No one should face mental health challenges alone. Whether you’re navigating your own feelings of depression and suicidal thoughts, or supporting someone you care about, it’s vital to remember: suicide is preventable, and compassionate help is always within reach.

Suicide Prevention Month, observed every September, offers a powerful opportunity to spark conversations about emotional well-being, recognize the warning signs, and connect with life-saving resources. It’s also a reminder that seeking help is a sign of strength: never too early or too late.

Below, we explore how greater awareness, open dialogue, and professional guidance, like the care offered by GoodTherapy’s network of expert therapists, can make a meaningful difference. If you or someone you love needs help, know that hope and healing are possible, and x is available.

What Is Suicide Prevention?

Suicide rates have increased in recent years, with men and non-Hispanic white individuals being the two demographics most greatly affected. But suicide’s impact reaches far beyond statistics; it touches families, friends, and entire communities.

With more than 49,000 lives lost to suicide in 2023 in the U.S., it’s clear that raising awareness about prevention is essential for everyone, not just those living with mental health challenges but also those who care about them.

Suicide Prevention Month is an opportunity for all of us to come together, foster hope, and remind one another that reaching out for support is a sign of strength. Whether you’re navigating your own emotional wellness, supporting a loved one, or advocating for mental health in your community, your efforts can help save lives. By learning, sharing, and opening up the conversation, we can all play a part in preventing suicide and building a more compassionate future.

Warning Signs to Watch for

Recognizing the warning signs of suicide is a powerful way to support yourself and those around you. By learning what to look for, you can help break the silence and connect someone with the help they deserve. If you or someone you care about is experiencing any of the following, reaching out to a mental health professional is an important step towards healing:

• Talking about wanting to die, expressing overwhelming guilt or shame, or feeling like a burden
• Feeling hopeless, deeply sad, trapped, or unable to find meaning in life
• Experiencing intense emotional or physical pain
• Noticeable changes in behavior, such as searching for ways to die, withdrawing from loved ones, or settling affairs
• Acting impulsively or engaging in risky behaviors
• Increasing use of alcohol or drugs

It’s natural to feel uneasy or even ashamed when facing these concerns, but opening up about suicide and mental health is an act of courage. Each conversation, every acknowledgment of a warning sign, and every step toward professional support helps reduce stigma and can truly save lives. Remember, reaching out is a sign of strength, and you’re not alone.

Read More: Curious If It’s Time to Seek Help? Start Here

Making a Difference: How Spreading Awareness Saves Lives

By taking the time to educate yourself about suicide prevention, you’re already playing a crucial role in saving lives. Awareness is powerful, but your impact doesn’t have to stop here. There are evidence-based ways we can all contribute to suicide prevention and foster hope in our communities, whether you’re a provider, educator, or just simply someone drawn to the cause:

1. Building Community Connections

   Prevention starts with connection. Supporting friends, family, and coworkers (while encouraging open, stigma-free conversations) can make a life-changing difference. Community-based programs are proven to help individuals going through mental health crisis, and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has state-specific community programs you or a loved one can explore. 

2. Reducing Access to Lethal Means
   
   Limiting access to fatal means of suicide is a proven step to help keep people safe. Firearms and some medications (when taken at a high dose) are two of the most common means you can remove from your home or community space to protect loved ones.

3. Expanding Access to Care
   

   Ensuring that mental health treatment and crisis resources are available and accessible is essential. Supporting policies and services that integrate suicide prevention into healthcare settings helps more people get the help they deserve when they need it most. 

4. Advancing Knowledge by Encouraging Research
   

   Reliable, timely data helps us make informed decisions about suicide prevention strategies. By supporting efforts to improve research and quality improvement through donations, supporting non-profits like the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), and supporting legislative action, we can better understand how to support those at risk and measure our progress as a society.

5. Promoting Health Equity
   

   Certain groups face higher risks due to systemic inequalities. Whether you’re a healthcare professional, educator, or are aware of the issues but don’t have direct exposure to system inequalities, you have the power to make change. Working to remove barriers to support and championing an equitable, culturally informed approach helps ensure everyone has access to the care and understanding they need.

Taking action can feel daunting, but every small step counts. Start by having honest conversations about mental health, sharing helpful resources, and using respectful language when discussing suicide. Even simple acts of support can open the door to hope and healing.

To learn more about how you can make a positive impact, check out SAMHSA’s Suicide Prevention Digital Toolkit and the Suicide Prevention Resource Center. Every effort, no matter how big or small, brings us closer to a world where fewer lives are lost to suicide.

