"Have you thought about ending your life?"
It's a simple question that could save a life, according to Claire Munch who attempted suicide twice.
The 43-year-old from Gnowangerup in WA's south shared her story as part of a candlelight vigil on World Suicide Prevention Day on Friday.
Ms Munch attempted to take her own life twice after suicidal thoughts entered her mind.
"When I started experiencing it I was scared, I was ashamed, I felt like a terrible person," she said.
"The suicidal thoughts became very intense; I thought I'd be better off if I wasn't alive."
Ms Munch said the thoughts started when she first started to deal with childhood trauma in her late 20s, which she had never disclosed to anyone before.
"When I was in my teenage years and 20s, I suffered from anorexia and bulimia. At 29, I went and got help. That's when I disclosed my childhood trauma," she said.
'Tsunami of pain hit me'
"Everything buried deep down inside came up, my mood began to plummet, and I became really quite depressed as I started to work through that stuff," she said.
"There was pain and quite quickly I developed suicidal thoughts.
Ms Munch woke up on life support in hospital after her first attempt — she was found unconscious by her Sydney flatmate.
"That was a scary time for a few months. I'd struggled with these thoughts and one night I acted upon it," she said.
"I remember waking up the next day, I felt shattered that I'd woken up, the hell started again. I felt ashamed."
A simple question saved Claire's life
It was a question from a friend that she credits as a turning point and saved her from a third attempt to take her life.
Ms Munch said before her attempts she was ashamed to talk to anyone about her thoughts, the pain that fuelled them, and the growing belief her loved ones would be better off without her.
"I grew up thinking suicide was an act of selfishness and weak," she said.
"These suicidal thoughts invaded my mind, I constantly thought I'd be better not alive, and life wasn't worth living, I couldn't see a future with me in it."
After her second attempt, Ms Munch lost a friend to suicide — something that gave her an insight into what her death would mean for her loved ones.
"Someone asked me 'Are you having thoughts of ending your life?'" she said.
"It was like a relief, I didn't feel I could ask for help, they asked me the questions, which made it easier to say I needed help.
Ms Munch said it was difficult for people to ask friends or family such a tough question, but it could save someone's life.
"If you're concerned about a friend, family member, work colleagues, it's good to ask the question, 'Have you had thoughts of ending your life?' It may save a life," she said.
"I know for the person asking the questions, it can be scary … but it can be helpful, I want people to know there's hope.
"There is hope. I'm an example of that. I've worked through things, I'm extremely happy living in a completely different world."
