DiversityNursing Blog

September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, a time to raise awareness about suicide, remember those who have been lost, and remind people that support is available. For nurses and other healthcare professionals, the conversation is especially important.

Nurses spend their careers caring for other people through some of their most vulnerable moments. They witness pain, trauma, loss, and death. They work long and irregular hours, manage high patient loads, navigate workplace stress, and are often expected to keep going even when they are emotionally and physically exhausted.

But the people who care for everyone else need care, too.

Why Suicide Prevention Matters for Nurses

Healthcare workers face a unique combination of workplace and personal stressors. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), healthcare workers can experience difficult working conditions, long or rotating shifts, emotionally challenging interactions with patients and families, workplace violence, and repeated exposure to human suffering and death. These factors can contribute to significant stress and may increase vulnerability to poor mental health outcomes.

For nurses, the pressure can sometimes feel like part of the job.

You may hear things like:

• "That's just nursing."
• "Everyone is burned out."
• "You'll get used to it."
• "Just get through this shift."
• "You can't fall apart when your patients need you."

But struggling does not mean someone is weak, unprofessional, or incapable of being a nurse.

And asking for help does not make someone a less compassionate or competent healthcare professional.

The Pressure to Be the Strong One

Nurses are trained to recognize changes in their patients. They know how to assess vital signs, identify warning signs, intervene during a crisis, and connect patients with appropriate resources.

Yet nurses don't always give themselves that same attention.

There can be a culture in healthcare where asking for emotional support feels uncomfortable. Nurses may worry about being judged by coworkers, appearing unable to handle the job, or being perceived differently by their employer.

Some may simply tell themselves that someone else needs help more.

But mental health deserves the same attention we give physical health.

If a nurse is struggling, reaching out early can be an important step toward getting support before distress becomes a crisis.

Know the Warning Signs

Suicide is complex, and there is no single reason why someone may become suicidal. Risk can be influenced by mental health concerns, relationship difficulties, substance use, physical health problems, financial stress, job-related stress, and other circumstances.

Changes in someone's behavior or emotional state may warrant concern. Depending on the individual, warning signs can include:

• Talking about feeling hopeless, trapped, or like a burden
• Withdrawing from friends, family, or coworkers
• Significant changes in mood or behavior
• Increased substance use
• Giving away meaningful possessions
• Talking about death or suicide
• Feeling overwhelmed by problems that previously seemed manageable
• Suddenly putting affairs in order or saying goodbye to people
• Experiencing severe emotional or psychological distress

One sign alone does not necessarily mean someone is suicidal. But if you're concerned about a colleague, friend, family member, or yourself, don't ignore that concern.

How Nurses Can Support a Colleague

You don't need to be a mental health professional to let someone know you care.

Sometimes, a simple conversation can be the first step.

Try saying:

"I've noticed you've seemed like you're having a really difficult time. How are you doing?"

Or:

"You don't seem like yourself lately. I'm here if you want to talk."

Listen without immediately trying to solve the problem. Avoid minimizing what the person is experiencing or telling them that things "aren't that bad."

If you are concerned that someone may be thinking about suicide, it is appropriate to ask directly.

"Are you thinking about hurting yourself?"

Asking about suicide does not put the idea into someone's head. It can create an opportunity for someone to talk openly about what they are experiencing and connect with help.

If someone says they are considering suicide or may be in immediate danger, take the situation seriously and help connect them with immediate professional support.

Nurses Need Safe Workplaces, Too

Suicide prevention isn't solely an individual's responsibility.

Healthcare organizations also have an important role to play in creating environments that protect workers' mental health.

The CDC recommends workplace approaches that address factors such as excessive demands, scheduling, adequate time off, workplace culture, respect, and psychological safety.

For nursing workplaces, meaningful prevention can include:

• Adequate staffing and manageable workloads
• Reasonable scheduling and opportunities for rest
• Access to confidential mental health services
• Peer-support programs
• Mental health and suicide-prevention education
• Training managers and nurse leaders to recognize distress
• Addressing workplace bullying, harassment, and violence
• Creating a culture where asking for help is encouraged rather than stigmatized
• Providing meaningful support after traumatic patient events
• Making employee assistance and behavioral health resources easy to access

Telling nurses to "practice self-care" while leaving the conditions contributing to burnout unchanged isn't enough.

