Preventing Suicide

Information and help resources for suicide prevention

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Crisis Hotline
Understanding Suicide
Myths & Facts
Blog & Stories
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Crisis Hotline for Mental Health

Understanding Suicide

Understanding Suicide

Suicide occurs when a person deliberately ends their life. It is complex, and can vary in terms of severity and nature.

People with a history of mental illnesses like depression are likely to experience suicidal ideation.

Suicide ideation refers to the thoughts someone is having about ending their life. They can vary from fleeting thoughts (e.g. life is not worth living) to very concrete thoughts including well thought out plans for killing themselves.

Facts about Suicide

  • Close to 800,000 lives are lost each year, which is one person every 40 seconds (WHO Organisation)
  • Suicide is the second leading cause of death for ages 15-29 (WHO Organisation)
  • A person that has had the initial attempt of suicide has a higher likelihood of attempting again (WHO Organisation)
  • The data on suicide is poor and is often underreported by 20-30% (ConNetica)

Risk Factors for Suicide

Risk factors can include:

  • Poor mental state e.g. depression, psychosis, hopelessness, despair, guilt, shame, anger, agitation, impulsivity
  • Issues at home e.g. family conflict, homelessness
  • Health issues e.g. chronic illness, deterioration in mobility
  • Education/Employment stress e.g. poor performance, underachievement, stress, long-term unemployment, unemployment from retrenchment
  • Poor connection with their community
  • Substance use e.g. being intoxicated, dependent, or abusing drugs or alcohol
  • Poor social support
  • Low self-esteem
  • Poor coping skills
  • Disconnection from culture

Warning signs: recognising someone may be suicidal

Talking about Suicide

Suicide and Grief

Finding your way back: After a suicide attempt

Myths & Facts about Suicide

FACT

Those struggling with depression will be relieved to have the opportunity to share their disturbing thoughts, including the ones about suicide, with someone else.

MYTH

It’s dangerous to ask a depressed person wether they’re considering suicide.

FACT

Suicides can be prevented. People can be helped. When people are suicidal, many times they’re highly ambivalent, they are unsure about suicide. They’re torn between a desire to live and a desire to die.

MYTH

People who want to die always find away, a suicidal person will find a way to take his or her own life, no matter what.

FACT

On the outside, someone can appear to have it all: a great job, a healthy family, an active social life, a beautiful home, but no one really knows what’s going on inside of someone.

MYTH

Someone who has their act together isn’t at risk of suicide.

FACT

There are almost always warning signs before a suicide attempt.The survivors of a suicide often say that the intention was hidden form them. It is more likely that the intention was just not recognized.

MYTH

Suicide attempts or deaths happen without warning.

FACT

Everyone has the potential for suicide.

MYTH

Only certain types of people become suicidal.

FACT

Many suicide methods are very painful.

MYTH

Suicide is painless.

FACT

People who die from suicide have often told someone about not wanting to live anymore or they do not see the future. It’s always important to take seriously anybody who talks about feeling suicidal.

MYTH

People who talk about suicide are just seeking attention.

FACT

The suicide rate for this age group is below the national average, and suicide risk increases with age. The age group with the highest suicide rate in the U.S is men and women between 45 and 64. Though particular groups may be at higher risk, suicide is a problem among all ages and groups.

MYTH

Teenagers and college students are the most at risk for suicide.

FACT

Suicide is often due to a combination, sequence or repetition of distressing life events – depression may just be one of the many stressors a person is struggling with. Someone who isn’t depressed can still be at risk of suicide and not everyone suffering from depression dies by suicide.

MYTH

Suicide is caused by depression.

Browse other mental health Myths & Facts

Stories and blog posts related to Preventing Suicide

Lihat pencegahan bunuh diri dari perspektif yang berbeda melalui katalog artikel blog kami di platform bercerita kami, Atrium.
See suicide prevention from different perspectives through our catalog of blog articles in our storytelling platform, Atrium.

Read other mental health stories

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