A “Metaphor Menu” for People Living with Suicidal Thoughts

A resource with metaphors for talking about suicide, used by people we spoke to and heard from

Outputs

Publications

  • Watch this space!

Presentations

  • O’Reilly, D., O’Reilly, J., & Nacey, S. (2026, June). Metaphors for living with not wanting to live: Perceptions of talk about suicide by people who experience suicidal thoughts, their family/friends, and mental health practitioners. RaAM 9th Specialised Seminar – Metaphor in Vitro: from Texts to Brains, University School for Advanced Studies (IUSS), Pavia, Italy.
  • O’Reilly, D. (2026, April). Help, Hurt, and the Power of Language: A “Metaphor Menu” for People Living with Suicidal Thoughts. Themed seminar, Department of Education, University of York.
  • O’Reilly, D. (2025, Aug). How do (and how can) metaphor be used to talk about suicide? A UK-based study with people who have experienced suicidal ideation, their family/friends, and mental health practitioners. RaAM 17 Conference – Metaphor, Technology, and Communication, Lawrence Technical University, Southfield (MI), USA).

Other media, reports etc.

  • Watch this space!