Feeling desperate and sad, and sometimes like you might harm yourself, is not unusual. 4% of the general population feel like that from time to time. For people with tinnitus, it's normal to often feel alone and vulnerable, overwhelmed with negative thoughts. Research shows that over 10-15% of people with tinnitus thought about harming themselves in some way at some point, before they received help.

One of the ways to help yourself is to create a safety plan. This gives you a tangible chart to redirect your negative thoughts, plot a way out of the emotions you are going through, and ask for help when you need it.

Everyone will have a personal point where things get too much to cope, when you don’t think you can manage. That point will be different for everyone.

The Safety Plan is easy short prompts to remind you how to cope when you’re experiencing certain emotions, which you can personalise: not everyone will go through the same experiences or react in the same way to their tinnitus.

You might use a Safety Plan to create a daily diary to show yourself how you’re getting better, and to remind yourself of those dark days when you thought you never would, but which have now passed. Or your Safety Plan can list coping strategies that work for you, to draw on when you're struggling. We recommend always starting with conscious breathing, which you can practice in the app.

The Safety Plan also includes a single point where all your support contact numbers are, so you don’t have to remember them, search for them, or remember where you put them.

Your Safety Plan is your own. Feel free to change any categories that don’t relate directly and personally to you and how you respond to your tinnitus or add more if you like.

You’re not alone, and you will get through this. We are here to support you

Have a go at answering these questions to build your Safety Plan.