Suicidality.

This page is about suicidal thoughts and about losing people to suicide. If that is too much right now: you do not have to read on. The numbers in the line above still apply.

If you are feeling very bad right now

Telefonseelsorge (crisis line)	0800 111 0 111	around the clock, free, anonymous; also 0800 111 0 222 and 116 123
Chat and e-mail	telefonseelsorge.de	when talking is not possible right now
krisenchat	krisenchat.de	chat counselling for young people, around the clock
Medical on-call service	116 117	in a crisis that is not life-threatening
Emergency	112	if your life is in danger or you are no longer safe

Suicidal thoughts are not a sign of weakness and not a character flaw. They are a sign that something is unbearable right now.

Why this page is here

10 September is World Suicide Prevention Day, established in 2003 by the International Association for Suicide Prevention together with the World Health Organization. The theme for 2024 to 2026 is “Changing the Narrative on Suicide”: away from silence, towards conversation. The 2026 campaign in Germany runs under the sentence “Your story is not over”.

In Germany more than 10,000 people die by suicide every year — more than through road accidents, violent crime and illegal drugs combined. Every suicide and every attempt affects more than ten people close to the person. Suicides are preventable. That is why this page is here permanently, not just on one day in September.

If you are affected yourself

There are times when everything comes together: a break-up, a loss, money worries, the feeling of no longer keeping up with your studies, conflict at home, loneliness in the middle of a crowd. What happens to you then can feel unbearable and unsolvable, and in such a situation suicidal thoughts creep in.

Most people with such thoughts do not want to end their life but their suffering. That is a difference, and it matters: when the circumstances or the burden change, the thoughts usually change too.

Crises have a course. The feeling that it will never be any different is part of the crisis — it is not a reliable view of the future. And almost everyone who has come through such a phase is glad of it later.

What helps now: talking to someone, even if it is hard. Not staying alone. Leaving out alcohol and other substances, because they amplify impulses. And getting help before you feel it is “bad enough” — you do not have to.

A call to the crisis line commits you to nothing. Nobody automatically comes round, you do not have to say your name, and you may simply tell them how your day was.

Tell someone that you are not doing well. Asking for help is nothing to be ashamed of. Whoever says it out loud no longer has to carry it alone.
Do not withdraw. Call someone instead of waiting for someone to get in touch. Even a short message counts.
Use anonymous counselling if it is not possible with people around you. Crisis line around the clock, chat and e-mail, without a name and without a reason.
Leave out alcohol and other substances. They lower inhibitions and amplify impulses, even if they numb in the short term.
In acute danger: 112. Also when you are no longer sure of yourself. That is the right call, not an exaggerated one.

If you are worried about someone

Ask directly. The worry that the question itself might put the idea into someone’s head is widespread — and wrong. Asking brings relief, because it shows that someone can bear the subject.

It can be asked plainly: “Are you feeling so bad that you are thinking of taking your own life?” Then listen, without judging, without placating and without offering solutions straight away.

Take seriously what you hear, even if it is said in passing. Stay. Offer to look for help together, and, if wished, accompany them to the call, the counselling centre or the emergency room. Do not promise secrecy if someone is in danger — say instead what you will do and why.

And: you are not responsible for saving someone. Get support for yourself. The counselling services are there for family and friends too.

Only raise it if you feel stable enough yourself. Half a conversation that you break off helps nobody. It is fine to ask someone else.
Take your time. Such a conversation can take a long time. In passing is the wrong moment.
Find a place where nobody disturbs you. Quiet, undisturbed, without an audience. A walk will do too.
Say what you have noticed. “You have seemed different for weeks. Do you want to tell me what is going on?” — observation instead of diagnosis.
Then ask specifically. “Are you thinking of taking your own life?” This question may be asked. It does not put the idea into anyone’s head.

Sentences that carry

“I am here.”
“You matter to me.”
“You do not have to go through this alone.”
“If you want to talk, you can count on me.”
“Tell me how you are really doing.”
“I will go there with you if you want.”

Sentences that shut down

“It will pass.”
“You are not going to do anything stupid, are you?”
“Think of your family.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.”
“Others have it much harder.”
“Don’t make such a fuss.”

The promise not to tell anyone sounds loyal but puts you in a position where you have to break it as soon as someone is in danger. Better to say honestly what you would do and when.

Look after yourself too

Accompanying someone through a crisis is exhausting. You do not have to be able to solve the other person’s problems, and usually you cannot. A conversation does not change the situation immediately — it only changes the fact that someone is no longer alone with it. That is already a lot.

Sometimes help that is offered is not accepted, at least not straight away. That is not a rejection of you. And if the conversations get too close, get someone for yourself — the counselling services are expressly there for those around the person too.

If you have lost someone

Grief after a suicide is often harder to reach than other grief: guilt, anger and the question of why mix into it, and those around often fall silent. There is counselling and there are groups specifically for the bereaved, for instance through AGUS e.V.

Language

We say “suicide” and not “self-murder” or “voluntary death”. The one implies a crime, the other a free decision — neither fits a crisis. “Unsuccessful attempt” is an unfortunate phrase too.

We do not describe methods or places. Such descriptions can put vulnerable people under additional strain; talking about ways to get help and crises that were overcome has a protective effect.

And us?

The council’s awareness team is not a crisis service. But we listen, we stay with you, and we help to find the right service and to get there. You can approach us even if you are not sure whether it is “enough for that”.

In Bonn

Psychological counselling	University of Bonn	for students, free
Psychological counselling centre	Studierendenwerk Bonn	also H-BRS and Alanus University
LVR clinic Bonn	Kaiser-Karl-Ring 20	emergency outpatient clinic, around the clock
Social-psychiatric service	City of Bonn	counselling, also for family and friends
Telefonseelsorge Bonn / Rhein-Sieg	regional	around the clock

Nationwide

Telefonseelsorge (crisis line)	0800 111 0 111	and 0800 111 0 222, around the clock
krisenchat	krisenchat.de	chat for young people, around the clock
U25	u25-deutschland.de	e-mail counselling by peers
dubistmirwichtig	dubistmirwichtig.de	for young people with suicidal thoughts
Nummer gegen Kummer	116 111	up to 25 years
AGUS e.V.	agus-selbsthilfe.de	for the bereaved after suicide

World Suicide Prevention Day	welttag-suizidpraevention.de	National suicide prevention programme
Campaign 2026	kampagne.welttag-suizidpraevention.de	“Your story is not over”