearest emergency department.
• Kids Help Phone: call 1-800-668-6868 or text CONNECT to 686868 for youth and young adults in Canada.

If you are reading this because you are thinking about suicide, you do not need to decide what the rest of your life will look like right now. Focus on getting through the immediate moment safely and connect with someone who can stay with you through it.