World Suicide Prevention Day: Please Stay

Today, 10 September, is World Suicide Prevention Day. I wanted to write something simple for anyone who may be struggling. Not a list of statistics. Not a lecture about mental health. Just this:

Please stay.

If life feels unbearable right now, you may not be able to imagine things changing. You may feel exhausted, trapped, ashamed, frightened or convinced that other people would be better off without you.

But the way you feel in this moment does not necessarily tell you how you will feel tomorrow, next week or six months from now.

BACP notes that suicidal thoughts and feelings can change from moment to moment. They can feel frighteningly convincing while they are happening, but they are not always permanent. That matters.

Ben West and the Reason to Stay

Ben West became a mental-health campaigner after his younger brother Sam died by suicide in 2018, aged just 15. Sam had been struggling with depression, but he had also been trying to help other people feel less alone.

After losing him, Ben made a decision to turn something devastating into action.

His work has since reached millions of people, and in 2026 he launched Reasons to Stay, a suicide-prevention project built around a very simple idea: sometimes a person in crisis needs an interruption to the thoughts telling them there is no way forward.

People from around the world write messages to strangers who may be thinking about suicide. Messages of warmth. Connection. Hope. A reminder that somebody, somewhere, wants them to stay. I think there is something incredibly powerful about that.

You Do Not Need to Solve Your Whole Life Today

When somebody feels suicidal, the future can become very small. Everything can feel permanent.

The relationship will never recover.

The grief will never ease.

The debt will never be sorted.

The anxiety will never stop.

The loneliness will always feel this bad.

But you do not have to solve the rest of your life tonight. You only need to get through this part. Perhaps that means getting through the next hour. Perhaps it means sitting beside somebody. Making one phone call. Sending one message. Walking into A&E.

Calling Samaritans and saying:

“I don't know what to do anymore.”

You don't have to know what happens after that. Let somebody help you with the next step.

Tell Someone What Is Really Happening

Samaritans says that only 45% of people feel comfortable talking to family or friends about suicidal thoughts. That means a lot of people are carrying enormous pain privately.

You may have become very good at saying:"I'm fine." You may still be going to work. Making jokes. Looking after other people. Replying to messages. Nobody around you may realise how bad things have become. Please consider telling one person.

You don't need a speech.

You could say:

“I'm not safe on my own tonight.”

“I've been thinking about suicide.”

“I'm frightened about what I might do.”

“I need somebody to stay with me.”

Those are difficult words to say. But somebody cannot support what they do not know about.

You Are Not a Burden

One of the painful thoughts that can accompany suicidal feelings is the belief that other people would be better off without you. That you have become too difficult. Too complicated. Too much work. Please be very careful about trusting that thought.

When we are overwhelmed, our mind does not always give us a fair or accurate picture of ourselves. Needing help does not make you a burden. It means you need help. There is a difference.

If Someone Comes to Mind While You Read This, Contact Them

World Suicide Prevention Day is also about the people around us. Maybe somebody has been quieter than usual. Maybe a relationship has ended. They have lost their job. Someone has died. They are drinking more. They keep saying they are exhausted or that everyone would be better off without them. You do not need to know whether somebody is suicidal before checking in. Ask them.

And if you are genuinely worried, it is okay to be direct:

“Are you thinking about suicide?”

Asking does not put the idea into somebody's head. Samaritans actively encourages people to talk openly about suicidal thoughts because giving somebody the opportunity to speak can help them access support.

There Can Be Another Version of This Story

I think this is what stays with me about Ben West's work. He cannot change what happened to Sam. Nothing makes that loss okay. But the story did not end there. Something grew from it that has helped other people stay alive.

If you are struggling today, you do not need to know what the next chapter of your own life looks like. You may not even believe there is one. For now, that is okay. Let somebody else hold a little of that hope for you.

A friend.

A partner.

A family member.

A counsellor.

A doctor.

A stranger answering the phone at Samaritans.

You don't need to feel hopeful before you ask for help. Sometimes the help comes first. The hope can follow.

World Suicide Prevention Day: Please Stay

If you remember nothing else from this article, remember this:

Please don't make an irreversible decision during a moment that may change.

Tell somebody.

Let somebody sit with you.

Move away from anything you could use to hurt yourself.

Get somewhere safer.

Make the call.

Send the text.

Go to A&E.

You do not have to explain everything perfectly. You only have to begin.

If You Need Help Now

If you believe you may act on suicidal thoughts or cannot keep yourself safe, call 999 or go to your nearest A&E department now.

Samaritans — 116 123

Free, day or night, 365 days a year.

Shout — text SHOUT to 85258

Free, confidential crisis support by text.

You can also contact NHS 111 for urgent mental-health support, speak with your GP, or ask somebody you trust to stay with you while you get help.

You do not have to deal with this alone.

About the Author

Written by Paul Madden BA, MBACP (Accred)

BACP Accredited Counsellor and Psychotherapist

Paul Madden has more than 20 years' experience across counselling, bereavement support, hospice care, sexual health and LGBT+ services. He provides confidential counselling for adults from his private practice in Ashford, Kent, as well as online and telephone counselling.

Published: 10 September 2026