Treat thoughts like "take someone down with me" or "die together" as an emergency: leave the scene, hand your car keys and knife to someone else, and call 12356
- High value
- Evidence B
- Keeps you free
- Free
- Takes minutes
- Some willpower
In plain words
The window from the moment such a thought appears to acting on it is short. Of 82 people who survived a suicide attempt, 47.6% said that no more than 10 minutes passed between the first thought and the act. So what you need to do is not "think it through," but put one step of distance between yourself and the steering wheel, the knife, the gas valve and the rope, and get through those ten minutes. Then call 12356 (China's national mental-health hotline).
- Cost
-
Free. The hard part is admitting that something is off with you right now, and handing the things over to someone else.
- What you get
-
The window from such a thought to acting is short. In interviews with 82 people who survived a suicide attempt, done within three days of hospital admission, 47.6% said that no more than 10 minutes passed from the first thought to the act. A 10-year systematic review (a review that pulls together the studies of a decade) concluded that the evidence for restricting lethal means keeps growing stronger. After controls on painkillers, related suicides fell 43%. After safeguards were added at jumping hotspots, suicides fell 86% (79% to 91%). Putting one step between yourself and the steering wheel, the knife, the gas valve and the rope is about waiting for those ten minutes to pass. 12356 is the nationwide mental-health assistance hotline, answering at least 18 hours a day (China, since May 1, 2025)
- Notes
-
This is graded B because both pieces of evidence come from the literature on suicide, and no study directly addresses an impulse to harm others. The Deisenhammer study also has only 82 people and was done at a single hospital. When you are not in a good state, don't drive, and don't take a shift where you are responsible for other people's safety; hand over the shift first. If you are thinking of hurting yourself, see §1.25 (call 12356 when you have suicidal thoughts). For what to do first when you feel low, see §3.18.
- Evidence grade
- B : Supported by research but without a precise number, or based on small or single studies.
- Sources
-
- Deisenhammer EA 等 (2009). The duration of the suicidal process: how much time is left for intervention between consideration and accomplishment of a suicide attempt? Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.4088/JCP.07m03904
- Zalsman G 等 (2016). Suicide prevention strategies revisited: 10-year systematic review. Lancet Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(16)30030-X
- 国家卫生健康委 (2024). 关于应用「12356」全国统一心理援助热线电话号码的通知（国卫医政函〔2024〕259 号）. https://www.gov.cn/zhengce/zhengceku/202412/content_6994470.htm
Mentioned in
- However much you hate, don't go after people who have nothing to do with it: ramming a crowd with a vehicle or attacking people in a public place is convicted as endangering public safety by dangerous means, starting at 3 years, and at 10 years or up to death if someone dies
- "Buy someone insurance, then act" is a dead end from the start in law: you get not one cent, and the crime is intentional homicide plus insurance fraud with the sentences combined
- Work out the bill before you hit someone: detention, paying money, a prison sentence
Translated from the Chinese original. Original book, section 8, tip 14. This section describes legal rules, mostly mainland China’s. It is general information, not legal advice; for your own case, talk to a lawyer. Content may be out of date and rules differ by place. When you actually deal with an agency, a doctor or a court, follow what local officials, doctors and lawyers tell you. Disclaimer