Read More: Review Tips on How to Talk About Suicidal Thoughts

How GoodTherapy Can Help

Seeking support from a compassionate, expert professional is a significant step in breaking mental health stigmas and helping you, or a loved one, get the care they deserve. Whether you’re seeking a therapist for your child, are looking for a culturally competent therapist who understands your cultural experiences, or simply want to understand different therapy approaches, GoodTherapy has resources for you.

Mental health touches every corner of the globe, affecting individuals and communities alike. But through therapy and evidence-based strategies, we can all make a difference. Each of us has the power to help save lives by raising awareness, reaching out, and making support more accessible. We can take vital steps toward preventing suicide and building a more compassionate world for everyone. 

How Will You Recognize Suicide Prevention Month?

Finding the right counseling services is an essential step in suicide prevention, and GoodTherapy makes it easier to connect with professionals who can help. If you or someone you know is struggling or having thoughts of suicide, call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. 

Resources:

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration: Suicide Prevention Month

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Suicide Prevention: Suicide Data and Statistics

National Institute of Mental Health: Warning Signs of Suicide

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: 2024 National Strategy for Suicide Prevention

SAMHSA: Suicide Prevention Toolkit

SAMHSA: Suicide Prevention Resource Center

American Foundation for Suicide Prevention

SAMHSA: Reduce Access to Means of Suicide

SAMHSA: States and Territories

American Foundation of Suicide Prevention

American Foundation of Suicide Prevention: Suicide Statistics

Many people believe that unstable relationships stem from “bad choices” in partners or needing to “calm down” and “be more mature.” However, the reality is much more complex. If you’re struggling with abandonment wounds, the challenges are not about a lack of willpower or a character flaw. Instead, they are about how your brain and nervous system are influenced by your past experiences. These wounds often lead to emotional dysregulation and can deeply impact your relationships. The good news is that therapies like DBT and Schema Therapy can help heal abandonment wounds and create healthier, more stable bonds.

Emotional Dysregulation & Relationship Dynamics

If you’ve had difficult past experiences, your nervous system may react more quickly and intensely to perceived threats in close relationships. When you feel “triggered,” it becomes harder to communicate clearly, calmly, and effectively. This is known as emotional dysregulation. Learn more about emotional regulation.

See also: How Emotional Stonewalling Can Be Damaging

How Schemas Reinforce Abandonment Wounds

Schemas are deep-rooted core beliefs shaped by childhood experiences. For example, if you ever felt abandoned or couldn’t consistently rely on a caregiver, you may have developed the belief that abandonment is inevitable. In adult life, this can make rejection feel like it’s just around the corner, even when it’s not.

When schemas are triggered, you might react strongly out of fear or anger and later regret your actions (Kover et al., 2024).

This often leads to a push-pull dynamic: craving closeness one moment, then withdrawing or lashing out the next.

Further reading on GoodTherapy:

• Relational Hurt or Attachment Injury? How to Tell the Difference
• Attachment as Defense: How Trauma Shapes the Self
• Own the Inner Child: Breaking Free of Anxious Attachment
• Read more on healing abandonment wounds.

How DBT Helps Heal Abandonment Wounds

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) was originally created for people who feel emotions more intensely than others. DBT doesn’t ask you to stop feeling deeply, it gives you tools to handle big emotions without letting them damage your relationships.

For instance, if your partner doesn’t text back for a few hours, fear of abandonment might trigger panic: “They’re leaving me. They don’t care about me.” Without skills, that panic could lead to emotional suffering, angry texts, or shutting down. DBT teaches you to:

• Notice the rising emotion before it takes over.
• Use grounding and distress tolerance skills to calm your nervous system.
• Respond mindfully instead of impulsively.

Over time, DBT skills break the cycle of highs and lows, helping relationships feel steadier (Linehan, 2015).

Explore more about DBT

Related GoodTherapy articles:

• Empathic Curiosity: How DBT Builds Better Relationships
• How DBT Can Improve Your Communication Outcomes
• Interpersonal Effectiveness in Dialectical Behavior Therapy.

How Schema Therapy Transforms Abandonment Beliefs

Schema Therapy goes deeper by addressing why abandonment fears and rejection sensitivities exist. Schemas act as emotional blueprints formed in childhood, often running unconsciously in relationships.