Nurses deserve workplaces that support their well-being, not just reminders to take care of themselves after the damage has already been done.

You Don't Have to Wait for a Crisis

One of the most important messages during Suicide Prevention Awareness Month is that you don't have to wait until you're in crisis to ask for help.

The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is available by call, text, or online chat. Support is free and confidential, and people can reach out even when they aren't experiencing an immediate crisis. SAMHSA's 2026 messaging emphasizes that whatever someone is facing, big or small, their reason for seeking support is enough.

Call or text 988 to connect with a trained crisis counselor.

For nurses, this resource can be especially important after a difficult shift, traumatic patient experience, personal crisis, or during a period when stress and emotional exhaustion begin to feel unmanageable.

Other options may include talking with a primary care provider, therapist, employee assistance program, trusted colleague, friend, family member, or spiritual leader.

If you believe you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department.

Make Room for the Conversation

Suicide prevention isn't just about recognizing a crisis. It's about building a culture where people feel comfortable saying:

"I'm not okay."

And where the response isn't judgment, embarrassment, or dismissal, but compassion and support.

For nurses, that conversation matters.

The nurse who checks on everyone else deserves someone to check on them.

The nurse who comforts grieving families deserves a safe place to process their own grief.

The nurse who encourages patients to seek help deserves permission to seek help, too.

And the nurse who is struggling deserves to know that their life matters far beyond the next shift.

Check on Your People

Send the text.

Ask the question.

Listen.

Share resources.

Check on the nurse who always seems to have it together.

And if you are the nurse who is struggling, please don't convince yourself that you have to handle it alone.

Your well-being matters. Your life matters. And asking for help is not a failure, it's an act of care.

Suicide Prevention Resources

988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: Call or text 988 or use the online chat at 988lifeline.org.

SAMHSA National Helpline: 1-800-662-HELP (4357) for information and referrals related to mental health and substance use services.

Emergency: If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department.

In recent news, the deaths of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain have brought the issue of suicide into the spotlight. Suicide is the tenth leading cause of death in the United States, and one of three that is increasing. The other two are Alzheimer’s disease and drug overdose, in part because of the spike in opioid deaths, said Dr. Anne Schuchat, principal deputy director of the C.D.C.

Suicide rates from 1999 to 2016 increased in all age groups younger than 75 years, with the greatest increase shown in “middle-aged adults” aged 45 to 64 years, increasing 25 percent nationally. 

Research has shown that Physicians are twice as likely to commit suicide as the general population, and while there is a notable lack of information about the suicide rates for Nurses in the US, a report from the UK finds that “for females, the risk of suicide among health professionals was 24% higher than the female national average; this is largely explained by high suicide risk among female Nurses.”

Nurses are stuck between demands of the patient and demands of the system. When caring for patients, you are exposed to everything from debilitating diseases to traumatic situations. Without proper coping mechanisms – a support system to vent to after work, colleagues to share similar feelings with, a stable and supportive home life – the tragedies of daily work can take a toll on Nurses, one that is insidious and may not become evident until a breaking point is reached. 

Health-care organizations need to more proactively report suicide in their workforce, so we can begin to understand the drivers for suicide in health-care workers. Also institutions need to develop procedures and processes for grief recovery support for colleagues of the deceased. Many institutions shy away from even mentioning suicide at the workplace. There is concern for suicide contagion, an increased tendency toward suicide in the already predisposed upon hearing of a suicide.

Having a stronger ability to identify the warning signs of suicide can help healthcare professionals spot them in their peers—and themselves, said Joe Parks, M.D., medical director of the National Council for Behavioral Health. "We don't train Doctors and Nurses near well enough to ask for help for themselves," he said.

There are several warning signs providers can keep an eye out for, such as:

• Isolation
• Increased anxiety
• A sense of being trapped or a burden on others
• Increased use of drugs or alcohol
• Extreme mood swings
• Sleeping too much or too little
• Referencing or mentioning a desire to die

Resources

• If you or someone you know is in an emergency, call 911 immediately.
• If you are in crisis or are experiencing difficult or suicidal thoughts, call the National Suicide Hotline at 1-800-273 TALK (8255)
• If you’re uncomfortable talking on the phone, you can also text NAMI to 741-741 to be connected to a free, trained crisis counselor on the Crisis Text Line.