Refined Wellness Counselling Services|Sarnia, St. Thomas & Virtual Therapy Across Ontario
September is often thought of as a month of new beginnings. Summer winds down, children head back to school, and familiar routines begin to return. For many people, there is something comforting about that change. For others, September can bring its own challenges. The return to busy schedules, school or work pressures, financial concerns, or simply the shift from the slower pace of summer can leave some people feeling overwhelmed.
September is also a time of year that gives us an important opportunity to talk about something that can be difficult to put into words: suicide prevention.
September is recognized as Suicide Prevention Month, and September 10th marks the annual World Suicide Prevention Day. It’s a time to raise awareness, reduce stigma, and encourage people to have conversations about mental health and suicide. In Canada, suicide continues to be a serious public health concern. The Government of Canada reports that approximately 4,500 people die by suicide each year, or about 12 people every day. Behind every one of those numbers is a person whose loss affects family, friends, colleagues, and an entire community.
Many of us have been touched by suicide in some way. We may have lost someone we knew, supported a family member through a difficult period, or struggled ourselves with emotional pain that felt difficult to put into words.
At Refined Wellness Counselling Services, with counselling offices in Sarnia and St. Thomas and virtual counselling available throughout Ontario, we understand that these conversations need to be approached with compassion and care. Talking about suicide is not about creating fear or assuming that someone who is struggling is suicidal. It is about recognizing when someone may need support and making it easier for people to ask for help.
Most importantly, suicide prevention is not only something we think about during a crisis. It also involves creating environments where people feel safe talking about their mental health before they reach that point.
Why Talking About Suicide Matters
One of the biggest barriers to suicide prevention can be silence. People often worry about saying the wrong thing or wonder whether asking directly about suicide might make matters worse. Asking someone whether they are thinking about suicide does not increase the risk of suicide. In fact, asking directly can open the door to an important conversation, and help connect someone with the support they need.
Being willing to talking about mental health and suicide does not mean we need to become experts in mental health. Sometimes, it simply means paying attention and reaching out when someone does not seem like themselves.
Maybe a friend who is normally very social has stopped returning messages. A family member may have become increasingly withdrawn or seem unusually hopeless. Someone might talk about being a burden, feeling trapped, or believing that things will never get better. These changes do not necessarily mean someone is suicidal, but they are reasons to check in, rather than assume everything is fine.
We cannot always tell what someone is experiencing by looking at them. Some people seem very high functioning but, inside, are fighting depression and may be haunted by thoughts of suicide. A person may continue going to work, caring for their children, attending school, or spending time with friends, while privately struggling with thoughts they have not shared.
A simple conversation can create an opportunity for honesty.
You might say, “I’ve noticed that you’ve been having a hard time lately. How are you really doing?” Or, if you are genuinely concerned about suicide, you can ask directly, “Are you thinking about suicide?”
You do not need to have the perfect response. Being willing to listen without judgment is an important first step.
Understanding the Warning Signs
There is no single behaviour that can predict suicide. Suicide is complex, and the reasons someone may experience suicidal thoughts can be very different from one person to another. It is often influenced by a combination of personal, social, and cultural factors rather, than one single cause.
Still, certain changes may tell us that someone is struggling and could benefit from support. These can include talking about death or suicide, expressing hopelessness, feeling trapped or like a burden, withdrawing from people or activities they normally enjoy, or experiencing significant changes in mood or behaviour. Major life events such as a loss, relationship breakdown, financial difficulties, or other overwhelming circumstances can also affect a person’s mental health.
These signs should never be used to diagnose someone. Instead, think of them as an invitation to pay closer attention and to check in.
What Do You Say When You’re Worried About Someone?
This is often the part that makes people uncomfortable. You may care deeply about someone and still have no idea how to begin. Sometimes the most helpful thing we can offer another person is not advice, but our presence.
There is no perfect script.
Start with what you have noticed. Rather than telling someone they “need to get help,” try something more open, such as, “I’ve noticed you’ve seemed overwhelmed lately, and I’m worried about you.” Giving someone space to explain what they are experiencing can make the conversation feel less like an intervention and more like genuine support.
If you are concerned that the person may be thinking about suicide, you can ask directly. It may feel difficult, but you do not have to avoid the word because you are afraid of making things worse. Asking about suicide will not increase the risk; in fact, your willingness to bring up this topic may be a huge relief to someone who has been struggling with suicidal thoughts.
