Safety Planning

How to make a mental health safety plan (before you need it)

By Tough Minds Team • Published on 2026-06-10 • 5 min read

What is a Safety Plan?

A mental health safety plan is a simple list of personal coping strategies, comforting reminders, and helpful phone numbers. It is designed to guide you when your feelings become too heavy to carry. It acts like a map when you are lost in a storm.

Why Write It on a Calm Day?

When we are extremely anxious, panicked, or deeply sad, our brains find it hard to make decisions. It is tough to remember what usually comforts us or to search for emergency phone numbers. Making your safety plan on a calm day does the thinking for you ahead of time, so you just have to follow the steps when you need them.

The Six Steps of Your Plan

A good, simple safety plan usually includes these six sections:

  1. Warning Signs: What are the early signs that you are starting to feel bad? This could be a tight chest, feeling restless, or wanting to hide away.
  2. Things You Can Do Alone: What simple activities help you calm down? Examples include taking a warm shower, listening to a quiet playlist, or using a breathing exercise.
  3. Places or People That Distract You: Where can you go, or who can you sit with, to take your mind off things? You do not have to talk about your worries here—just being around others can help.
  4. Friends or Family You Can Trust: Who are the people you can call or text when you need to talk openly about how you feel?
  5. Professional Contacts: Write down your doctor, a school counselor, or free help hotlines (like 988 or local helplines) so they are in one easy-to-find place.
  6. Making Your Space Safe: What can you do to make your environment safe and peaceful during a difficult night?

Keep Your Plan Hand-Written or Offline-Private

Because your safety list is incredibly personal, we built a secure, private Crisis Plan Maker right inside Tough Minds. You can fill out your list, save it directly to your phone, or print it out. No accounts, no emails, and no trackers are used. Your safety plan is entirely yours.