Take the Abandonment Schema: If early experiences taught you love wasn’t reliable, you may live with a constant fear of being left. Even small signals, like a partner being quiet, can feel like “proof” of rejection.

Schema Therapy helps by:

• Identifying old patterns that keep getting triggered.
• Re-parenting the wounded inner self.
• Practicing healthier ways of relating, such as expressing needs clearly.

Instead of thinking, “If I tell them I’m scared, they’ll leave,” you might learn to say, “When you don’t text back, I feel anxious and worry I might lose you. Can you reassure me?” This invites intimacy instead of conflict.

Schema Therapy is especially effective for abandonment fears and personality-related struggles (Young, Klosko, & Weishaar, 2003).

Learn more about Schema Therapy.

The Bottom Line: Healing Abandonment Wounds is Possible

If your relationships feel like a rollercoaster, it doesn’t mean you’re broken. It means your nervous system and old patterns are working overtime to protect you, sometimes in ways that backfire. With DBT, you can regulate intense emotions in the moment. With Schema Therapy, you can transform the deeper wounds fueling abandonment fears.

Stable, fulfilling relationships are possible. The right therapy provides tools, practice, and support to make healing abandonment wounds a reality.

References

• Kover, L., Pilkington, P. D., & D’Rozario, D. (2024). The association between early maladaptive schemas and relationship satisfaction: A dyadic analysis. Frontiers in Psychology, 15, 1460723. DOI: 3389/fpsyg.2024.1460723
• Linehan, M. M. (2015). DBT® Skills Training Manual (2nd ed.). Guilford Press. View Book
• Young, J. E., Klosko, J. S., & Weishaar, M. E. (2003). Schema Therapy: A Practitioner’s Guide. Guilford Press. View Book

Finding the Differences Between Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) each play an important role in treating mental health issues. These two types of therapy fall under the umbrella of psychotherapy, also known as talk therapy. Throughout the therapeutic process, an individual facing challenges talks with a professional in a safe, confidential, growth-stimulating environment where they learn new skills on how to manage those challenges.

CBT and DBT are among the most common methods of psychotherapy used to treat mental health issues. While they share many similarities, they also have important differences.

What is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy?

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, also known as CBT, primarily focuses on the relationship between thoughts and feelings. This line of thinking focuses on how thoughts impact feelings and how certain patterns of behavior can lead to mental health challenges. CBT also focuses on replacing unhelpful thoughts and behaviors with new actions and ways of thinking. Therapists often use CBT to treat mental health issues like depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and more.

Therapists use Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and work with clients to identify issues and challenges, uncover the causes, and establish new coping mechanisms, tools, and strategies to help get past or overcome them.

What is Dialectical Behavior Therapy?

Dialectical Behavior Therapy, also known as DBT, is a modified alternative to CBT. It was initially created to treat BPD (borderline personality disorder). Therapists often use DBT with clients who are experiencing suicidal thoughts or actions, but they have discovered new ways to treat other mental health issues through Dialectical Behavior Therapy.

DBT stresses the practice of mindfulness, increasing distress tolerance, strengthening emotional regulation skills, and growing relationships. Clients work with their therapist to uncover harmful thought patterns, accept them, and learn how to react to them healthily. Balance is critical in this form of therapy as clients work to accept their challenges and work toward change.

Differences Between CBT and DBT

Emphasis

The main difference between Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Dialectical Behavior Therapy is a matter of emphasis: CBT focuses on thought patterns and their redirection; DBT focuses on balance and the relationship between acceptance and change. Both Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Dialectical Behavior Therapy aim to ultimately help the client change their thought patterns.

Time

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is usually completed after a short interval. These sessions focus on specific problems. With a set goal in mind, clients have something they’re working toward, and CBT is finished once they get there. DBT usually involves sessions over a more extended period of time where the therapist and client can consider the larger picture.

Setting

Another difference between CBT and DBT can be context. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy nearly always takes place in a one-on-one setting. The client and the therapist work together, and then the client will often have “homework” to take home. On the other hand, Dialectical Behavior Therapy can be used in both one-on-one and group settings.

Choosing a Method

Some therapists call upon multiple methods of therapy, also called modalities or models of therapy, which is often referred to as an eclectic approach; other therapists will choose the model they believe best to help each individual person; still others specialize in just one or two models. Both CBT and DBT are useful for treating a wide range of mental health issues. To determine which approach will work best for you, consult with a therapist. 

To connect with a therapist in your area, click here.