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Some of the most difficult moments when living with a mental health condition can happen suddenly – a wave of hopelessness, a surge of anxiety, or thoughts of self-harm that seem to appear without warning. If you’re in the middle of one of those moments, it’s genuinely difficult to think clearly about what might help.
That’s exactly why a safety plan works: you make it before you need it, while you’re feeling steady, so your calmer self can leave instructions for your future self.
A safety plan isn’t only for people who have been in crisis before. It’s a practical wellness tool for anyone living with a mental health condition, managing suicidal thoughts, or simply wanting a plan in place for times when additional support may be needed.
Here’s what goes into one and how to build your own.
What Is a Mental Health Safety Plan?
A mental health safety plan is a short, written, personalized document you create in advance to help you get through a moment of intense emotional distress or a mental health crisis. It lists your personal warning signs, the coping strategies that work for you, the people you can lean on, and the professionals and crisis resources to contact when you need more support.
It’s a well-established tool used by clinicians and mental health organizations, and its strength is its specificity. It’s written by you, for you, in your own words.
How Do I Make a Mental Health Safety Plan?
You can write your plan on paper, in a notes app, or on a printable template. Work through these six steps, and where you can, build it with someone you trust – a therapist, a family member, or a Recovery Support Specialist.
- Recognize your warning signs. Write down the thoughts, feelings, moods, or behaviors that tend to show up before things get more challenging for you. This could look like withdrawing from people, sleeping too much or too little, racing thoughts, physical symptoms, or a specific feeling you’ve learned to notice. These are your cues to start using the plan.
- List coping strategies you can do on your own. Think of things that have helped you feel more grounded before, without needing anyone else. Going for a walk, a breathing exercise, music, a shower, stepping outside, or a specific playlist or show are all great options to calm yourself. Keep them simple, accessible, and realistic.
- Identify people and places that help you feel better. Write down friends or family whose company lifts you, and public places where you feel calmer or less alone: a coffee shop, a library, a park, or a community center, like NAMI Metro Suburban’s Drop-In Center. Even a change of setting can create enough distance from a difficult moment.
- Write down who you can reach out to for support. List the specific people you’d feel comfortable telling that you’re struggling, with their phone numbers. You don’t have to explain everything, because sometimes the plan is just “text this person.”
- List the professionals and crisis resources to contact. Include your therapist or psychiatrist if you have one, and always include crisis lines you can reach any time:
- 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline — call or text 988, free and confidential, 24/7.
- NAMI Metro Suburban’s Living Room — a free, walk-in place to talk with a Recovery Support Specialist, with 24-hour locations in LaGrange and Summit, and an Oak Park location open daily.
- Make your environment safer. When thoughts of self-harm or suicide are present, putting time and distance between yourself and anything you might use to hurt yourself can genuinely save a life. This step is much easier with help. Ask someone you trust to work through it with you. A Recovery Support Specialist at the Living Room can talk this step through with you, too.
When Should I Use My Safety Plan?
The moment you notice one of the warning signs from Step 1, that’s your cue to open the plan and start at the top. You don’t have to be in a full crisis to use it. The earlier you reach for it, the more it can help.
And if you reach the point where the coping steps aren’t enough, that’s not a failure of the plan; that’s the plan doing its job by pointing you toward people who can help.
The Living Room exists for exactly that moment. It’s a calm, home-like space where trained Recovery Support Specialists – people with their own lived experience of mental health challenges – offer support, de-escalation, and practical recovery tools. Free of charge and no appointment needed.
Explore NAMI Metro Suburban’s W.R.A.P Course
If creating a safety plan on your own doesn’t feel like the right fit, or you’re looking for more structure, consider joining NAMI Metro Suburban’s Wellness Recovery Action Plan (W.R.A.P.) course and build a plan that supports your well-being.
The Wellness Recovery Action Plan is a free 8-week course that helps you identify the wellness tools, routines, and strategies that work best for you. Together, you’ll create a personalized plan to support your recovery, recognize early signs of challenges, and navigate difficult moments with greater confidence.
If you’re interested in learning more or enrolling, visit the link here.
You Don’t Have to Do This Alone
NAMI Metro Suburban is here for people across the western suburbs of Cook County. Alongside the Living Rooms, NAMI Connection is a free peer-led support group where adults living with mental health conditions share coping strategies and encouragement.
NAMI Metro Suburban doesn’t provide clinical treatment like therapy or medication, but our programs are built to work alongside it. If you’re looking for a therapist or psychiatrist, our Mental Health Information and Community Resources can help connect you with local providers.
If you’re thinking about suicide or you’re in emotional crisis right now, call or text 988 any time. To find the right program for you, call NAMI Metro Suburban at (708) 524-2582 or visit namimetsub.org.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should be in a crisis safety plan?
A crisis safety plan should include your personal warning signs, coping strategies you can do on your own, people and places that help you feel better, trusted people you can reach out to, professionals and crisis lines to contact (including 988), and steps to make your environment safer.
How do I make a mental health safety plan?
Write it while you’re feeling stable, ideally with someone you trust. Work through six steps: identify your warning signs, list personal coping strategies, note people and places that help, list trusted contacts, add professionals and crisis resources like 988 and the Living Room, and make your environment safer.
Where can I get mental health help right now in the western suburbs?
Call or text 988 any time, or visit NAMI Metro Suburban’s Living Room — free, walk-in support with 24-hour locations in LaGrange and Summit and an Oak Park location open daily 12-8 p.m. Call (708) 524-2582 to learn more.
