Safety

Finding Shelter After the Storm

When the storm inside finally quiets, what’s left is silence — heavy, still, and disorienting. In the aftermath of a suicidal crisis, survival is a relief, but it can also feel like standing among broken pieces. The question that rises isn’t “Why did this happen?” but “What do I do now?”

For me, the first step wasn’t about hope or healing. It was about safety — creating shelter so I wouldn’t be swept back into the flood. I didn’t need to solve my life in that moment. I just needed a foundation strong enough to hold me.

Safety, I learned, begins with small, practical steps. I cleared my environment of anything that could cause harm, sometimes with the help of a trusted friend. I wrote down names and numbers — people I could call when I couldn’t trust my own mind. I kept a simple Safety Plan in my phone and on my fridge: what signs to watch for, how to ground myself, who to reach out to.

It felt mechanical at first, like going through motions. But that’s what safety is: structure that holds you when you can’t hold yourself. Like the walls of a storm shelter, it doesn’t erase the storm outside — it just gives you a place to survive it.

If you’re in the fragile days after a crisis, don’t pressure yourself to “heal” yet. Just focus on safety. Tell one person what you’re going through. Remove or secure what might hurt you. Write down the steps you’ll need if the thoughts come back. These aren’t small things; they are life-saving things.

Safety isn’t weakness. It’s not avoidance. It’s the first step in rebuilding. You can’t start laying bricks in the open wind. You need shelter. And once that’s in place, then — slowly, gently — you can start building a life beyond the storm.