Listen carefully to the answer, take the person seriously, and encourage them to connect with appropriate support. You do not have to manage a crisis by yourself, and being there for someone does not mean becoming their therapist.
If there is an immediate concern about someone’s safety, professional crisis support or emergency services should be involved.
Suicide Prevention Begins Before a Crisis
When we hear the words “suicide prevention,” it is natural to think about a crisis. But prevention can begin much earlier. People do not need to wait until they are in immediate danger before asking for help.
Someone may be struggling with depression that has gradually become more difficult to manage. Another person may be carrying grief after a major loss. Someone else may be dealing with anxiety, trauma, relationship difficulties, loneliness, burnout, or a major life transition. Sometimes people cannot even explain exactly what is wrong. They simply know that life has started to feel harder than it used to.
Counselling can provide a place to talk about those experiences before they become even more overwhelming.
At Refined Wellness Counselling Services, we aim to create a supportive, respectful environment where people can talk honestly about what they are going through without feeling that they need to have everything figured out first. Whether you are meeting with a therapist in Sarnia, St. Thomas, or virtually from another community in Ontario, reaching out can be the beginning of understanding what you need and deciding what comes next.
Therapy cannot remove every difficult circumstance from someone’s life, but it can provide space to work through difficult emotions, develop coping strategies, understand patterns, and build healthier ways of navigating life’s challenges.
A Message for Families, Friends and Loved Ones
Supporting someone who is struggling can be difficult in ways that are not always talked about. You may feel frightened, helpless, frustrated, angry, or unsure about what to do. You may even find yourself wondering whether there was something you should have noticed sooner.
It is important to remember that suicide is complex. There is rarely one simple explanation, and one person cannot be expected to carry responsibility for another person’s mental health.
What you can do is stay connected, listen without judgment, encourage professional support, and learn where crisis help is available. You can also seek support for yourself. When someone you love is struggling, your own wellbeing matters too.
Caring about someone does not mean you have to carry everything alone.
Knowing Where to Find Help in Ontario
Knowing where to turn can make a difficult situation feel a little less overwhelming.
Across Canada, the 9-8-8 Suicide Crisis Helpline is available by phone or text, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It is available to anyone in Canada who is thinking about suicide or who is worried about someone else.
For people in Sarnia and Lambton County, CMHA Lambton-Kent provides a 24/7 Mental Health First Response service. The service includes crisis intervention, suicide intervention, referrals, and support for people who are concerned about someone close to them. The current Sarnia-Lambton toll-free crisis number is 1-800-307-4319, and the local Sarnia number is 519-337-5411.
For people in St. Thomas and Elgin County, Reach Out 24/7 provides free and confidential mental health and addiction support by phone, text, and web chat. The service is available 24 hours a day and can help connect people with local services and supports. Reach Out can be reached at 519-433-2023 or 1-866-933-2023.
For an immediate emergency or when someone is in imminent danger, call 9-1-1 or go to the nearest emergency department.
It can also help to save these numbers in your phone before you need them. You never know when a friend, family member, colleague, or even you may need to know where to turn.
You Do Not Have to Wait Until Things Are “Bad Enough”
One of the most important messages of Suicide Prevention Month is that you do not have to reach a crisis before you deserve support.
You can reach out because you have been feeling different lately. Seek counselling because anxiety has become difficult to manage, grief is affecting your everyday life, a relationship is causing distress, or something from your past continues to weigh on you. You can ask for help simply because you are tired of pretending that everything is okay.
For some people, the first step may be counselling. For someone else, it may be speaking with a doctor, calling 9-8-8, talking with a trusted friend, or connecting with a local crisis service. The right next step will look different for everyone.
What matters is taking that next step.
This September, Let’s Keep the Conversation Going
September gives us an opportunity to talk openly about suicide, but the conversation doesn’t end when the calendar turns to October.
We may not always know when someone is having their hardest day. We may not know what another person is carrying behind a smile, a busy schedule, or a reassuring “I’m fine.” What we can do is make it a little easier for people to tell the truth when they are struggling.
We can ask how someone is really doing. Listen without immediately trying to fix everything. Take concerning comments seriously instead of brushing them aside. We can take an effort to learn about resources such as 9-8-8 and local crisis services so we know where to turn when support is needed.
If this article resonated with you, therapy can offer a space to explore your experiences and move toward healing—at your own pace. Reach out for a free consultation or to book an appointment.
