Creating a Safety Plan: A Step-by-Step Guide

A safety plan is a written, personalized document that outlines specific steps to take when you're in crisis or experiencing suicidal thoughts. It's not a contract or a promise. It's a practical tool — a set of instructions written by you, for you, during a calm moment, to guide you through moments when thinking clearly is difficult.

Research shows that safety planning reduces suicidal behavior by approximately 50%. It works because crisis states impair decision-making, and having a pre-made plan removes the need to think clearly at the worst possible time.

If you are currently in crisis, contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline (call or text 988) or go to your nearest emergency room.

How Safety Plans Work

A safety plan follows a step-by-step escalation structure. You begin with step one and move through subsequent steps until the crisis subsides. Each step represents an increasing level of intervention.

Step 1: Recognize Warning Signs

Identify the personal warning signs that indicate a crisis is developing. These are specific to you — the thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and situations that signal you're moving toward a dangerous place.

Thoughts:

• "Everyone would be better off without me"
• "I can't take this anymore"
• "Nothing will ever change"
• "There's no point"

Feelings:

• Hopelessness that feels absolute
• Overwhelming shame or worthlessness
• Numbness after a period of intense distress
• Sudden calm after a long depressive period (can indicate a decision has been made)

Behaviors:

• Withdrawing from everyone
• Increased substance use
• Giving away possessions
• Researching methods
• Suddenly putting affairs in order

Situations:

• Anniversaries of losses
• Conflict with specific people
• Financial crises
• Relapses
• Isolation periods

Write your personal warning signs. The more specific, the better — "when I start canceling all my plans" is more actionable than "when I feel bad."

Step 2: Internal Coping Strategies

List activities you can do on your own — without contacting anyone — that may help reduce the intensity of the crisis. These are distraction and self-soothing techniques:

• Take a walk or run
• Take a cold shower
• Listen to a specific playlist
• Do breathing exercises (4-7-8 technique)
• Watch a favorite comforting show
• Hold an ice cube
• Do intense physical exercise
• Write in a journal
• Practice grounding exercises (5-4-3-2-1)
• Care for a pet

The goal isn't to solve the problem — it's to reduce the acute intensity enough that you can think more clearly.

Step 3: Social Contacts Who Can Distract

List people you can contact and places you can go — not for crisis support specifically, but for distraction, connection, and company. These are people who might not even know you're in crisis:

• Call a friend and talk about anything — sports, movies, their day
• Go to a coffee shop or bookstore
• Visit a family member
• Go to a gym or yoga class
• Attend a recovery meeting

Include specific names and phone numbers. Write them down even if you have them memorized — in crisis, memory is unreliable.

Step 4: People to Ask for Help

List specific people you can tell you're struggling — people who know about your mental health and can provide support:

• Therapist (name, phone number, emergency contact method)
• Sponsor or recovery mentor
• Trusted family member
• Close friend who understands your situation

For each person, write down:

• Their name and phone number
• What you can say: "I'm having a really hard time and I need to talk" or "I'm not safe right now — can you stay on the phone with me?"

Step 5: Professional and Crisis Resources

• 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: Call or text 988
• Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741
• Your therapist's emergency number: **___**
• Your psychiatrist: **___**
• Local emergency room: **___**
• Local crisis center: **___**
• Veterans Crisis Line: 988 (press 1) or text 838255

Step 6: Making the Environment Safe

This step involves reducing access to means, which is one of the most effective suicide prevention strategies:

• Remove or secure firearms (give them to someone else, use a gun lock, store separately from ammunition)
• Remove or secure stockpiles of medication
• Remove access to other means

If you're uncomfortable doing this yourself, ask someone from Step 4 to help. This isn't about permanent changes — it's about creating barriers during vulnerable periods.

How to Use Your Safety Plan

Keep it accessible

Store it:

• As a note on your phone
• A physical card in your wallet
• A document in your home
• Shared with someone you trust

A safety plan you can't find in crisis is useless.

Practice with it

Don't wait for a crisis to try your safety plan. During calm periods, rehearse the steps. Make the phone calls. Try the coping strategies. This builds familiarity so the plan feels automatic when you need it.

Update it regularly

Your warning signs, coping strategies, and support contacts may change over time. Review and update your safety plan with your therapist or on your own at least every few months.

Share it

Give a copy to your therapist, your sponsor, or a trusted friend. They can help you activate the plan when you're too deep in crisis to initiate it yourself.

Safety Planning in Recovery

Recovery involves periods of heightened vulnerability — early sobriety, relapse, milestone anniversaries, exposure to triggers. A safety plan adapted for recovery might include:

• Recovery-specific warning signs: "When I start romanticizing my using days" or "When I stop communicating with my sponsor"
• Recovery coping strategies: Attending a meeting, calling a recovery peer, reading recovery literature
• Recovery-aware contacts: People who understand both your mental health and substance use history
• Substance-specific safety: Removing substances from your environment, avoiding triggering locations

Important Notes

• A safety plan is not a no-suicide contract. Research shows contracts don't work; safety plans do.
• Having a safety plan doesn't mean you'll need it. Think of it like a fire extinguisher — better to have it and never need it than need it and not have it.
• Creating a safety plan doesn't mean you're "too sick" or "dramatic." It means you're taking your wellbeing seriously.
• If you go through all the steps and still feel unsafe, go to an emergency room. That's exactly what they're there for.