SUICIDE AWARENESS & PREVENTION: Know the Signs
People usually attempt suicide to block unbearable emotional pain, which is caused by a wide variety of problems. It is often a cry for help. A person attempting suicide is often so distressed that they are unable to see that they have other options: we can help prevent a tragedy by endeavoring to understand how they feel and helping them to look for better choices that they could make. Suicidal people often feel terribly isolated; because of their distress, they may not think of anyone they can turn to, furthering this isolation. In the vast majority of cases a suicide attemptor would choose differently if they were not in great distress and were able to evaluate their options objectively. Most suicidal people give warning signs in the hope that they will be rescued, because they are intent on stopping their emotional pain, not on dying.
The majority of individuals who commit suicide do not have a diagnosable mental illness. They are people just like you and I who at a particular time are feeling isolated, desperately unhappy and alone. Suicidal thoughts and actions may be the result of life's stresses and losses that the individual feels they just can't cope with.
People can usually deal with isolated stressful or traumatic events and experiences reasonably well, but when there is an accumulation of such events over an extended period, our normal coping strategies can be pushed to the limit.
The stress or trauma generated by a given event will vary from person to person depending on their background and how they deal with that particular stressor. Some people are personally more or less vulnerable to particular stressful events, and some people may find certain events stressful which others would see as a positive experience. Furthermore, individuals deal with stress and trauma in different ways; the presence of multiple risk factors does not necessarily imply that a person will become suicidal.
Depending on a person's individual response, risk factors that may contribute to a person feeling suicidal include:
Significant changes in Relationships.
- Well-being of self or family member.
- Body image.
- Job, school, university, house, locality.
- Financial situation.
- World environment.
Significant losses:
- Death of a loved one.
- Loss of a valued relationship.
- Loss of self esteem or personal expectations.
- Loss of employment.
Perceived abuse:
- Physical.
- Emotional/Psychological.
- Sexual.
- Social.
- Neglect.
Often suicidal people will give warning signs, consciously or unconsciously, indicating that they need help and often in the hope that they will be rescued. These usually occur in clusters, so often several warning signs will be apparent. The presence of one or more of these warning signs is not intended as a guarantee that the person is suicidal: the only way to know for sure is to ask them. In other cases, a suicidal person may not want to be rescued, and may avoid giving warning signs.
Typical warning signs which are often exhibited by people who are feeling suicidal include:
- Withdrawing from friends and family.
- Depression, broadly speaking; not necessarily a diagnosable mental illness such as clinical depression, but indicated by signs such as:
- Loss of interest in usual activities.
- Showing signs of sadness, hopelessness, irritability.
- Changes in appetite, weight, behavior, level of activity or sleep patterns.
- Loss of energy.
- Making negative comments about self.
- Recurring suicidal thoughts or fantasies.
- Sudden change from extreme depression to being `at peace' (may indicate that they have decided to attempt suicide).
- Talking, Writing or Hinting about suicide.
- Previous attempts.
- Feelings of hopelessness and helplessness.
- Purposefully putting personal affairs in order:
- Giving away possessions.
- Sudden intense interest in personal wills or life insurance.
- `Clearing the air' over personal incidents from the past.
This list is not definitive: some people may show no signs yet still feel suicidal, others may show many signs yet be coping OK; the only way to know for sure is to ask. In conjunction with the risk factors listed above, this list is intended to help people identify others who may be in need of support.
If a person is highly perturbed, has formed a potentially lethal plan to kill themselves and has the means to carry it out immediately available, they would be considered likely to attempt suicide.
Suicide in the
Suicide took the lives of 29,350 Americans in 2000.1
• More people die from suicide than from homicide. In 2000, there were 1.7 times as many suicides as homicides.1
• Overall, suicide is the 11th leading cause of death for all Americans, and is the third leading cause of death for young people aged 15-24.1
• Males are more than four times more likely to die from suicide than are females.1 However, females are more likely to attempt suicide than are males.2
• 1999, white males accounted for 72% of all suicides. Together, white males and white females accounted for over 90% of all suicides.
However, during the period from 1979-1992, suicide rates for Native Americans (a category that includes American Indians and Alaska Natives) were about 1.5 times the national rates.
There was a disproportionate number of suicides among young male Native Americans during this period, as males 15-24 accounted for 64% of all suicides by Native Americans.3
• Suicide rates are generally higher than the national average in the western states and lower in the eastern and midwestern states.4
• 57% of suicides in 2000 were committed with a firearm.1
Suicide Among the Elderly
• Suicide rates increase with age and are highest among Americans aged 65 years and older. The ten year period, 1980-1990, was the first decade since the 1940s that the suicide rate for older residents rose instead of declined.5
• Men accounted for 84% of suicides among persons aged 65 years and older in 2000.1
• From 1980-1998, the largest relative increases in suicide rates occurred among those 80-84 years of age. The rate for men in this age group increased 17% (from 43.5 per 100,000 to 52.0).1,6
• Firearms were the most common method of suicide by both males and females, 65 years and older, in 2000, accounting for 79.5% of male and 37% of female suicides in that age group.1
• Suicide rates among the elderly are highest for those who are divorced or widowed. In 1992, the rate for divorced or widowed men in this age group was 2.7 times that for married men, 1.4 times that for never-married men, and over 17 times that for married women. The rate for divorced or widowed women was 1.8 times that for married women and 1.4 times that for never-married women.6
• Risk factors for suicide among older persons differ from those among the young. Older persons have a higher prevalence of depression, a greater use of highly lethal methods and social isolation.
They also make fewer attempts per completed suicide, have a higher-male-to-female ratio than other groups, have often visited a health-care provider before their suicide, and have more physical illnesses.7
Suicide Among the Young
• Persons under age 25 accounted for 15% of all suicides in 2000.1 From 1952-1995, the incidence of suicide among adolescents and young adults nearly tripled. From 1980-1997, the rate of suicide among persons aged 15-19 years increased by 11% and among persons aged 10-14 years by 109%. From 1980-1996, the rate increased 105% for African-American males aged 15-19.1,8
• For young people 15-24 years old, suicide is the third leading cause of death, behind unintentional injury and homicide. In 1999, more teenagers and young adults died from suicide than from cancer, heart disease, AIDS, birth defects, stroke, and chronic lung disease combined.1
• Among persons aged 15-19 years, firearm-related suicides accounted for more than 60% of the increase in the overall rate of suicide from 1980-1997.1
• The risk for suicide among young people is greatest among young white males; however, from 1980 through 1995, suicide rates increased most rapidly among young black males.9
Although suicide among young children is a rare event, the dramatic increase in the rate among persons aged 10-14 years underscores the urgent need for intensifying efforts to prevent suicide among persons in this age group.
If you are thinking of suicide, please check out the following: http://www.metanoia.org/suicide/
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