Mental Health Notes

Mental Health Month Day 25 - 5 Steps to Develop a Crisis Prevention Plan

by Alicia Sparks, Mental Health Notes on May 25th, 2007

It’s Friday, and there’s no better time than this weekend to develop your crisis prevention plan.

People who suffer from depression and other mental health conditions need crisis prevention plans. These plans help both you and the people around you (your family members and friends) take action in the event a crisis should begin to rear it’s ugly - and sometimes deadly - head.

As you’re reading this, you may feel perfectly fine. You may think a crisis prevention plan is unnecessary. However, you’ve more than likely experienced a time when you felt overwhelmed and didn’t really know how to handle the situation. These situations are when a crisis prevention plan is necessary.

I recommend including the following in your crisis prevention plan:

1. A support contact. This is the person or people you can contact at any time, day or night, when you feel on the edge. Choose someone with whom your very close, and discuss the situation with the person. In other words, make sure he or she is comfortable with it.
2. An outline of action you can take when you feel a crisis situation coming on. This may include calling a supportive person, taking the medication you’ve been prescribed for such events, and even writing in a journal.
3. An outline of action your family or friends can take. This may include talking with you until you’re calm, coming to your house, or even calling 91/taking you to the hospital. Discuss this plan with them.
4. Important information, such as your contact information, both your regular doctor’s and your mental health care provider’s information, and your health care information. You can print and complete an important contact information form from DBSA.
5. We don’t like to think about it, but in a worst case scenario suicide may be an issue. Download and complete suicide prevention card. Keep a copy for yourself, and give a copy to your support person/people. Make sure your telephone number is on their copy.

Keep this information handy, and somewhere in your home or on yourself where your support contact can find it in case he or she doesn’t have a copy handy.

Do you currently have a plan? Do you have any tips for additional ways to help develope one? Share!

Share This

POSTED IN: Anxiety Disorders, Cognitive Disorders, Current Affairs & News, Daily Thoughts, Everyday Stress, Medications, Mood Disorders, No Prescription Needed, Personality Disorders, Psychotic Disorders, Resources, Self-help, Sites of Interest, Tips