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Action - We enter the fourth phase of the STEPS model — TIP — the moment when suicidal thought becomes action.

TIP is an acronym for:
T – Tension Builds – the lead-up to the act: the events, emotions, and pressures that coiled the thread so tight it broke.
I – Impact Unfolds – the act itself: whether impulsive or rehearsed, interrupted or completed, and the mindset that accompanied it.
P – Postscript Remains – the immediate aftermath: what followed physically, emotionally, and relationally when survival was still possible.

We explore how the crossing into action can happen in two ways:

• Gradually, through the NEEDLE phase, as intention sharpens into planning.
• Or suddenly — as it does for one in four people — bypassing planning entirely and leaping straight from ideation into action.

Drawing on trauma-informed care, motivational interviewing, and solution-focused strategies, we discuss how to have these critical conversations — most often in the hours or first day after an attempt — to validate the pain, uncover the story of the rupture, and begin to stitch safety back into the weave of a life that has been torn.

Ari’s story returns, showing how the second time was different — fast, impulsive, fuelled by alcohol — and how a knock at the door became the thread that held.

Because the story does not end at the point of rupture.
Not if the person is still breathing.
Not if we are still listening.

Connect with Assoc Prof Manaan Kar Ray on Linkedin
Follow us on www.progress.guide

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Intention and the Quiet Planning of Death

When risk tightens, our questions must soften. This is where the thread turns sharp.

Sometimes the thread of suicidal thought sharpens—quietly, steadily—until it points toward a plan.
This is the NEEDLE phase of the STEPS framework, where risk is no longer just emotional or ideational, but begins to take form.

In this episode, we explore the six stages of NEEDLE:

• Navigating Ambivalence – feeling torn between holding on and letting go
• Excluding Options – when nothing else feels possible
• Examining Means – researching, imagining, preparing
• Drafting an Exit – forming a plan, even silently
• Leaving Subtle Signs – the quiet goodbyes, often missed
• Exploring the Exit – rehearsing, visiting, coming close… and sometimes turning back

Through Ari’s story and clinical reflections, we learn how to sit beside the weight of intention—not to rush, not to retreat, but to trace the thread with care before it slips through the needle’s eye.

Because even here, motion can still shift.
Presence matters. And every thread held is a life with more to live.

🎧 Listen now and stay connected as we walk the STEPS together.
#STEPS4HOPE #SuicidePrevention #MentalHealth #TraumaInformedCare #NEEDLE #Intention #ClinicalEducation #RelationalSafety

Connect with Assoc Prof Manaan Kar Ray on Linkedin
Follow us on www.progress.guide

Would love to hear your thoughts...

Ideation. It doesn’t always arrive loudly.

Sometimes it starts with a whisper—“I’m just tired.”
Other times, it circles silently, gaining strength beneath the surface.

In this episode, we explore THREAD, the second phase of the STEPS model. Here, suicidal ideation begins to take shape—not yet a plan, but not just passing pain. This is the moment to notice the pull, to trace the thread before it tightens.

We walk through six elements of THREAD:
🧠 Thoughts of Suicide
🌫 Headspace of Suicidality
🔁 Recurrence & Distractibility
🔍 Escalation in Specificity
⚖️ Ability & Desire to Resist
➡️ Direction Toward Planning

With motivational interviewing and trauma-informed questions, we learn how to sit beside the person—not to interrogate, but to understand.

Because when we notice early, we can stay close.
And when we stay close, we create safety—one thread at a time.

Connect with Assoc Prof Manaan Kar Ray on Linkedin
Follow us on www.progress.guide